First Update and Compilation of 2/2/23 Data
After collecting a lot of bones and pellets for a few months, I decided to make this project to make it easier to see what the great horned owl at Tamanend Park eats. It consists of bones from the pellets and feathers from dead birds found under its roost.
After creating the project, I decided compile all of the data so far, adjusting for duplicates. So far the owl eat more mammals than birds, and a slightly wider variety.
| Taxa | Count |
|---|---|
| Birds | 4 |
| Northern Short-tailed Shrew | 1 |
| Crows and Ravens | 1 |
| Southern Flying Squirrel | 1 |
| New World Blackbirds and Orioles | 1 |
| Hares and Rabbits | 1 |
| Mammals | 10 |
| Eastern Screech-Owl | 2 |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | 1 |
| Meadow Voles | 2 |
| Perching Birds | 8 |
| North American Deer Mice | 1 |
| Woodpeckers | 1 |
| Placental Mammals | 1 |
| Brown Rat | 1 |
| Rodents | 7 |
| Eastern Gray Squirrel | 2 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | 1 |
| Eastern Cottontail | 7 |
| American Robin | 1 |
| Vertebrates | 15 |
| Taxa | Count |
|---|---|
| Mammals | 34 |
| Birds | 20 |
| UnIDed | 15 |
| Total | 69 |
Overall, the owl only eats birds and mammals, but maybe that will change in the spring and summer, as most of my observations are from late fall and winter.
Observation Highlights:
A surprise observation, and my favorite so far, is this southern flying squirrel skull:
Another interesting observation is this partial skull from an eastern screech owl:
Many thanks to all of the identifiers!
@tfrench @galecyon @karakaxa @lizardking @zitserm @featherenthusiast @kmccartney3521 @mbwildlife @scar2004 @nflicker101
Comments
@brennafarrell That's amazing, Brenna! A very interesting project and dataset. It takes a lot of patience, determination and of course knowledge to look through the pellets and then to try to ID the prey remains. I've only done that a couple of times. ; )
@zitserm Thanks so much! Ha ha, yeah sometimes I need patience as it can take me over 30 minutes to go through the pellet and clean the bones (especially the tiny ones)! I'm still learning how to ID the bones, though.
@brennafarrell The bones are very tough for me! I'm surprised by the diversity of species you found in the owl pellets. Good to know the owls are having a varied diet.
@zitserm Great horned owls are one of the owl species with a varied diet. Other owls, like the great grey owl, have a less varied diet.
Really cool! I've been looking through a lot of your pellet observations, you've found some really fantastic things. Can't wait to see what the spring and summer brings.
@lizardking Thanks so much and for all of your help! I can't wait to see what it eats in spring and summer too!
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