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Welcome to November's issue of the Dereila Nature Inn newsletter.
As we travel through fall and head into winter a lot of wildlife faces an endurance test for survival. This Mountain Goat, Oreamnos americanus, shows us it's well-prepared with its thick winter coat.
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Greetings
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Hi everyone!
Another month has gone quickly by and it's time for another issue of Whispers, the newsletter of the Dereila Nature Inn - your virtual nature centre. This month we have a flamingo, a cute opossum, some interesting fungi and another duck joke in the newsletter. Many thanks to everyone who has sent in submissions and comments. We really appreciate your support. We hope you'll all enjoy this month's issue.  Please join us on Facebook where we welcome your comments and ideas. |
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Trivia Time
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Which rodent rears its young in a nest called a drey?
You'll find the answer at the end of the newsletter.
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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. Close-ups in Nature
We have added two more pages featuring close-up and cropped photos for you to identity.   
Bugs of the Month Crossword: Take a challenge with this crossword featuring a variety of bugs that have been chosen as a bug of the month.
Bird Food Recipe - Bark ButterThis butter is full of delicious things that woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches will love. Just smear it on a log on your feeding station. Find the latest additions on the news/updates page.
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Contributed by...
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We invite you to submit nature photographs to this section. This month we have another super variety of nature images.
Eileen of West Lothian, Scotland, sent in this great picture of a Coot and its youngsters.
Joyce Cahill of Winslow, Arkansas, found this interesting stick insect,
Carausius morosus, in her garden and forwarded this splendid image to us.
 This really cute baby Opossum was sent in by Marilyn Flanagan, Florida. 
Obscure Bird Grasshopper, Schistocerca obscura, submitted by
Deb Smith of Summerville, South Carolina. 
Asiatic Dayflower, Commelina communis, by Joyce Nolan, Lancaster, Ohio. 
Here's a rare sight, a Spoonbill chick, contributed by Marilyn Flanagan, Florida.
Thank you so much for your great contributions!
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! |
| Monthly Selections
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Here are this month's choices: Bug - Snowberry Clearwing Moth; Wildflower - Poison Hemlock; Bird - Fox Sparrow   
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
Here's a bird photographer to announce this month's selected page! It features numerous tips and tricks for the backyard birder with ideas on how to attract birds along with some photo ideas, too. Visit it by clicking here.
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| The Wandering Image
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Our wanderings this month took us into a forest where we found an interesting fungus. 
Bird's Nest Fungus, Crucibulum laeve, is indeed a strange-looking fungus. It takes advantage of heavy rains which splash into the bird nest-like structures and disperses the spores.
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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. Just what do you think this Black Turnstone is thinking or saying? 
Number one: "I know you're down there."
Number two: "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
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 delightful scene of Cardinal flowers at Pyramid Lake in Paradox, New York comes to us from Claudia Gregoire, Glenville, NY, _______________________________________________ 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 Corn Lily, Veratrum viride, is also called Indian Hellebore or False Hellebore. With so many common names, the scientific name is really useful in identification. The genus name Veratrum comes from two Latin words, vere, meaning true, and atrum which means black and is in reference to the plant's roots or dark flowers. The species name viride means green.
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Joke of the Month ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A duck walked into a bar and ordered a beer and sandwich.
"We don't get many ducks in this pub," said the bartender. "What are you doing round this way?"
"I'm working on the building site across the road," explained the duck who then finished his lunch and left. This went on for two weeks.
One day, the circus came to town. The ringleader went to the pub and the bartender told him about the talking duck.
"Marvelous! Get him to come and see me," said the ringleader.
When the duck went back to the pub, the bartender said, "I've lined you up with a job paying really good money!"
"Sounds great," the duck said. "Where is it?"
"At the circus."
"The circus?" the duck enquired.
"That's right," replied the bartender.
"The circus? That place with the big tent? With the big canvas roof with a hole in the middle?" asked the duck.
"That's right!" said the bartender.
The duck looked very confused and asked, "What the heck do they want with a plasterer?"
"We do have some clever ducks in our family." |
| 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
 This month we'd like to remind you about protecting hummingbird feeders from the snows and rains of winter. An inverted flower pot saucer placed above the feeder will help to keep things dry.  In some areas hummingbirds are around in the winter and have to endure tough conditions. This cover can also be used on other feeders such as home made log feeders. Tips from the Inn
They say that a Cooper's Hawk knows where all the bird stations are located in its area and may visit them on frequent hunting trips. You may not want these visits, but it is perhaps best to let the hawk decide to leave. If you go and chase it off, you risk chasing away birds that are hiding in the shrubs and these hawks will quickly catch them. In fact, they often rely on a kerfuffle and confusion as part of the hunt.
Photos Wanted!
We are in the process of completing our state reptiles page and are in need of images of the following:
Alabama Red-bellied Turtle; Desert Tortoise; Gopher Tortoise; Diamondback Terrapin; Three-toed Box Turtle; Snapping Turtle; Northern Black Racer; Loggerhead Sea Turtle; and Texas Horned Lizard. If you can help out with a photo of two, please let us know via e-mail.
Photo Notecards Now on Sale!
To help pay for the costs of running the Inn website and providing this newsletter we are now selling a selection of blank photo note cards. We have two sets - birds and special places and will be adding more in the future. They cost only $3 each or a real deal at 4 for $10 with free postage! For more information and to place an order using PayPal, please click here.
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 River Almond flows gently along in east-central Scotland, draining into the mighty Firth of Forth. Image submitted by Eileen, West Lothian, Scotland.
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Did You Know...
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Did you know that the flamingo is the state bird of the Bahamas?
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| State and Provincial Symbols
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Colorado's state mammal is the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep.
To see our collection of state and provincial mammals just click here. |
| Trivia Answer
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The nest of a squirrel is called a drey. |
| What's This?
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This month's close-up image is an Asian Lady Beetle pupa, Harmonia axyridis.
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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. Your ideas and suggestions are always welcome, send us an e-mail.
Watch for the next issue of Whispers in your inbox during the first week of December. See you then!
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