Welcome to July's issue of the Dereila Nature Inn newsletter.
The low tides at beautiful Cannon Beach in Oregon welcome you this month. |
Greetings
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Hello once again!
Welcome to another issue of Whispers, the newsletter of the Dereila Nature Inn - your virtual nature centre. Summer is a wonderful time of the year with time to travel, relax and explore the world of nature. We hope you're able to get away from the usual routine for a while. Perhaps you'll have an opportunity to get some great wildlife photographs you'll be able to send in to us for our "Contributed by..." section.
We hope you'll enjoy this month's issue. We have some trivia for you, a joke about a duck, some terrific photographs that have been sent in, as well as some tips and news.
Many thanks for supporting this project and subscribing to this newsletter. We really appreciate your encouragement.  Please join us on Facebook where we welcome your comments and ideas. |
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Trivia Time
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Which group of amphibians is called an army?
You'll find the answer at the end of the newsletter. |
What's This? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you know what this cropped close-up photograph is? The answer is at the end of the newsletter.
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| New Features at the Inn
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Here are the latest additions at the Inn. Just click on the images and you'll be taken straight to the page. Blue and Purple Wildflowers Crossword
Our latest challenging crossword features 20 blue and purple wildflowers from our digital collection.
Wildflowers of Waterton
Alberta's Waterton Lakes National Park is famous for its amazing diversity of wildflowers. There are over 50 of them featured on this new page.
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Contributed by...
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We invite you to submit nature photographs to this section. We hope you enjoy this month's terrific selection. Ospreys, Marilyn Flanagan, Florida 
Rob Walker, our underwater photo expert, sent us two more
images from his Red Sea trip. This is an Anemone Fish
Sea Fan, Rob Walker, Victoria, BC
White-winged Dove, Steve Slayton, Lawrenceville, Georgia
Spicebush Swallowtail, Joyce Cahill, Winslow, Arkansas
White-tailed Deer fawn at Blackwater Falls State Park, West Virginia,
by Margaret Straley.
Fantastic photographs everyone!
Many thanks for taking the time and sending them in for us to all enjoy.
If you would like to see your nature images in our members' section,
simply send us an e-mail. We'd love to hear from you!
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| Monthly Selections
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Here are this month's choices: Bug - Snakefly; Wildflower - Deer Cabbage; Bird - Gadwall   
Simply click on the images to visit the pages.
You can also check out the archives as they're just a click away:
Wildflower Archives | Bug Archives | Bird Archives
OUR MONTHLY PAGE
This month's selected page is called Bird Trivia and features photos and interesting facts about all sorts of birds. You can visit the page by clicking here.
California Quail |
| The Wandering Image
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This month we explored some of the low tides for our wandering images.  This Red Rock Crab caught the eye as it looked a lot different than usual. After gently turning it over the reason was revealed:
a large egg mass was the cause of this interesting find. |
| Caption This!
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Here's our monthly image ready for your humourous caption along with a couple of our ideas. What do you think this Glaucous-winged Gull is saying?
Number one: "I am smiling! Hurry up and take the picture. My feet are wet." Number two: "This is my best profile."
If this month's photo inspires you, please send us an e-mail. We'd love to hear from you and add your caption to our collection. You can visit the rest of the collections at the Inn: The Mammals| The Birds | The Insects |
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Snippets in Nature
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This interesting place is Crews Lake in Spring Hill, Florida, taken by Marilyn Flanagan. The lake is actually in the process of receeding back to pond status. If you think you have a suitable nature photograph for this section please send us an e-mail along with a brief explanation. We look forward to your submissions. |
Behind the Name
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The common name of the White Rhododendron closely matches its scientific name, Rhododendron albiforum. The genus name, Rhododendron, comes from two Greek words which mean rose and tree. The species name, albiforum, means "white-flowered." |
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Joke of the Month ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Wood Duck was driving down the freeway when his car phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him.
"Woody! I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on Route 280. Please be careful!"
"It's not just ONE car," said Woody. "There's hundreds of them."
"I don't know how I managed to get home safely." |
| Notes, News and Tips from Around the Inn
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Facebook
 We invite you to post comments on our Facebook page. To visit, just click on the logo or here.
A Little Reminder
 At low tide many animals end up being exposed to the elements and dangers from predators. Some have adapted to these conditions, like these Plume Worms, Eudistylia vancouveri, which live and hide inside a tube they make by secreting a mucus.  Others have to hide under the rocks and seaweeds. Here is a Burrowing Sea Star, Amphiodia occidentalis, taking shelter on the underside of a rock. This reminds us that when exploring marine life among the seaweeds and rocks, be sure to return everything that is disturbed to the original state for the protection of the animals.
Tips from the Inn
A simple stump or log can make an attractive bird bath or drinking spot. Logs can blend nicely in the garden, as well. You might want to dig it into the ground about 2 or 3 inches to make it steady and even. Try to make sure the top is fairly level. Plastic garden saucers are ideal to use as water containers - the larger ones for bathing and smaller ones for drinking. It's a nice idea to put in a few rocks to hold the saucer in place and also give the birds a spot to stand on. You might want to also add a layer of gravel in the bottom to give the birds a bit of traction. Remember, birds are always in search of fresh, clean water and especially so at this hot time of the year.
Picture of the Week 
Be sure to drop by the Inn every week to see the latest Picture of the Week. You can also do so by clicking on the image to the left or by clicking here.
Past Issues
We upload past issues of Whispers as new ones are issued. You can view them all with a simple click here.
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Great Rivers
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The wild Englishman River is a pristine waterway on Vancouver Island. It tumbles and cascades along over two waterfalls and into a large canyon before entering the sea north of the city of Nanaimo. The legend goes that a body was once found in the river. The people who found it said it must be the body of an Englishman. |
Did You Know...
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Did you know that the national animal of both Sweden and Norway is the Moose, Alces alces, however in Europe it's called the Eurasian Elk?
It is the largest member of the deer family. |
| State and Provincial Symbols
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Five states have chosen the Monarch Butterfly as their state insect. You can see our visual collection of the other choices by clicking here.
You'll notice that we are missing a few images, so if you can help out and provide a photo for the page, please e-mail us. We'd love to get that page completed! |
| Trivia Answer
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A group of frogs is called an army. |
| What's This?
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Our mystery image is scallop shell. How well did you do? |
| Nature Notes
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Spread the Word ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We hope you've enjoyed our newsletter for this month and that you'll forward it on to your nature-loving friends.
We'll be taking a bit of a break so that we can get out and enjoy the world of nature a bit more while the weather's great, so watch for the next issue of Whispers in your inbox during the first week of September. Have a fantastic summer!
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