Guide

Look closerBirds

Owl pellets and whitewash: signs of an owl roost

All year

Owls swallow prey whole and cough up the fur and bones as pellets. Under a thick evergreen where an owl has been dozing by day, pellets and white droppings can pile up on the ground.

Why this time of year

Most owls doze through the day in a thick evergreen or a tree cavity and many reuse the same roost tree for several days, so the signs build up where they roost.

How to notice it

  1. Walk slowly under dense evergreens such as pine or hemlock and scan the ground and low branches for white streaks that look like spilled paint (owl droppings called whitewash).
  2. Look for small, compact balls of fur and bone near the whitewash. Look, but do not pick them up.
  3. If crows or other birds are scolding in one spot, glance up from a distance; an owl may be the reason.
  4. If an owl is there, stay a few minutes at most, keep your distance and your voices low, then leave it in peace.

Try this with kids: Can you spot the white streaks and a pellet, and then look up to find the branch the owl sat on?

Word to know: “Whitewash” means owl droppings, which splash white on branches and the ground.

Safety

  • Look but do not touch: pellets can carry bacteria, so do not handle wild pellets bare-handed, and wash hands with soap and water after any contact.
  • Do not disturb a roosting owl: keep your distance, keep quiet, and limit viewing to a few minutes.

Sources

  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon (primary regional): owls eat prey whole and regurgitate fur and bones as pellets; many owls reuse a roost tree for several days, shown by whitewash on branches and ground plus pellets; by day most owls doze in a thick evergreen or tree cavity; Great Horned Owls heard in winter; eight owl species in MA (Great Horned, Barred, Eastern Screech, Saw-whet, Long-eared, Short-eared, Barn, Snowy); songbirds mobbing can lead to an owl; pellet size hints at species.
  • pabirds.orgAudubon Pennsylvania Birdlore (secondary): scan trunks and branches for whitewash, 'a very good indication of a roosting site'; pellets described; screech and barred owls in cavities; keep quiet and view from a distance.
  • arboretum.harvard.eduHarvard Arboretum (Boston-area, institutional): barred owls prefer to roost among mature conifers such as hemlocks; saw-whets roost 6-8 feet up in young conifers by day; keep your distance and limit observation to a few minutes.
  • knowledge.carolina.comCarolina Biological (commercial supplier, weakest source): pellets can be a source of bacterial contamination; its pellets are heat sterilized; wash hands with soap and warm water afterward. Does not address wild pellets.

Checked against these sources on October 13, 2026.

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