Back before I became enlightened about the many reasons
to keep house cats indoors at all times – for their own safety as well as that
of the local wildlife – it wasn’t uncommon to awake to one of a variety of small
dead animals on the back deck delivered by one of my cats. It was just about
the only time I ever saw the tiny doorstep creatures, other than the rare
occasion when a mouse would sneak into the garage.
Without
my cats preying on the them, however, I’m noticing them much more often. And
that’s a good thing for the entire ecosystem, especially the local owls, hawks,
foxes and weasels that prey upon them.
Most
people tend to think that all small, mouse-like animals are, indeed, mice. Not true.
Several other relatives – like voles, moles and shrews – are also
common-but-seldom-seen backyard critters. And even though they’re difficult to
observe, in winter there is plenty of evidence that they are around.
White-footed
mice, the most common native mouse species in our area, have large ears,
bulging dark eyes and a tail about as long as their body. Their vague
footprints in the snow and tiny droppings give away their existence at this
time of year. I know there are a couple living in my woodpile, another wedged
between the house foundation and the side garden, and more under the shed. Not
that they actually show their faces very often, but I know they’re there.
Whenever
I want to see one, I just go to one of my birdhouses. Every few weeks in winter,
I open the birdhouses on my property to see what’s inside. They’re almost always occupied by a family of
mice huddled together in the confined space. Often the houses already have the
remnants of a bird’s nest in them that the mice use as insulation. If not, the
resourceful little guys import their own mix of dried grass and shredded leaves
to construct a comfy winter hideaway.
Unlike
mice, voles are virtually nondescript, with tiny eyes, ears hidden by their
fur, and stumpy little tails. And they’re even less likely to be seen. But when
the snow melts, it often reveals the raceways the voles create at the interface
between the ground and snow, where the animals are protected from freezing
temperatures. Like a child’s ant farm,
the labyrinths tell a wonderful story of vole industriousness and
determination.
Of
all the doorstep creatures found in Rhode Island, shrews are my favorites, but
they’re even harder to observe in the wild than mice and voles. These tiny,
dark gray animals have long, pointed, flexible noses and are insectivorous –
they feed entirely on insects. And their metabolism is so fast that if they
don’t eat every couple of hours, they’ll quickly starve. So recent warnings about
the decline of insect populations is a concern for shrews around the world.
The most difficult of
all the small mammals to see – at least in my experience – are moles, those
nearly blind oddities of the subterranean world that feast on grubs and worms
and whose tunnels are the bane of gardeners. I’ve never seen a live one, though even I have
to admit that I’m probably not missing much.
As
much as I’d enjoy becoming more familiar with all these little fellows, I’d
forgo the idea if I could be sure the neighborhood cats would, too.
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