Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 Urquhart Butterfly Garden Photo Contest! We were so impressed and inspired by the artistry, wildlife diversity, and specific moments you captured in your photo submissions. It is always exciting to see the Garden through your eyes.
We’d like to extend a BIG thank you to everyone who entered the contest and to our judges who did the very difficult job of selecting the winners.
Entry Deadline: Midnight, Tuesday September 30, 2025
We invite you to participate in the Urquhart Butterfly Garden (UBG) Photo Contest 2025
Enter up to 2 photographs per category (maximum of 8). Categories are as follows:
1) Butterflies & Moths
2) Insects, Spiders, & Bugs
3) Birds & Other Wildlife
4) Plants & Flowers
All photos must be taken from the paths of the Urquhart Butterfly Garden. Nearby Canal Park is NOT included in the contest boundaries.
Please note that ALL entries must be submitted on one entry form, so it is best to wait until closer to the contest deadline to submit. Also note that photos with the species identification (ID) missing will not be considered. For ID help, check:
iNaturalist.ca: Especially helpful for Plant ID
Bugguide.net: For insects, spiders, & you guessed it.
Sibley Birding App or Merlin Birding App: For Bird ID help
Cornell Lab ‘All About Birds’ website: Bird ID
Photos are to be submitted all at once via Google Forms. The Summer 2025 Contest entry form can be found at this link: https://tinyurl.com/mrwxtb95
For questions, or help, with the entry form please contact: ubgarden2025@gmail.com
A full copy of the rules may be found on the posters shown here.
Best of Luck!
July 5 – Guided Nature Walk with Matt Mills | naturalist
July 12 – Bird Identification Walk with Matt Mills | naturalist
August 2nd – Moths and Butterflies, by Bill Lamond | Past President Hamilton Naturalists’ Club
August 9th – Jewels of the Air: Dragonflies and their Kin by Brenda Van Ryswyk | Natural Heritage Ecologist, Conservation Halton
August 16th – Host Plants of Lepidoptera by Pam MacDonald | Halton Master Gardener.
Update: Our scheduled “Host Plants of Lepidoptera” talk has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. In its place, we are delighted to present:
Butterfly and Bird Identification
with Matt Mills
Free Event on Saturday, August 16 at 10 a.m.
Matt Mills, one of the top naturalists in the Hamilton area, returns to the garden this Saturday to lead a nature identification talk and walk.
Brought to you with the generous support of the Dougher Fund of the Hamilton Community Foundation and the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club.
Download event poster pdf here
October 2025
September 2025
August 2025
July 2025
June 2025
May 2025
April 2025
We are proud to present the winning entries of the 2024 Summer Photo Contest in the gallery below. A warm Thank You to all who entered!
Before we unveil the winners we have a short feature on an interesting observation during the contest.
Meadow Vole: Photo by Michelle Sharp, Dundas.
The Meadow Voles, of which there are many at the UBG, run backwards and forwards between the rocks. During one of our summer hikes this little female had accidentally dropped her newborn on the middle of a path and become totally confused about what to do next. Pretty quickly she turned around, grabbed her baby, and was gone. Certainly strange and interesting, and worthy of some explanation.
PLANTS & FLOWERS
Insects, Spiders, & Bugs
Birds & Other Wildlife
Butterflies & Moths
Urquhart Butterfly Garden 