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
**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:
(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.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
