The Signs they Leave Behind

Often when out and about, it is very easy to be fixated by the wildlife around and above you. We can get caught up in following birds through the trees and trying to get our next half-glimpse of what is in that bush 20 metres away. However, a just as interesting part of observing wildlife is studying them through what they leave behind. Simply by looking down, we can find all kinds of sticky (and often smelly) evidence of animals passing by.

If there's been some rain of late, and the ground is particularly muddy, you have a good chance of seeing some animal tracks. Most common of these are the cloven hooves of deer, of which the general shape is consistent for all species, and so are distinguished by the size and spacing between prints.

Whilst other mammal's footprints can be much harder to pick out (especially if dog-walkers frequent the area), there are still some tell-tale signs to detect their presence. Mole-hills are the obvious example of this, and are all most of us will ever see of moles. Other signs can include scratches in the mud caused by rabbits, or if the mud is properly churned up, perhaps a badger digging.

Buzzard pellets, in pieces and a whole

I'm sure birds do leave prints (albeit very small ones) in the mud, however, trying to identify most of them is probably a waste of time. Fortunately, birds can leave behind an alternative form of evidence, pellets. Pellets are the regurgitated remains of the bird's recent meals, normally the bones and fur which they can't digest. It is typically only birds of prey that leave these behind, however, Herons and Gulls can also produce them. That still leaves a lot of possible owners for any pellets you might find. Fortunately, pellets can be identified from a combination of their size and the arrangement of animal remains which they contain.

This week we were fortunate enough to find numerous pellets in our local woods, of which we brought 4 back for closer study. Firstly the pellets were photographed and measured, as the size and shape are important factors in distinguishing between possible owners. The pellets varied in size, with the largest being 72 by 26mm. In our area the main culprits are likely to be Barn Owls, Tawny Owls and Buzzards, who have maximum sizes of 70 by 40mm, 50 by 25mm and 60 by 30mm respectively. Their lengths are just guidelines and can vary depending on the individual bird and the food its been eating. Next, they were placed in a little bit of water and teased apart using whatever implements we had close to hand. Whilst not all bones are easily identifiable, the presence of fur and lack of bones in some was a very helpful clue. This made the majority of our pellets belong to a buzzard, as they are very picky eaters. When devouring a kill they will rip it into small pieces, and then eat only the choicest morsels, so minimizing the number of bones they eat. One pellet, however, belonged to a barn owl, determined by its darker colour and very round ends. This was very nice to find, as in those woods I have not seen a Barn Owl yet, but its encouraging to know they are about.

A Badger latrine and it's been revisited

Our sticky find didn't end there, however, as elsewhere we were lucky enough to stumble upon some badger latrines. Rather than just excreting wherever they feel like, badgers will dig small holes for their poo as a form of marking their territory. Our spot had 2 latrines dugout, with some fresh poo in one, a good sign of a local badger scoping out the area. Along with some possible scratch marks nearby, this was an encouraging sign that we have at least one local badger. This would be a very exciting find since we have not seen one in our area before, and I'm still itching to see my first badger in the wild.

Its exciting to know that all these animals could be in our local area, and even though we haven't seen them, the evidence would certainly suggest they're around. Of course, picking up regurgitated food might not be everyone's idea of fun, but definitely keep your eyes out for pellets and tracks, since they could possibly lead to species you weren't expecting to see.

[All photographs were taken by and belong to Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]