Wingspan Forensic Conservation

Two of our coordinators, Rachel and Heidi, recently attended courses at Wingspan Birds of Prey Trust to learn about our amazing native predatory birds, and to get a certificate in Forensic Conservation for learning how to dissect pellets, regurgitated bones/fur from snowy barn owls. The snowy barn owl is now classified as a native bird in NZ, as they arrived here without human intervention and have been breeding here since 2008. Dissecting these pellets is important forensic conservation work, as it is one way to see what the owls are eating and to get an idea of the impact that they are having on our endemic species.

It was a really interesting experience and something that they were keen to quickly share with the student leaders.

The senior student leadership team got to have a go at dissecting some owl pellets at their next meeting. The leaders absolutely loved it, with one exclaiming, “I didn’t even know that forensic conservation was a thing! This is what I want to do for a career!”

Thank you Wingspan Birds of Prey Trust for inspiring us, teaching our coordinators these skills to pass on to our students, and giving us the owl pellets. Our students loved learning about these special birds.