We Need to Talk About Ticks

 As the climate warms up (it is 31C as I write on May 31), various critters are moving north and some of them are distinctly undesirable.

In my long-ago and far-distant youth, we didn't have earthworms at Lake Anne! (True fact. It was just too cold for them.) And we didn't have ticks. Now we have both.

The problem with ticks, other than that they bite and suck blood and aren't cute, is the collection of tick-borne diseases they bring with them.

The species of greatest concern in terms of human health is the black-legged or deer tick, Ixodides scapularis, which can transmit the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi. These ticks like humid, cool weather and begin their activity as soon as the snow is gone.

A second species is massed at the U.S.-Canada border, ready to invade. This is the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum. This little fellow is an 'aggressive biter' and brings with it a new set of pathogens. It has been reported over the past couple of years in both Ontario and Quebec.

Quebec Public Health recommends the following to avoid tick bites;

• wear long sleeves and trousers

• use a DEET- or icaridin-based insect repellent, such as these:

• walk along trails, not through the brush
• maintain yards and cut long grass, especially in areas where children play
• check for ticks when you return home; removing a black-legged tick within 24 hours significantly reduces the risk of contracting Lyme disease

If you see a tick, you are advised to take a picture and send it to the eTick website, established by Bishop's University Professor Jade Savage. Someone will contact you and advise you of what, if any action to take.

Montreal public health has issued a prescription for pharmacists to offer post-exposure prophylaxis to anyone bitten by a tick. Rapid post-exposure antibiotic treatment can stall Lyme disease in its tracks.

I don't know all this through osmosis, so I would like to acknowledge the source, from which I drew liberally, or plagiarized, if you will:

https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/an-aggressive-biter-there-s-a-new-tick-to-worry-about-in-quebec-and-ontario-1.6377541

Bob's For the Birds -- May

 Sent by Bob on May 20: 

• Hummingbirds finally showed up, two weeks later than normal.
• Beaver on the lake, several times.
• Yellow shafted flickers. First time around our cottage.
• Two pairs of mallards nesting nearby. One in Derek's Bay, one at Sally's.
• Black and white warblers moving along the shoreline several times in the last two weeks.
• Evening grosbeaks moving along the shoreline. First appearance in more than 10 years.
• Healthy (big) mink moving along the shoreline. First sighting since last May.
• At least three loons on the lake.
• A pair of smaller ducks off Green Mountain, maybe a pair of grebes. Too far to tell. Scared by a loon surfacing within two yards of them!
• Lots of pileated woodpecker activity.
• And, lastly, the usual golden eagles everywhere (this one's for Stephanie!)

*****

On the other side of the lake, April and May:

• Evening grosbeaks at our seed feeder during the winter.
• Lots of geese flying over, starting about April 10.
• Loon first heard on April 26; photo by Andrew Martin-Hugessen, April 30.

• Ice out April 28/29.
• Just before the ice went, WW looked out and said, "There's an eagle on the lake." Indeed there was, an golden eagle together with a small bird. WW thought maybe an eaglet but that would be a rush for a pair of eagles to build a nest, lay eggs, hatch and fledge the young all before the end of April. As we watched, the little bird flew away, while the eagle continued to stand there. My wild guess--the melting ice on the lake messed with the eagle's depth perception, crashed after catching the smaller bird, then sat there stunned. Later, it flew off. A day or so later, I was  headed in to St. Sauveur when a golden eagle flew over me and landed beside (presumably) his or her mate. Very distracting, but I stayed on the road!
• After the ice went, there were four or five geese-intensive days which meant early wake-up calls for those in their vicinity (us). They start discussing travel plans at about 4:30 a.m. Fortunately, they don't stay all summer.
• First thunderstorm of the year, May 2, produced a lovely rainbow...also first of the year.

• Male hummingbirds arrived May 11, females about a week later.