Lyme Disease Sign
Here is a terrific educational notice that I enjoyed seeing on the wall during a recent veterinarian visit with my dog. Using artwork created by children to help teach the public educates both the visitors and the children who are creating it. We use the same outreach techniques in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds with signs drawn by hundreds of school children which we then laminate and post on beaches and offshore islands to let beachgoers and boaters know there are endangered birds nesting in the area. We certainly see less damage to them than other more generic, bland and...
Read MoreLyme Disease
I have Lyme disease. Thankfully most people have now heard of Lyme disease, but for those who have not, Lyme borreliosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria of the Borrelia type and transmitted to humans (or pets!) by a black-legged/deer tick bite and subsequent feeding by the parasite. It typically takes 24 or maybe 36-48 hours of feeding for the disease to be transmitted if the tick is a carrier, though this is not a guarantee either direction. Lyme disease can cause flu-like symptoms nearly immediately, and if untreated they can be followed by severe headaches, joint and muscle...
Read MoreDeer Overbrowsing
I may not be an expert on vegetation, especially ornamental, but something seems…not right…here. You have probably seen similar sights in the last couple of months now that the ice and snow have fully cleared as White-tailed Deer did a number on anything they could eat in the Northeast. Everything just above their head is bright and green, and parts below are bare and brown. Our overpopulation of deer wipes the forest floors clean to the point where they must pick at what we could call scraps like these in our neighborhoods. Some people may object to wolves in their backyards,...
Read MoreAntler Asymmetry
White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are a common sight throughout the Chautauqua-Allegheny region. These large mammals are often seen within the forests, fields and backyards that make up the area and all look relatively similar, having a brown and white body, big black eyes, black snouts and that characteristic white tail. This widespread ungulate often goes overlooked due to our familiarity with its presence and its rather ordinary look throughout most of the year. However, as autumn approaches, deer become much more interesting to some as males adorned with their large, bony...
Read MoreCool mornings, warm bodies
Here’s an adult female deer tick that I photographed yesterday on this ruler (inches). They are actually rather large compared to young ticks, or nymphs. I pulled another one off my dog this morning. If you live near or frequent an area or habitat prone to ticks be aware that at this time of year the cool autumn mornings can lead these parasites to find any warm body they can, leaping on to mammals quickly. Thankfully you should be able to spot them if you check carefully.
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