March Newsletter 
 
 
 

Hoary Mammot

A lazy Hoary Marmot welcomes you this month.
Greetings
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Welcome to Whispers - the newsletter of the Dereila Nature Inn.
 
With the coming of Spring we are anticipating great opportunities to get out with the camera and enjoy new experiences in nature and we hope you are, too.  The birds will be returning and the flowers and trees will be awakening from their winter rests.  This is an exciting time of the year for all of us nature lovers! 

Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter and supporting our project!
Trivia Time
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Each month we'll start things off with a little bit of nature trivia for you.

Which animals have the ability to walk down a razor blade without cutting themselves? 

You'll find the answer at the end of the newsletter.
 
Tips From the Inn - #3 - Using Simple Photo Props ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is very rare to find a flicker on a seed table. Fortunately this one arrived at an opportune time to show you this month's little tip: Using natural props to get great photos.

Flicker on a Feeding Table

This photo shows a flicker on the feeding table with a secured log photo prop just behind it. The log also acts as a landing spot for birds. Now, if you're very lucky the bird will co-operate and hop onto the log giving you a very natural looking image.

Flicker on Log

This photo shows you the result. Try experimenting using twigs and bits of greenery to create a feeding station with a real look of nature.

For more bird feeding and attracting tips, visit the Inn's All Things Natural Restaurant.

We welcome your nature tips and ideas! Just send us an e-mail.
 
 
New Features at the Inn
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We hope you'll enjoy the new features at the Inn:
 
Three New Photo Galleries
Hover your mouse over the images for a description of our new photo galleries, then click on the image to go directly to the gallery.

 Moss and Lichens Photo Gallery   Spider Phoro Gallery   Beetles Photo Gallery

Visit the photo gallery index page by clicking here.

New Pages at the Inn
There are two new features this month - both visual tours.  One features some of the beautiful wildflowers found in the deserts of the SW United States in the Spring. 

If you'd like to see an Elfin's Saddle, Varnished Conk, Rosy Russula, or a Man on Horseback - you'll want to visit our second new feature - What's that Fungus? It'll take you exploring some of the amazing variety in colours, structures and names of Fungi. 

Click on the images below to visit these new pages.

Desert Flowers Collection  What's The Fungus?


 
Contributed by...
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As a community of nature enthusiasts exchanging ideas, stories, tips and images, we invite you to submit nature images to this part of our monthly newsletter.  

Least Bittern


This month's image was sent in by frequent contributor Steve Slayton. This great shot of a Least Bittern and fortunately for us here at the Inn it's a bird that our photographers have not had the pleasure to photograph. Thank you once again Steve! 
 
If you'd like to see your image as part of our members' section, simply send us an e-mail.
Monthly Selections 
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Each month we select a bird, bug and wildflower of the month. Here are this month's choices:

Bird of the Month  Bug of the Month  Wildflower of the Month
     
Click on the images to visit the page and don't forget that we welcome your suggestions for future selections, even if you don't have an image to supply for us. Please send your ideas to us by e-mail.

And a reminder that the year's archives for each are just a click away:

Wildflower Archives | Bug Archives | Bird Archives

Notes from Around the Inn
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Book Recommendations
You may have noticed that we've been placing more and more featured books on our various pages.  We receive a very small commission from anything purchased through the Inn on Amazon.ca or Amazon.com - not just recommended books - which all helps pay for our webspace and other expenses. So please, shop with us and support our project!
 
Coming Up...
We've got a few things on the go for the next few weeks at the Inn.  Watch for a photo gallery featuring the amazing flowers of Hawaii and a feature on poisonous plants.

All Things Natural Restaurant
Visit our section featuring recipes and ideas to help attract wildbirds to your feeding station.  Just click here.

Site Map
Our site map is a handy, straight-forward way to find your way around the Inn.  Links are being placed at the bottom of most pages to help you navigate.  Visit the map here.
 
Don't Forget Our Forums
Just a reminder about and an invitation to visit our two forums:
 
The Birder's Place

The Birder's Place - This a social network and forum just for Birders. Here you can meet other birders, exchange stories and upload and share your images.
 
The Nature Hut

The Nature Hut - Here we invite you to join our community of nature lovers.  Upload your nature images and enjoy discussions and stories of experiences and nature sightings.
 
Click on the images to visit the two forums.

Suggestions, Ideas and Feedback
As we move into year two of the Dereila Nature Inn, we invite and welcome your contributions, thoughts and comments.  Please, take a moment to send us an e-mail.
 
Past Issues
If you're a new subscriber to Whispers you might be interested to know that past issues are available online - simply click here. We upload the issues as new ones are released, so as you receive this edition we will be uploading last month's issue.
The Wandering Image
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We stay in Hawaii for this month's Wandering Image where find also another strange tree, the Cannon-ball tree, Couroupita guianensis. It's a definite eye catcher with its fruit the size and shape of canon balls

Cannon-ball Tree

The flower also is quite unique and is very attractive. The fruits grow from long stalks surrounding the trunk of this large tree. It only grows in the tropics and is native to Northeastern South America.

Cannon-ball Tree Flowers

 
Snippets in Nature ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This month takes us to Kentucky.

Cumberland Falls

This is Cumberland Falls located in the Cumberland Falls State Park Nature Preserve in McCreary and Whitley counties, Kentucky. This preserve protects several species of rare plants and animals with the Cumberland River,a designated Kentucky Wild River, flowing through. These are the only waterfall in the United States to get a 'moonbow' with it.

Thanks to Alan Mullen of Wisconsin for this photograph for the March's Snippet in Nature!


 
Trivia Answer 
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Snails produce a colourless, sticky discharge that forms a protective carpet under them as they travel along. The discharge is so effective that snails can crawl along the edge of a razor without cutting themselves.

Snail


 
Joke of the Month ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Why did the chicken cross the road?

Shop with Us ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Don't forget to check out the amazon/dereila bookshop. You'll find a super selection of nature books and guides. See what's in the store for you by clicking on the image. You'll also find amazon.ca and amazon.com search boxes for our Canadian and US visitors throughout the Inn. 
 
Spread the Word ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please spread the word about our project by passing on our website information to friends and other nature lovers.  You can also forward this newsletter by clicking on the "forward e-mail" link at the bottom of this newsletter.

Any other ideas and suggestions are always welcome.  Send us an e-mail!
 
Quick Links...
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Contact Information
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Until next time, best wishes from your friends at the Dereila Nature Inn - a Cyber Nature Inn for Nature Lovers.
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