Owl Droppings
or the more curtious name ... Owl Pellets

Owls perform a valuable service by helping to keep rodent populations in check. A clue to the presence of a roosting owl are the white splashes and droppings on the base of the tree. A well known characteristic of owls is their habit of regurgitating a pellet after a meal. Opening a pellet is an interesting excercise, and is a good way to determine the idenity of the prey by the bones contained in the pellet. They consisit of undigested fur, feathers, bills, claws, teeth, skulls and bones of the prey animals. In the owl, the pellet forms from 6 to 10 hours after the meal is eaten, and is regurgitated from 10 to 16 hours after the meal. Studies show that this process is necessary to keep the bird healthy.

Hawks, eagles, shorebirds, terns, herons, grebes, gulls, rails, shrikes, warblers, swallows and many other species of birds also form pellets. Pellets studies provide information useful to ecologists and conservationists who try to protect and manage these species.

Resident artist and Dovetail Gallery & Studio owner Kathy Beck is an accomplished egg artist in her own right. A painter, sculptor and poet, Kathy now concentrates on carving intricate, delicate designs into unforgiving real eggshells of many varieties. During a 1992 trip to Egg Harbor, she was astonished to find only one decorated egg on sale in the village. Thus was born the Dovetail Gallery and Studio which now houses an extensive collection of Kathy's egg art and that of more than 100 egg artists from Europe and the U.S.

The Francis Hardy Center for the Arts (FHCA) Common Ground Art Project

The Francis Hardy Center for the Arts (FHCA) Common Ground art project is a collaboration of artists, writers, musicians and scientists focusing on the interplay of natural beauty and environmental issues in the Door Peninsula. This innovative exhibit seeks Common Ground by involving the community and encouraging cooperation among artists, scientists, businesses, and the area’s residents and visitors. The Hardy views this exhibit as a ground breaking way to initiate dialogue encouraging people to draw their own conclusions from the art and scientific information presented. The exhibition is in keeping with the Francis Hardy Center for the Arts larger mission to promote awareness and appreciation of the arts through education and outreach programs, events and exhibits.

This exhibit challenged artists and scientists to participate in a group focus, not just an individual focus, so art could speak with a deeper voice. This artistic/scientific collaboration heralds a new paradigm of action throughout the community. This exhibit brings to reality a vision of using art as the vehicle for communication of important issues.