High pitched cries rang from the rafters of the Wareham Free Library on Thursday, July 18, not from the owls themselves but from a group of eager human volunteers, attempting to mimic the barred owl’s distinctive cry.  

Wareham Land Trust volunteer Tom Kinsley led the room through a dissection of owl pellets. 

An owl pellet is the undigested parts of a bird’s food, such as hair or bones, which are regurgitated.

Kinsley said he used to run these programs when he was a science teacher at Rochester Elementary School. “It’s always a big hit with the kids,” he said. 

Brynn Fitzgerald, 10, agreed: “I like the pellets,” she said, carefully picking apart a mass of tangled fur and bones. 

Brynn was a bona-fide owl buff, herself. They’re her favorite bird, and she read about them in Harry Potter and in the Guardians of Ga'hoole series, which she said contains a lot of information about them despite being a fictional series. 

The Fitzgerald family likes to try and “do things like this” when they’re in town for the summer, said her mother, Susan. 

Last year, they were able to attend one with live animals, and recently, they attended a Poop Museum presentation in Marion. 

Brynn and Kinsley shared facts about owls at the start of the presentation. 

They’re able to fly with stealth “because they have special feathers,” Brynn said. “When they flap, they just stay silent.”

Kinsley said that while most people know of the special name for a group of crows — a murder — there’s one as well for owls. 

And what’s a group of owls called? A parliament.