Welcome to May's issue of the Dereila Nature Inn newsletter.
Nesting season is here and you are welcomed this month by
a Mute Swan who is looking after the next generation. |
Greetings
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Hello there and welcome to another issue of Whispers, the newsletter of the Dereila Nature Inn - your virtual nature centre. The month of May is an exciting time for nature lovers. Millions of birds are migrating to their summer breeding grounds and all around us there are buds, blossoms and new growth to enjoy. May is also the anniversary month of Whispers. It was 6 years ago that our first issue went out and it's hard to believe how quickly those years have gone by. We really appreciate your support, positive feedback and encouragement. Many thanks for subscribing!
There are lots of great pictures for you to enjoy this month, as well as a joke about a coyote and a farmer, some trivia and news and updates. We hope you'll enjoy this issue.
 Please join us on Facebook where we welcome your comments and feedback. |
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Trivia Time
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Which European Tree is the longest living?
You'll find the answer at the end of the newsletter. |
What's This? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you know what this cropped close-up photograph is?
We've got an easy one for you this month.
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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.
Feeder for Berries, Jam, Nuts and Seeds
This creative feeder will be a great addition to your bird feeding station.  Earth Day 2013 Celebration
We had a terrific response to our request for photographs to celebrate Earth Day. 
Plant Pot Nest Box
This is an easy-to-do project which creates an interesting nest box for your garden.  Find the latest additions on the news/updates page. |
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Contributed by...
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Here's another great selection of submissions from our friends of the Inn.
A Northern Cardinal in winter is from one of our regulars, Judy Howle, Columbus, Mississippi.  A very handsome male Eastern Bluebird was taken by Gail Freiherr, Knoxville, Tennessee.
Gail also sent in this lovely female Eastern Bluebird.
Eileen of West Lothian, Scotland, another regular contributor,
spotted these two stunning Northern Shovelers.
The wonderful photograph of an American Bison nursing its young
was taken in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, by
Susan Asis Kalman, Flushing, New York.
Many thanks to Judy, Gail, Eileen and Susan!
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 - Robber Fly; Wildflower - Brown-eyed Susan; Bird - Brown Pelican
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 we have chosen to highlight our At-A-Glance Guide to Mosses page.
It features over 50 mosses which we hope you'll find interesting.
Plume Moss, Dendroalsia abientina
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| The Wandering Image
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This month we have a pretty wildflower from our wanderings.  Harvest Brodiaea, Brodiaea elegans, is a coastal flower and member of the Lily family of plants. The flower is at its best when its leaves are withered. |
| Caption This!
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What do you think these two gulls are saying as they find themselves on a log?
We welcome your caption ideas and have supplied two to get you thinking.
Number one: "Hello there. Can you give us a push off?"
Number two: "When did you say it was going to be high tide?"
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 serene place is the Lower Suwannee River in Florida. You can see a large amount of Seagrass. Many thanks to Marilyn Flanagan of Florida for sending in this photograph for us to enjoy in this section. 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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Oval-leaved Blueberry, has the scientific name Vaccinium ovalifolium. It is interesting that the Latin and the common names actually correspond. Vaccinium is Latin for blueberry and the species name, ovalifolium, refers to the oval shape of the leaf (folium). |
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Joke of the Month ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A coyote was driving his car carefully along a narrow country lane when all of a sudden a farmer pulled out of a field driving a huge tractor. The coyote reacted quickly and turned into the field avoiding the tractor.
Thinking he was lucky to escape, he turned the car around and went after the farmer.
When he stopped the farmer he said, "Do you realize we nearly had a accident back there?"
"Yes," replied the farmer, "I just got out of that field in time."
"But I wasn't planning on going into that field." |
| 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 Special Thank-you
 We want to take a moment to thank everyone who sent in photos for our 6th Annual Earth Day Photographic Extravaganza Celebration! You can see the wonderful results by clicking here.
A Little Reminder
Don't throw away those egg shells! They make a great bird food supplement since they are about 95% calcium carbonate and can be a source of calcium especially for female birds when they are producing their own eggs in the spring. You can use this feeder to make an attractive platform for the shells.  Rinse the egg shells thoroughly and then bake for 20 minutes. When cooled, pop them in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them to crumb size. Place the crushed shells in the feeder or mix them with your normal bird seed.
Tips from the Inn
As it's nesting time, birds are looking for nesting material. You can help them out a bit by filling one of your suet feeders with hair, short pieces of string and other similar materials.
This Chestnut-backed Chickadee is helping itself!
This Pine Siskin grabbed just a bit more to make its journey and search worthwhile.
To make these material holders, click here for one and here for another.
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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Celebrating Nature
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There are lots of celebrations coming up to tell you about this month.
With the great bird migration in full swing, it's International
Migratory Bird Day on May 11. Click here for more information.
Celebrate the International Day for Biodiversity of May 22.
For more information please click here.
World Environment Day is coming up on June 5.
Mark your calendars for World Oceans Day on Saturday, June 8.
To recognize the extreme importance of pollinators, it's
National Pollinator Week from June 17-23. More about that next month. |
Did You Know...
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Did you know that the name caribou comes from xalibu, the Mi'kmaq
name for this magnificent animal. Xalibu means "the one who paws." |
| State and Provincial Symbols
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Manitoba, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wyoming have all chosen the American Bison as their official mammal. You can browse through our collection here. |
| Trivia Answer
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The European Yew, Taxus baccata, is considered to be the longest living tree in Europe.
It is a slowing-growing conifer and some are believed to be 2,000 years old! |
| What's This?
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Our mystery image is a bunch of Snowberries, Symphoricarpos albus.
How 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. Until next month may you enjoy many wonderful encounters of nature.
Watch for the next issue of Whispers in your inbox during the first week of June. See you then. Best wishes everyone! |
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