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Welcome to our monthly celebration of nature and photography! We hope you enjoy this issue's selection of jokes, trivia, photos and news.

TRIVIA TIME

Which sea animal that drinks only sea water, cries to get rid of excess salt in its body?

You'll find the answer at the end of this newsletter.

WHAT'S THIS?


This month's close up image is rather a strange one. What is your guess as to what this might be?
You'll find the answer near the end of this newsletter.

MONTHLY PAGE

This month's featured page is Walking in the Wild: The Mammals.
You'll find lots of photographs and information on 16 furry creatures.

CONTRIBUTED BY...
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This Brown Pelican was submitted by Penny from Toronto, Ontario. It was taken in Mexico.		Penny also sent us this Snowy Egret image. A great shot as all the white of the foam creates difficulties.
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William Snyder of Salem, IL, spotted this deer in Elk Park near St. Louis MO.		Lee Anne Stark of Ontario sent us this beautiful reflection of a mute swan.
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Judy Howle of Columbus, MS, sent us this image taken in the Smoky Mountains, Cataloochee Valley area.
Many thanks to Penny, William, Lee Anne, and Judy for these great images. If you have a nature image for this section, please let us know!.

WANDERING IMAGE


Our wandering image takes us to the Canadian Rockies on a summer's day when
spotting these two Mountains Goats, as they ambled along over rocks and rubble,
was a thrilling moment.

CAPTION THIS

What do you think would be a good caption for this photo?


Here are two ideas:
#1 - " OK, I've got it. Just leave it here!"
#2 - "It is so kind of you to bring me some lunch!"

If this month's photo inspires you, please send us your caption in an e-mail.

SNIPPETS IN NATURE


The snippet this month comes from Albertina Pianarosa from Ottawa, Ontario.
These fascinating Shelf Mushrooms were noticed while exploring Grasshopper Park in Ottawa.

BEHIND THE NAME


Spring Beauty, Claytonia lanceolata, is a pretty early-blooming flower. Its genus name, Claytonia,
is in honour of a botanist from the 1600s called John Clayton. The species name, lanceolata,
refers to its leaves which are lance-shaped.

JOKE OF THE MONTH

___Mrs Warbler came home from a long day’s shopping, looking very dishevelled with feathers all awry. Mr Warbler asked with great concern,“My dear, whatever happened to you?” ___“Oh, terrible business. Just terrible!" she answered. "On my way home I got mixed up in a badminton game.”

"Rather painful too."

NOTES, NEWS AND TIPS

Monthly Selections

Here are this month's choices:
Bird - Red-breasted sapsucker | Wildflower - Stream Violet | Bug -  Meal Moth

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Click on the images to visit the pages.

A Little Reminder

Nesting season will be starting soon, so now's a super time to start collecting
material that birds might find useful when they are busy building.
Laundry lint, hair from shedding dogs, and loose bits of wool are a few suggestions.

Tips and Ideas

A clue to differentiate between a crow and a raven, other than size, is the tail.
The crow is much smaller than a raven, 17 to 21 inches long, and has a square tail.

The raven is 24 to 27 inches long and has a wedge-shaped tail.

New Pages at the Inn

Wells Gray Provincial Park, British Columbia Visit a wild place of water, waterfalls and mountains.

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 If you want to see any of the past issues of Whispers, they are available here.

CELEBRATING NATURE

In the United States, National Wildlife Week starts on March 9.		On Saturday, March 21, be sure to celebrate World Forestry Day.
Canadians celebrate their National Wildlife Week starting April 5.		And coming up on April 22 is Earth Day

DID YOU KNOW....


Did you know that the nuthatch got its name because of how it manages to
open nuts and seeds? It very cleverly wedges the seed or nut in tree bark and
hammers and pecks away with its sharp bill to break open the food.
It's as though the kernel is hatched from its shell!

STATE AND PROVINCIAL EMBLEMS


The state of Washington designated the fascinating
Orca, Orcinus orca, its official marine mammal in 2005.

TRIVIA ANSWER


The answer to this month's trivia the sea turtle.

ANSWER TO WHAT'S THIS?


The mystery picture is a very interesting Lion's Mane Jellyfish, Cyanea capillata.

Thanks for joining us this month! We hope you enjoyed this issue of Whispers. We invite your comments and ideas - just drop us an e-mail. See you next month!

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