Nature Moncton Nature News: Aug 11 2020

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, Aug 11, 2020 (TUESDAY)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

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Info Line #: 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

**On Monday, Kathy Popma contacted Louise Nichols to tell me that she had been called by a friend of hers who lives on Silver Lake and who had some strange birds in the yard. Kathy went to find they were two juvenile Little Blue Herons. Last evening, the birds had disappeared from that yard, but Louise went over to Sackville to see if she could relocate them. She tried the Tantramar Wetlands (behind the high school) and was rewarded with THREE juvenile Little Blue Herons AND two Great Egrets. It was quite the show!

The herons were obviously feeding there. One of her photos shows one with a sizable fish. I also saw one with a large frog.

All birds have been reported still present there Tuesday morning.

**Judith Dewar had a Northern Flicker drop by her Fredericton yard on Monday morning, then looked around to see what she thought at first was a Downy or Hairy woodpecker, but was neither. It was a juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker which was the first for Judith and she got some great photos.

**Kim Wilmot in Albert Mines had a bat, suspecting a Little Brown Bat, in their home on Sunday evening. They were able to secure it quickly and relocated outside. Kim comments it has been years since she has seen a bat about. The White Nose Syndrome fungus has very nearly decimated the cave dwelling bats in New Brunswick.

**Sterling Marsh had what appears to be a Black-capped Chickadee with an identity problem visit his yard on Monday with other to chickadees. It has a white dorsal head stripe and white beak, quite different from the normally plumaged Black-capped Chickadee. It would appear to be a genetic variant of some type but Mother Nature only knows the real story and she’s not about to explain!

**There is an abundance of fledged Red-winged Blackbirds about at the moment. Aldo Dorio photographed one at Hay Island on Monday morning that was probably a fledgling however the juveniles are now starting to closely resemble females as the juvenile thickened gape line at the commissure of the jaw may have subsided.

**Annette and Brian Stone went to Johnson’s Mills Monday afternoon and checked out the action. They didn't go to the viewing center due to many cars there so probably lots of people, but we went further down the road to the open beach area. At 3 1/2 hours before high tide there were lots of sandpipers present there but they were pretty far out. At 3 hours before high tide they started moving in a bit and became more visible. At 2 and 1/2 hours before high tide, they came in closer and were even better. 15 minutes later they all took off and never came back. They left when the tide was in to the edge of the barrier rocks. So it seems a bit earlier before high tide than usually suggested may be better, unless they just got an odd day for it.

**Brian Stone sat outside Monday night from 11:30 pm until about 2:00 am looking for Perseid meteors in case the peak tonight is clouded over. I only saw 4 Perseids and 2 sporadic meteors during that time. Viewing that early in the evening is not optimal. Three ( 2 of the Perseids and 1 of the sporadics) were very bright and impressive.

**Deane Ross Craig Wight has been having wasps around their backyard despite use of the fake hornets nests. She got a photo of one which is the Bald-faced Hornet (actually a wasp). This species build the pendulum basketball size nests we see at this time of year and can be quite aggressive to humans. I have found the fake nests sold have limited value in deterring the live wasps but may be of some help.

**Some interesting return comments resulted from the porta potty commentary of the few days ago. One may want to check out the link below if a more sophisticated version is to be considered. Sure looks like it make it easy to go!

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B001TKGAKO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

**Like many things with climate change, we are going to have to learn to coexist with ticks. Jim Wilson shares some recent experiences he and his family have had. Jim’s comments are very significant and them quoting a response to a recent tick report on this BlogSpot.

Quoting Jim:

Regarding Black-legged Tick spread in southern NB, in May of 2014 I had an attached Black-legged Tick while birding on Grand Manan that eventually tested positive for Lyme. That one was from the area on Whistle Road considered home to an endemic population. I was prescribed a low dose of antibiotics as a precaution and had no ill effects from the bite.

Here at home at 2 Neck Road in Quispamsis we have never had any Black-legged Ticks or any other species - until this spring. We have always been quite vigilant and several years ago Jim Edsall and I dragged a white flannel blanket around our and our neighbour's properties and did not detect any ticks of any species.

However in late May of this year Jean was gardening and later found a Black-legged Tick on her (unattached). We then dragged a white blanket and picked up another. Both were sent off through our local medical clinic to Winnipeg for testing. Then on June 21st Jean discovered another Black-legged Tick attached to her leg, but not engorged. We removed that one, got medical advice and had it sent off for testing.

Last week we received the test reports for the first two, discovered in May. BOTH tested Lyme-positive. We are still awaiting the results of tests on the June tick.

So we're assuming the Saint John (Millidgeville) endemic Black-legged Tick population has now spread up the Kennebecasis River Valley as far as Quispamsis and perhaps beyond. We all need to educate ourselves about tick life cycles, take precautions when outside and be vigilant and checking for ticks on our bodies at the end of each day. Unless a Black-legged Tick has been attached for 24-36 hours the likelihood of Lyme transmission is relatively low but not zero.

Climate change advances......

Jim

Another suggestion in addition to those made yesterday is to tape duct tape between the top of your socks and pant leg. It may not look stylish but works to detect ticks before they get to your skin.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton