Shrew!

[redbird]

cattitude and I just went for a nice long walk in Inwood Hill Park, which we hadn't done in a while. I decided the knees were probably up for it, and we really wanted to go.

We'd set out looking for black raspberries, and did find some. Very tasty, right off the bush and warm from the summer air. Nicer than the red raspberries I got at the Greenmarket yesterday (and we bought a half-pint of those and ate them in about three minutes as we looked at other stands, then went and bought more to bring home). The odd bit is that we found a couple of ripe blackberries first; it's way early for blackberries here, but the whole spring has been like that, no surprise that summer is following the same path.

We also saw a thrush on the way up, and heard a pileated woodpecker and a flicker, along with the more usual birds (blue jays, grackles, lots of robins).

On our way back, Cattitude spotted a tiny movement under some leaves. A shrew, probably a northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda), but other possibilities include the southern short-tailed shrew and the least shrew. One small, very dark mammal (it looked black, but might have been a dark gray), with a short tail.

Whichever species it is, I think this is the first shrew I've seen in the wild. It seemed remarkably unconcerned about our prsence: just kept foraging in the leaf litter as we stood there, and moved a little to get out of the sunlight and slightly closer to it. It didn't even react to the woman walking past with a dog (leashed) and a child.

I may have pushed things a little, physically: the knees are better than they were, but I'm out of practice with hills and such. But it was well worth it, for the berries, the shrew, and the time in the woods together.