Owls and birds regurgitate the undigestible fur and bone of their prey into neat pellets, and through pellet dissections, we can tell exactly what has been eaten – which could include a GWT shrew! We need your help to analyse owl pellets to help us along in our search for the GWT shrew! Using barn owl pellets for this is preferable, as their stomach acid is weaker than other birds their prey’s remains are not broken down as much, making it much more easily identified.
You don’t need any experience to get started, and your dissections can easily be turned into a fun and engaging activity for children. Below you will find some more information on how you can get involved.
If you need some barn owl pellets to dissect:
Fill in the below form to put your name on our waiting list, and we will send you some pellets alongside our volunteer analysis pack which includes everything you need to know before you start. Make sure to have a look at the information and resources below!
If you already have some barn owl pellets, you can either:
Dissect them yourself
Have a look at our owl pellet dissection volunteer pack for information on how to dissect owl pellets, you can find the information and resources below. Once you have some findings noted down you can send them in to science@themammalsociety.org.
Send them to us
Pellets are usually collected in carrier bags. If the pellets are dry, put a label in that clearly states the date the pellets were collected, the place they were collected from (address, postcode, OS grid reference, or what3words), your name & email address or phone number. We don’t need know the exact location of the Barn Owl site, although we may contact you to find out if we detect Greater White-toothed Shrew in your sample! Then simply tie a knot to seal the bag and post within 2 days. If they are wet, or you intend to keep the pellets longer than 2 days please spread them out on newspaper or cardboard. Once completely dry, put them in a knotted carrier or zip bag and keep in a freezer until you are ready to post them to: Freepost – MAMMALSOC
Before you go out with the intention to collect owl pellets, please refer to our guidelines to ensure you do so in a way that is safe for you and for wildlife.