Many owls cannot digest the fur and bones of the small mammals which they eat. They swallow their prey whole, absorb all the nutrients from the flesh and then, about 6 hours later, cough up a few lumps containing everything which is no use to them. These lumps are called pellets.
We can dissect these pellets, acting as a detective, to find out what they have been eating. Susanna has created a step by step guide to do this below. When you have dissected your pellets and identified the mammals inside don’t forget to log your results on our free Mammal Mapper app!
You can source owl pellets by contacting your local mammal group or visiting the Barn Owl Trust’s online shop. Please note – You should not collect pellets yourself from wild Barn Owl sites in the breeding season, as Barn Owls are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is illegal to disturb a Barn Owl breeding site during the breeding season, without a licence from the relevant county agency.
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