As reported earlier today, I collected 8 Snowy Owl stomach pellets
today bringing my total to 36. Much to my surprise, half of the
pellets contained rat bones, suggesting that even with the easy
phalarope pickings, some of the birds are still catching rats.

I also received a photo of pellet contents from Pat and Ruth Sullivan
collected at Catala Spit, WA. There were several feet among the other
bones, at least two of which are quite probably belonged to a
Sanderling.

Photos and stats at:
http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW_pellets.html

Number of pellets examined = 36
Average length = 7.9 ? 1.9 mm (range = 4.0 to 12.1)
Average width = 3.1 ? 0.4 mm (range = 1.9 to 3.9)

Contents as of 12-31-2005:
Rattus rattus 67.5%
Red Phalarope 25.0%
jay sp. (prob Steller's Jay) 2.5%
unknown rodent (not Rattus) 2.5%
unknown bird 2.5%

Pellets containing rat bones usually had one rat per pellet (only one
so far definitively contained two). Most of the pellets containing
phalarope parts had at least two birds per pellet (one had only one;
one definitively had three). South Jetty owls do some prep of prey
before eating. Phalarope wings and legs are routinely removed, heads
are often removed. I also found one Black Rat head that had obviously
been removed.

--
Mike Patterson
Astoria, OR
celata at pacifier.com

Christmas Bird Count Calendar and FAQ for Oregon and Washington
http://home.pacifier.com/~mpatters/cbc/cbc_WAOR_reg.html