Snowfall protected tick population from this winter's extreme cold

How extreme flooding in Somerset has created birdlife winners and losers

Wet fields drive away rodents, leaving barn owls without much prey, but gulls of all kinds are attracted by the waterThe Somerset Levels flood regularly – but this year, after very heavy winter rains, the fields and moors are overflowing with water. So what effect does this have on wintering birds?Like most extreme weather events, there are winners and losers. Huge flocks of gulls are gathering in the flooded fields to feed, with scarcer Mediter…

Snowfall protected tick population from this winter's extreme cold

After a stretch of snowfall and extremely cold temperatures, you may be wondering if this year’s tick populations will be impacted. “[Ticks] usually thrive under warm temperatures and high humidity,” said Dr. Goudarz Molaei, a medical entomologist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven. We’ve seen anything but warm temperatures so far this winter. The moisture content, however,...