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| Short Tailed Shrew |
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| Deer Mouse |
After an inspiring documentary video about Jens Jensen, famous Chicago landscape artist, I tried to take a stroll around the Arboretum trails. Snow whipped through the trees and the wind made it hard to see much, but once again, house sparrows seemed to be unphased. On trails heading back through the Curtis Prairie, I saw a tiny foot poking out of the snow, which belonged to the short-tailed shrew (
Blarina brevicauda) above. This "smammal" has a long nose, slate gray fur, and a tail that's maybe an inch long. A few steps further along, I noticed another dark spot under the fresh snow and it was this deer mouse (
Peromyscus maniculatus), identifiable by it's large ears, large eyes, deer-colored fur, and 7-8 inch length, tail included. Examining animal bodies allows good practice in identification. In various books, I've read that up to 50% of all newborn mammals (and birds) do not survive their first year of life. Winter has a strong say in this, for sure.
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