Shrews are regular visitors to my clay cavern and I am capturing some pretty unique footage of these rather misunderstood of insectivores. I have had both common and pygmy shrews in here, although it is the common shrew I see most often. I make up my own mix for clay cavern and it includes dried meal worms for these insectivorous mammals. I sometimes include live meal worms. They will also eat the insect suet pellets.
Common shrews are rarely seen as they spend most of their time deep in undergrowth or under ground, yet they are one of the most Britain’s most abundant mammals. Active by day and night, they have such a high metabolic rate, that they have to consume nearly their own body weight in food every day.
I have recently managed to record audio in clay cavern, along with the video and for the first time, I have been able to hear the shrews as well as see them. I have been completely fascinated by the constant ‘twittering’ they make… reminiscent of a goldfinch, I think! They seem to be emitting this noise nearly all the time, with its volume increasing when other animals are present in the cavern. Last night, I recorded quite a lot of footage and chose a couple of clips to upload. If you turn up the volume, you can hear the quiet twittering this shrew is making and then the much louder squeak when it attacks the bank vole who is also making the most of the food on offer.
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