The Framing of the Shrew

I've had the title of this blog drafted out since I first spotted a shrew under the bird feeders at work. It was definitely something I decided to get a picture of but I've struggled. Like the voles I spotted them in the retaining wall but unlike the voles the only shots I've got have been blurred or blank. The first thing you might spot is their quite long nose sniffing the air before shooting out to grab any food and then disappear. Quite simply they are the fastest thing I think I've seen! The picture below is one of 4 I took in rapid succession at 1/160 sec and is the only frame on which it appears, on the second of the four there is a smudge of grey and the others are blank. Its definitely got me wanting to improve on this picture!

There are three types of shrew in the UK and this is the Common Shrew. they live in woodland are are constantly foraging for food. They have to eat their body weight of food each day and are susceptible to dying of starvation if they don't. They are a favourite food of owls and kestrels but are not really taken for food by other predators as they have a scent gland which makes them unpalatable to most animals.