Hello all,

While checking on the Fall ingress of "my" rattlesnakes
near Quincy, I found what is apparently a well used
nesting/roosting site for owls. The cliff face is splattered
with copious amounts of whitewash, and at the base of the
cliff, there are literally hundreds of owl pellets. There was
also what appeared to be a dead baby long-eared owl
amidst the talus and pellets.

My questions:

1) Is there anyway to tell how recently this site has been
used by the owls?

2) Is handling the pellets advisable? Sutton and Sutton
(1994) say that pellets are perfectly safe to handle, but
Long (1998) says they should only be handled with gloves
and a dust mask due to the risk of hantavirus, etc.

I handled a number of them at the site, broke several apart,
sniffed one, and even ate a Reese's peanut butter cup afterward
without washing my hands!:-) I'm no worse for the wear after
several weeks. Is it really of any concern? I would
really like to go through the pellets to see if the owls are
feeding on snakes and lizards in the area.

Steve Z
Renton, WA