Ticks in the snow? (And a buck)

[GoOutside]

Hey guys i was recently hunting in reg 3 near the Fraser. I was hunting an old burn I hiked up for an afternoon hunt and when i got back to my camp(i sleep in my car) i was sitting* with the heat on for a few minutes and i noticed a tiny tick crawling on my arm. I've never had a tick before,and it was so small i wondered if it was some sort of mite. Then i looked at my pants. I had at least a dozen+ all over my pants. About 1mm long and redish brown. Where i was camping there was a stream* that was basically frozen over and about 6 inches of light fluffy snow it was -4 degrees. I went up the next day it snowed another few inches and looked at some of the tops of grass and found a few with literally clups of 10-20 these tiny ticks, some covered in frost. Is this normal for Nov? I've hunted a ton every nov for 6 years and have never even seen a tick on me. This was a new zone. Are some zones just worse or are some years just worse. If i go back next nov am i likely to have the same experience? Oh and on day 2 i shot a decent 4pt. Ill try and post a picture down below. When i get home.
Cheer guys and good luck!

[caddisguy]

Do you happen to have a picture of them?

I have picked up ticks in the snow in March, but not this time of year (not saying it doesn't happen though)

[boxhitch]

Winter Ticks, or moose/deer/elk ticks

Reported to kill more moose than wolves do, in some years

[GoOutside]

https://postimg.cc/mtLVkjZq

[GoOutside]

On the end of the grass there is a small red mass. Thats a ball of poppy seed sized ticks. Theres also a few that i knocked off onto the top of my bino harness (that beige fabric).

upload img

[caddisguy]

Hmm that is interesting. I can't see much at least from my phone, but I imagine it is tough to photograph a ball of poppy seed size critters in any focus or detail.

I am not very familiar with tick eggs or larva, or what time of year that could even happen to say that is what it is.

I have been bitten by several dozen of those things and busted 10x more crawling on me, but never had anything like that. The smallest I had (nymph stage I believe) was larger than a poppy seed, maybe half the size of a sesame seed.

I guess I am just good at attracting them but don't know all that much about them.

Funny enough I looked up "winter ticks" after seeing boxhitch's post and pretty sure I've picked those up. I always thought they were female dog ticks. Never been bit by one though... they seem clumsy and not eager to bite. It's the deer ticks that love me the most.

[caddisguy]

Looking forward to the deer pics / story

[boxhitch]

Just a w.a.g. without a better pic, but likely the larval stage of one or another

cwhc-rcsf.ca/wildlife_health_topics/winter_tick/wintertick.php

[Redthies]

Yeah, where is the deer pic? We just get out of focus ticks? That’s a bit of a tease!

[GoOutside]