Eagle June

Shell Island
During the summer we are thinking about going camping. I would like to go to Shell Island. The reason I would like to go to Shell Island is because the entire beach is made out of shells! It is a fantastic place for camping, although the tenting area is not the best because the campsite is covered with giant roots!
Last summer we went to Shell Island. One evening, Dad took me out on the rowboat. I saw a bunch of multicolored sun stars. Dad picked one up out of the water and put it on the side of the boat for me to touch and feel it. If you row around the whole island you can see secret passages.
Behind the campsite there was a giant beach with lots of pine cones. When we were there it was beautiful. We did not experience a single rainy day while we were there. We rode to Shell Island on Granddad’s boat. It is not a very long trip to Shell Island. Shell Island is the best island ever!

Snowy Owl

Appearance
Have you ever seen a Snowy owl if you have you are super lucky because they are terribly hard to spot.

Snowy Owls not that large, they are only fifty one centimetres!

Snowy Owls have magnificent hearing. But all they have for ears are two tiny slits in the side of there head.

Snowy Owls also have great big eyes and special clear eyelids to help them see at night.

Owls also have hollow bones that makes flying way easier for the owl. Just imagine if you owl lugging heavy bones around with you.

Snowy owls feathers are pure white with sometimes brown spots, there feathers are designed specially to keep the owl warm.

Owls have extra neck bones that allow it to turn its head all the way around. They use this feature to see predators swooping down behind them.

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Habitat
Snowy Owls live in many different places such as Arctic Tundra, Eurasia, North America, U.S.A, Quebec, Ontario, Central California, Texas, and Georgia.

Snowy Owls normally like to live near snow because their feathers are camouflaged to blend in with the snow.

Snowy Owls go different ways for different things, like this, Snowy Owls go south in the winter, and north while breeding.

A Snowy Owls home is only a small hole scraped by the female sometimes including a few of her feathers.

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Diet
The Snowy Owl eats quite a variety of delicious food. Some small rodents the Snowy Owl likes to eat are Rabbits, rats, Skunks, and Lemmings.

Another tasty treat for the Snowy Owl are small Deer. It wouldn’t be very enjoyable to be that baby deer, would it?

Snowy Owls also like to eat Fish, Duck, and almost every type of bird.

I cannot believe Snowy Owls have such a large food pallet!

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Predators
Sadly, Snowy Owls do not live the happy life that you would think they do.

One type of animal known as the Arctic Fox only attacks the babies. You would not want to be one of those owls.

There are also a few types of birds that have won the medal word predator carved into it. They are known as eagles, hawks, and crows. It is a very sad time when a Snowy Owl is attacked.

Another way for a Snowy Owl to die is by the hand of people. We damage them with power lines, wire feces, and automobiles.

The life of a Snowy Owl is a sad one.

The reason for this is that the Snowy Owl has a few terrifying predators.

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Offspring
Have you ever wondered about the Snowy Owls babies, how they are born or cared for?

Eggs: Mama owl can lay ten eggs at a time that way some can survuive. The egg normally takes thirty days to hatch.

Once the egg hatches the baby is called an owlet. The owlet is pure white, but after ten days it is almost black.

The poor baby owlets have to leave the nest at three months old. Imagine if you were told you had too leave the house at three months old. That would be sad, wouldn’t it?

Owls are really cool creatures!

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Adaptations

Snowy Owls have special adaptations unique from any other. Not all birds have adaptations as interesting as the snowy owls.

Snowy Owls have white feathers to blend in with snow to hide from predators. Snowy Owls have thick feathers to keep them warm in cold climates. If they did not have their feathers they woud probably freeze to death.

Snowy Owls have three adaptations for hunting.1. They have sharp talons to attack prey.1. They have very good eyes to help them see when hunting.3. Like sight, they have very good ears for hunting.

They have a special bendy neck that allows them to tun their head all the way around to watch out for predators.

Snowy Owls are really amazing creatures!

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Cool Facts

Cool facts of a Snowy Owl is definetly the section for you to read! Did you know Snowy Owls can turn their head all the way around? Can you believe that????!!!

Owls have sharp talons used in hunting to attack their prey.

Owls are marvelous hunters. They were practically made for it!

The last cool fact is a sad one, it is that the first egg to hatch gets the most attention and food so the last one normally dies in starvation.

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References

http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/kids/animal-facts/snowy_owl.asp

http://www.aitc.sk.ca/saskschools/arctic/snowyowl.html

Kidman Cox, Rosamund and Cork, Barbara. Usborne First Nature Birds. Tulsa: EDC Publishing, 1990.

Canadian Wildlife Service. Snowy Owl. Ottawa: Authority Of The Minister Of The Enviroment, 1974.

Mason, Adrienne. Owls. Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2004.

Holmes, Kevin J. Owls. Mankato: Capstone Press, 1998.

Swanson, Diane. Owls. Vancouver: Whitecap books, 1997

Fire Near Kaleva Road

This weekend a fire was reported in the woods on Kaleva Road, around Second Point Beach. The fire department put it out.

My dad found another spot smoldering tonight, not far from the last one. My dad and I went to check it (it is June 10’th 2012 8:10). My dad is a volunteer firefighter in Sointula.

We believe the cause of this fire was that somebody went out for a weenie roast on the beach and forgot to put out their fire!

To put out the fire tonight we used fifty pound water bags and a shovel to turn over the forest floor.

When we went to check it, it was not smoking too bad, but it was still hot. Daddy said it could have been smoldering for weeks.

My advice is that people should remember to put out their fires before they leave the beach to help prevent forest fires. One little ember can become a big fire!

Pictures of the fire are included in the slideshow below: