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Rivertalk by Sandy Long

TRR photo by Sandy Long
An intact pellet. (Click for larger version)

Owl pellets

Hiking in Pike County, PA recently, I came upon the artifacts depicted here, clustered under the base of a dead tree overlooking a marshy wetland and stream. Closer inspection revealed the small masses to contain intact sections of bone, teeth, feathers and animal hair. Most likely, these pellets point to the presence of an owl and its favorite dining perch.

Pellets are produced and regurgitated by owls, hawks, eagles and other raptors that swallow their prey whole or in large pieces. They may also contain feathers, scales and insect skeletons.

Master tracker Paul Rezendes, in “Tracking and the Art of Seeing,” explains that bird pellets are important examples of bird sign: “There is nothing more fascinating than taking an owl pellet apart and examining its contents. People become spellbound when they first witness an owl pellet being dissected.”

Rezendes notes that hawk and owl pellets can usually be differentiated by their contents. Hawks have stronger digestive juices and usually digest all the small bones they consume. Owls, whose digestive juices are less acidic than other birds of prey, cast pellets that contain many small delicate bones and intact skulls from small animals such as voles, mice or moles.

Pellets are also natural ecosystems that provide shelter and nourishment for moths, beetles and fungi.

TRR photo by Sandy Long
A dissected pellet reveals pieces of bone, including a section of jawbone and teeth. (Click for larger version)

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Columns

May 7, 2009
Back to the Garden by Will Conway: Merry moon garden
April 30, 2009
Rivertalk by Sandy Long: Owl pellets
April 23, 2009
Rivertalk by Scott Rando: Spring is here - and so are the eaglets
April 16, 2009
The Complete Tangler by Clem Fullerton: You sing trout, I sing sand bass
April 16, 2009
Rivertalk by Sandy Long: Swiping: unique bird behavior
April 9, 2009
The Complete Tangler by Clem Fullerton: Opening day and Delaware flows
April 9, 2009
Rivertalk by Scott Rando: Walking on the wild side
April 2, 2009
Rivertalk by Tina Spangler: On the lookout for Sharpies
April 2, 2009
Back to the Garden by Will Conway: Hare moon garden
March 26, 2009
Rivertalk by Scott Rando: Harbingers of spring
March 19, 2009
Rivertalk by Sandy Long: Beavers, burls and more
March 12, 2009
The Complete Tangler by Clem Fullerton: Reading, writing and tying
March 12, 2009
Rivertalk by Scott Rando: In like a lion, out like a lamb
March 5, 2009
Rivertalk by Sandy Long: Ice is (still) nice
March 5, 2009
Back to the Garden by Will Conway: Wind moon garden
 
News & columns provided by The River Reporter