Northern short-tailed shrews live in moist leaf litter and dense ground cover across New York forests, including the Adirondacks, Letchworth’s ravines, and the Catskills. They are seldom seen alive; a rustle under leaves, a brief trail crossing, or remains left by an owl are more typical detections.
They remain active year-round, but records peak from July through October. That late-season rise reflects detectability near the surface as well as activity, not a period when shrews are absent from the soil and litter elsewhere in the year.
