Owl pellets are the indigestible material that owls and other raptors will cough up after digesting their prey. Dissection of the pellets reveals the number and species of prey items consumed (skulls/bones remain intact in the pellets) and gives insights into the distribution and availability of food, as well as dietary choices when prey is plentiful. Marden Wildlife provided the barn owl pellets and our prospective Sixth Form students collated the data from their dissections which we then sent back to them. Voles were the main prey items, but some of the birds also fed on shrews.  

The pellets were from birds from two owl boxes a kilometre apart but likely to be feeding from the same farmland. Effective grassland management has clearly encouraged a healthy vole population as the four owlets were all of good size. (Images below courtesy of Ray Morris/Ashley Walker/Marden Wildlife; July 2025). The owlets have been ringed and their progress will be tracked as they mature into adult birds.  

By providing data from pellet analysis we are supporting the Marden Wildlife group in their efforts to promote wildlife on Kent farms across the Low Weald!

If you are interested in contributing to this project then please contact Mr Barker.