South Jetty Owl pellet report - 1/11/2006

I saw only two SNOWY OWLS today. The recent weather and extremely
high water have probably changed the hunting and loafing patterns
of the birds. Last week I found only two pellets in the usual spots,
today I could find none. I did, however, find 5 pellets in a new
location on a dune knoll which is routinely used by one of the owls
during especially icky weather.

Live Phalarope counts have dropped from a high of 200 2 weeks ago
to one bird today. This in spite of high winds and 4 inches of rain
over the last 72 hours. I found a headless CASSIN'S AUKLET at a spot
where an owl had been sitting. The head had been very recently
removed, but the carcass was stiff suggesting it had been picked up
dead. Dennis Paulson helped me with a furcula and long bone found
in a pellet last week. Based on comparisons he was able to make,
he thinks it is a small duck, probably a BUFFLEHEAD. There are
certainly plenty of Bufflehead using the shorebird ponds in these
highwater days.

Number of pellets examined = 44
Average length = 8.0 ? 2.0 cm (range = 4.0 to 12.5)
Average width = 3.1 ? 0.4 cm (range = 1.9 to 4.2)
Contents as of 01-11-2006:
Rattus rattus 50.0%
Red Phalarope 42.6%
jay sp. (prob Steller's Jay) 1.9%
unknown rodent (not Rattus) 1.9%
unknown bird 3.7%

I have been receiving all sorts of interesting reports of behaviors
and photographs of pellet contents and behavior (thank you all for
playing). Horned Grebes, Western Grebe and several shorebird species
have all been reported.

For those who missed it, I have reassembled the large bones of
a Red Phalarope for reference purposes:
http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/REPH_skeleton.html

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

SNOWY OWLS on the Lower Columbia - links to current information
on the 2005 irruption event:
http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/SNOW/SNOW20051120.html