Editor & Proofreader

Editor: Nelson Poirier    Proofreader: Louise Nichols

Tuesday, 18 March 2025

March 18 2025

 

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

March 18, 2025 

Nature Moncton members as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond are invited to share their photos and descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition of Nature News

 

 

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor,  nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

 

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com  and proofreader Louise Nichols at Nicholsl@eastlink.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.


For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at 
www.naturemoncton.com.

 

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols

nicholsl@eastlink.ca

 


**Important Update.

Nature Moncton Meeting March 18, 2025.

Due to the predicted weather on Tuesday, the in-person meeting at the Rotary Lodge has been cancelled and we will hold the meeting online with Zoom.  Nelson will  present as scheduled, and we would still like to have the Special General Meeting to change our by-laws regarding membership renewal.  This change will allow renewals to be due on the anniversary of the membership purchase instead of on October 1, which will make it easier for the membership committee and hopefully keep our numbers from fluctuating so much.  Please join us for the online meeting.  The Zoom link is as follows:

 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82387173384?pwd=4hJFOVwBy9ZL8AoueFmud7oevgXBe6.1

Anyone is welcome to join, Nature Moncton member or not

 

**The altered write-up for tonight’s presentation is below

**MARCH MONTHLY MEETING PRESENTATION

“TICK TALK”: TICKS IN NB AND HOW TO LIVE WITH THEM

TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2025, 7:00 PM   

PRESENTER: NELSON POIRIER

 

Ticks have been with us in New Brunswick for a very long time but have not been a human problem. That has changed dramatically in recent years as the one species that is the number one vector of arthropod-carrying disease organisms in the US is very rapidly moving into Canada. This species is the Black-legged Tick, which has become a major health concern in NS and is now expanding its range into NB.

The Black-legged tick is the only species that is a significant vector of several organisms capable of producing very serious disease in humans when they choose humans for their blood meal. This tick is not about to leave us; instead, it’s becoming very much more abundant. It is crucially important to learn how to live with this tick, and that means learning how to distinguish it from other nonproblem ticks, what to do if we experience a tick bite, and how to prevent that from happening in the first place.

With the increased presence of the Black-legged Tick, some very useful techniques have been developed to identify the tick in addition to reliable tests to know if a tick is carrying a disease organism and if so, what treatments are best to prevent disease from advancing in the human host.  

Nelson Poirier will give a presentation to bring naturalists up to speed on this subject and will have preserved specimens and removal instruments to demonstrate.

This presentation will be given via Zoom, and folks can join virtually at the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82387173384?pwd=4hJFOVwBy9ZL8AoueFmud7oevgXBe6.1

As always, anyone is welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

 

 

 

**On Thursday, Brian Coyle hiked out to a trail camera, which is situated at a beaver pond. Beaver ponds are hot spots for bobcats and coyotes. Again, a bobcat performed for the camera. More video link action below:

STC_0003_x264_002.mp4

 

STC_0005_x264_004.mp4

 

(Editor’s note: the bobcat is a common member of the wildlife community that we seldom see due to its secretive lifestyle. The trail camera is a special method to observe this animal going about its daily mission undisturbed by ‘human eyes’)

 

**Several birders monitored the area near Nappan, Nova Scotia on Monday where a Ross’s goose (possible hybrid) had been located a few days earlier in the company of Canada geese. It was reported as seen earlier in the day, but some Nature Moncton members trying to locate it later in the day were not successful.

A few consolation prizes were noted. A lone distant red-tailed hawk was observed.

The fall tailings (molehills) of the star-nosed mole were observed. These would have been made last fall as the star-nosed mole bulldozed its way to spend the winter in the ground under the frost level.

 

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

 Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton


STAR-NOSED MOLE TAILINGS. MARCH 17, 2025. NELSON POIRIER


RED-TAILED HAWK. MARCH 17, 2025. NELSON POIRIER