Welcome to June's issue of the Dereila Nature Inn newsletter.
June brings along a time of low tides which is a great opportunity to explore among the seaweeds and rocks if you're lucky enough to live near the sea. Our opening images this month are of an Orange Sea Cucumber, Cucumaria miniata. In the upper picture, it searches for food using its tentacles. The lower image shows the sea cucumber as it is more typically observed. |
Greetings
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Hello everyone!
Welcome to another issue of Whispers, the newsletter of the Dereila Nature Inn - your virtual nature centre. This month we have some interesting trivia for you, a few tips, updates about the new features at the Nature Inn, a joke about a robin and several fantastic photos sent in to us that we know you'll enjoy. As we move into summer we hope that you'll have lots of chances for great adventures in nature. Thanks for supporting this project and subscribing to this newsletter.  Please join us on Facebook where we welcome your comments and ideas. |
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Trivia Time
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Which European tree has the longest life span?
You'll find the answer at the end of the newsletter. |
What's This? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you know what this cropped close-up photograph is? You'll find the answer 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. Easy Homemade Hummingbird feeder
This project uses a few simple items that would normally end up in the garbage or recycling bin.
Birds of North American Crossword #12 - Provincial and State Birds 3
There are only 11 visual bird clues in this crossword, but they represent over two dozen different states and provinces.
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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. Pronghorn, W.C. Durnil, Chino Valley, Arizona
Waxwing, Steve Slayton, Lawrenceville, Georgia
Female Cardinal, also from Steve Slayton
Eastern Bluebird, Herman Veenendaal, St Mary's, Ontario
Great pictures everyone! Many thanks for taking the time to send them in.
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 - Four-spotted Skimmer; Wildflower - Cooper's Paper Daisy; Bird - Trumpeter Swan   
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 "Echoes of the Wild." It's a photographic celebration of some marvelous moments in nature that we feel we have been lucky to experience. You can visit the page by clicking here.
Black Bear |
| The Wandering Image
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We didn't have to wander too far for this month's wandering image.  Just out on the deck a Pileated Woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, is spotted feeding a juvenile. The Pileated Woodpecker is one of the largest woodpeckers in North America
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| 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 these crows are saying?
Number one: "Okay. Now where's that itch exactly?" Number two: "I bet you wouldn't do this for me."
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 beautiful relaxing scene was captured for us by Claudia Gregoire of Glenville, New York. It's taken in Christman Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary near Duanesburg, New York. 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 pretty White Heather has the scientific name Cassiope mertensiana. The genus name Cassiope is in honour of the Cassiopeia of Greek mythology, although it's not clear why this plant honours her. Perhaps it's because Cassiopeia believed herself to be so beautiful, just like these flowers. The species name honours a German botanist, F.C. Mertens. |
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Joke of the Month ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two robins were awakened by a loud pounding on the door at 3 o'clock in the morning. The male robin got up and went to the door where a drunk robin was standing in the snow.
"Can you give me a push?" asked the drunk.
"Not a chance," replied the robin. "It's 3 o'clock in the morning!"
And with that he slammed the door shut and returned to bed.
"Who was that?" asked his wife.
"Just some drunk guy asking for a push," he answered.
"Did you help him out?"
"No, I did not. There's a foot of snow outside!"
"Well, you have a short memory," pointed out his wife. "Don't you remember when we broke down and those two guys helped us out? I think you should help him."
So the male robin does as he's told. He gets dressed and goes out into the dark, snowy night.
"Do you still need a push?"
"Yes, please!" came the reply from the dark.
"Where are you?"
"Over here on the swing!"
"I only wanted a little swing."
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| 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 this time of the year, the youngsters are up and about and it's time for us all to
be a little extra careful and on the lookout during our walks and travels.
Tips from the Inn
As the hot weather arrives, many birds have a hard time finding fresh water. Placing small dishes of water around the deck and near feeders on your bird feeding station provides an important resource for your visitors.
Hummingbirds also like to bathe, so a shallow dish suits their purpose.
To see other birds enjoying water, check out our page
Tips and Tricks for the Backyard Birder: The Importance of Water.
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 Campbell River rushes quickly by on British Columbia's Vancouver Island. It flows down from the island's central highlands and east into Discovery Passage near the Strait of Georgia which separates Vancouver island from the mainland.
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Did You Know...
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Did you know that many species of sea stars have the ability to regenerate lost arms? This photo shows a Six-rayed Sea Star, Leptasterias aequalis, going through the process of regrowing entire lost arms. |
| State and Provincial Symbols
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Only 26 states have chosen a state reptile and the Painted Turtle, Chrysemys picta, is a popular choice being the official representative of Illinois, Michigan and Vermont. You can see our collection 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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The English Yew is the longest-living tree in Europe. Many are over 1000 years old and a few are believed to be 2000 years old.
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| What's This?
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Our mystery image is an interesting Bird's Nest Fungus, Crucibulum laeve.
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| 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.
Watch for the next issue of Whispers in your inbox during the first week of July. See you then!
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