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Northern Shoveler - “An odd duck”
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Masked Shrew - “ Amazing Appetites”
The masked shrew (Sorex cinereus) has a total length including the tail of 7-10 cm (2.75” – 4”) and sports a conspicuously long, tapering snout, with small eyes and ears. This mammal has excellent hearing as well as a very sharp sense of smell. The shrew spends all its time hunting and feeding, day and night, with little time for rest. Their bodies burn so many calories that a shrew must eat its weight and more in food everyday just to survive. Zoologists (people that study animals) have recorded shrew heart rates of 1200 beats per minute! The masked shrew's diet in Irving Nature Park depends where it lives within the park's boundaries. Shrews living near the beaches feed heavily on the flies and beach fleas that gather on seaweed washed up on the upper beach. More “inland” shrews depend on insect larvae such as sawfly, beetles, ants, grasshoppers and spiders. Shrews are active hunters every day all year long. Likely you haven't seen a masked shrew because they are so secretive and easily frightened. With some “on the knees” sleuthing, you may be able to find their burrow. On the Frog Trail look for an opening the size of a dime (1.8 cm) in moss, under a log or near the stream bank. Masked shrews are most often found in these moist areas. |
In the upper reaches of the salt marsh you may observe a strange looking visitor in the early spring. Migrating Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata) stop to rest and feed on their way to their breeding grounds further inland in the freshwater marshlands of the St. John River valley. The male drake has striking plumage, with an iridescent green head and reddish sides, but it is the bird's unusual bill that makes most people take a second look. These ducks have a large shovel-like beak which is lined with comb-like projections called “lamellae” that create a sieve. When shovelers are feeding they will often swim in tight circles in shallow areas, churning up the water. The spinning water carries the food shovelers enjoy such as pondweed, algae, sedge seed and aquatic insects. The bird sucks in the water at its bill tip and then spits it out at the base of the bill. The food is caught in the lamellae sieve. Shovelers also dabble (upend themselves underwater) to capture food. 
Teenage boys' moms who are having trouble keeping the fridge stocked, take note —there are smaller mammals with larger appetites!  |
The Naturalist's Notebook is a regular publication. If you have any questions or topics that you would like to see addressed, please call John Gilbert, Manager, Fish and Wildlife, J.D. Irving, Limited, (506) 632-7777 or email honeyman.kelly@jdirving.com |