The Mammal Society National Owl Pellet Survey started in January 1993 and is still continuing. 

The survey, which is organised by Alasdair Love, analyses batches of owl pellets from throughout the UK.

Why survey owl pellets?

Owls are highly efficient birds of prey, and for the barn owl in particular, small mammals provide a large part of their diet. The owl can digest the soft tissues of the prey but not the bones, teeth, claws or fur. These indigestible remains are formed into pellets and ejected through the beak. Pellets form a valuable source of information about the diets of owls and, indirectly, about changes in small mammal populations.

How you can help

The success of this survey depends on volunteers collecting and sending pellets to the Survey Organiser for analysis. In order to enable us to look at seasonal variations in small mammal prey and also any variations between geographical locations and types of habitat, it is best if pellets are collected monthly. This may not always be possible, however, and longer periods between collection are still valuable and the pellets gratefully received. Samples should be as large as possible. The contributor will receive a report on each batch sent, giving details of the contents of the batch and brief comments on the results. To date this has been a well supported survey, but we do need batches of pellets from more locations particularly from Scotland, Wales and South West and Northern England.

Reports

Alasdair has produced a comprehensive report on the results from 1993 to 2005. Click here to view it.

An update on the previous report with results up to August 2009 is now available to view here.

Contact

If you can provide pellets or analyses of your own data, then please contact:

R. Alasdair Love,

4 Laurel Way,

Totteridge, London N20 8HP.

E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it