Mystery poo? Pellet? Stuff found under a log by a lake

vole-woman · #1 (**permalink**) 02-08-2009, 08:35 PM

Can anyone ID this for me? It smelt a bit like otter spraint, and it looked as though it had been through something's digestive system. It was on the shores of a Moss in north Shropshire.

I don't think it can be anything to do with otter as it's not an ottery environment (I don't think) plus there seem to be a lot of cherry stones or something mixed in.

Kayleigh · #2 (**permalink**) 02-08-2009, 08:42 PM

I have no idea what it is but I have seen similar where I walk the dog that is on farmland so no otters there either,
I though deer but really not sure..

Garden Carpet · #3 (**permalink**) 02-08-2009, 09:51 PM

Henry says his guess would be Badger. There are beetle carcases in there along with cherry stones

jaki

Badger Watching Man · #4 (**permalink**) 02-08-2009, 10:29 PM

I've seen badger dung after they've gorged on cherries, stones and all, and it does look similar. The badger dung had a lot more 'substance' though. Mind you, perhaps the rest of it - the non-solid parts - could have been washed out.

Do crows eat cherries? Could it be a corvid pellet?

The Woodman · #5 (**permalink**) 03-08-2009, 07:53 AM

Without wishing to cast aspertions on the Badger theory which is entirely plausible, the scat is very similar to those I've seen from Pine Martens in Dromore Wood, Eire. They looked identical with the cherry stones and beetle elytra, also, they were quite close to a lake. I have images of those.

You describe the smell as a bit like an otter spraint. Badger poo is most unpleasant in my opinion but Marten scats have an odour not too unpleasant but characteristic of the species and not unlike otter.

I don't suppose for a minute that you picked it up but if it was possible to collect it, it could be forwarded for DNA identification by the Vincent Wildlife Trust whose HQ is not too far from you.

I hope LizzieVWT has picked up on your thread as she will be interested, you may wish to pass on the location to her.

vole-woman · #6 (**permalink**) 03-08-2009, 08:33 AM

Cor! Well, it didn't smell unpleasant. I could pop back today and try and find it again.

I wondered about corvid, but that's a lot of stones for a bird to pass all at once, surely?

Dogghound · #7 (**permalink**) 03-08-2009, 09:00 AM

Im pretty certain this is a common gull pellet.

The Woodman · #8 (**permalink**) 03-08-2009, 09:28 AM

You say it was under a log, vole woman. Was it covered completely or by the side of the log?

Dogghound · #9 (**permalink**) 03-08-2009, 10:07 AM

Looking at the vegetation its either not been under the log long, or was at the side of a log.

valleyforge · #10 (**permalink**) 03-08-2009, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vole-woman

I wondered about corvid, but that's a lot of stones for a bird to pass all at once, surely?

Corvids wouldn't pass material such as this through their digestive tract, but regurgitate it from the crop in much the same way as raptors, except the pellets tend to be much less consolidated. On the basis of what's been eaten, maybe magpie, jay or jackdaw would be the most likely corvid candidates.

However, I have to say on first viewing and on the basis of you detecting an odour, my first thought was pine marten ... just wasn't sure how likely that might be in Shropshire?