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Welcome to April's issue of the Dereila Nature Inn newsletter.
We welcome the spring with an image of Paul's Scarlet Hawthorn, Crataegus oxyacantha.
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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 another great selections of photos that have been submitted by subscribers as well as a joke about a Coot, some birding tips, trivia and updates. We want to welcome our new newsletter subscribers and thank everyone for your continued support.  Please join us on Facebook where we welcome your comments and ideas. |
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Trivia Time
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Which land mammal can stay underwater for four minutes?
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. At-A-Glance Guide to Spiders
Meet some Cobweb Weavers, Jumpers, Ambushers and other fascinating spiders in this visual guide.
 Provincial and State Birds Crossword 2
In this crossword the clue is a province or state and you have to determine the name of the official bird.
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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. Horseshoe Crab, by Marilyn Flanigan, Florida
Hawksbill Turtle, by Rob Walker, Victoria, British Columbia.
Taken during a diving expedition in the Red Sea.
Napoleon Wrasse, also by Rob Walker.
Northern Shovelers, Anas clyoeata, by Judy Howle of Columbus, Mississippi.
Eastern Water Snake eating a Shad, taken at Mascoutah Illinois Reservoir
by Jim Noeninger, Shiloh, Illinois
Thank you everyone for the fantastic photographs!
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 - Coelioxys rufitarsis; Wildflower - Mojave Aster; Bird - Hairy Woodpecker   
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 selection is called "At-A-Glance Guide to Fungi."
There are over 220 different fungi in the collection including this one,
a Red Coral Mushroom, Ramaria araiospora.
Visit the page by clicking here.
We have numerous At-A-Glance pages including flowers, birds, mammals, insects and marine life. Find them all by clicking here. |
| The Wandering Image
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This month we wander up to Canada's Yukon Territory. 
A male Caribou, Rangifer tarandus, is a symbol of Canada's wild north. Despite the fact that there are immense herds of caribou few Canadians have seen one in the wild but are familiar with the animal because it's featured on Canada's 25 cent coin.
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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.
Number one: "Get me down from here!" Number two: "Wow, you sure can see a long way from up here!"
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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Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona is 117,107 wonderful acres of habitat for many endangered species of plants and animals. There are over 300 different species of birds and dozens of species of mammals, reptiles and amphibians. 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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Alpine Speedwell, or Alpine Veronica as it's sometimes called, has the scientific name of Veronica wormskjoldii. The Genus name, Veronica, is a reference to Saint Veronica, who is honoured by the Catholic Church. She took pity on Jesus as he carried the cross and gave him a cloth to wipe his face. When he returned it, it had an image of his face on it and this became known as the "veri icon" - true image or likeness. The species name is in honour of a 18th-century Danish naturalist, Morton Wormskjold. |
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Joke of the Month ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Coot's house was on fire so he called the fire station.
"Come as quickly as you can," he said. "My house is on fire!"
"Where is the fire?" the fire chief asked.
"In the kitchen," said the Coot.
"OK! Where are you?"
"I'm in the garden near the pond."
"All right, I just want to know how we get there," said the chief.
"Oh," replied the Coot. "Don't you have those little red trucks anymore?"
"And they say that we are crazy!" |
| 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
It's nesting time and birds always appreciate a little help from you.
Try stuffing some Pampas or other grass into nooks and crannies on
your bird feeding station.
Tips from the Inn
An easy way to attract chickadees and nuthatches to your feeders is to hang up some simple pine cones as feeders. Push your suet mix into the different parts of the cone. Try to push it in as far as possible as this will make it harder for sparrows to get to the suet. Hang the cone up in a spot where you can observe the action.
Celebrate Earth Day!
We want to remind you that Earth Day is on April 22 and every year we celebrate Earth Day which a photographic extravaganza! For full details, click here. You can check out the results of last year's celebration by clicking here. Deadline for submissions is April 22.
Get an iGoogle Gadget
If you have an iGoogle page, why not add the Inn's image gadget to it? Here's a sample:
To get going with this, just 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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On southern Vancouver Island, BC, the Sooke River flows down from Sooke Lake in the highlands and eventually drains into the Juan De Fuca Strait, passing through some terrific scenery along its way.
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Did You Know...
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Did you know the Ring-tailed Lemur, a primate, is the state symbol of Madagascar?
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| State and Provincial Symbols
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The Lady Beetle is the state insect for six states. You can see which six as well as the other insects that have been selected by visiting our state insects page.
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| Trivia Answer
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Otters can stay underwater for four minutes.
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| What's This?
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This month's close-up image is an interesting fungi: White Saddle, Helvella crispa. |
| 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 May. See you then!
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