Baltimore Checkerspot, by Mike Veltri

Guided Butterfly & Bird Identification Walk: Matt Mills

Saturday August 2^nd, 11am

Some butterflies are as big as your hand and others small as a fingernail. Some are drab and shy while others are bold and colourful, like the well-known Monarch butterfly.

It frequently takes an expert to determine exactly what species of butterfly is flitting past in search of a suitable mate or a host plant on which to deposit eggs. The abundance of both host plants and flowering nectar sources at the Garden has been key to successfully attracting butterflies.

The many shrubs at the Urquhart Butterfly Garden provide a home for nesting songbirds, while view of the the Desjardins Canal give visitors an opportunity to see herons, ducks and other water birds.

Matt Mills is an experienced naturalist with a skill at identifying birds and butterflies. The guided walk with Matt takes about an hour and begins at 11am on Saturday August 2^nd. If it rains the walk will be cancelled.

This event is part of the UBG Summer Series.

The Summer Series is funded by the Dougher Fund of the Hamilton Community Foundation.

Grasshopper, by Ron Rowan

Saturday July 26^th, 11am, Rain or Shine

Jerry Bloom is a scientist and an educator. He has been a bug guy since the age of 4, with a lifelong emphasis on grasshoppers, as befits a native of Saskatchewan. “My grandmother never reconciled herself to the idea of my bringing grasshoppers into the house to watch television with me.” said Jerry. He went on to make a livelihood out of determining whether the grasshoppers might really have been capable of seeing the television. Now Bloom lives on a property in rural Flamborough, which he manages for maximum insects biodiversity.

There is a long list of insects that Jerry has worked with, including flesh flies and hissing cockroaches, and he is known to be one of the most knowledgeable entomologists in these parts.

The Urquhart Butterfly Garden plays host to a vast array of insects during the summer months. Jerry Bloom is coming to unlock their secrets for us at the free workshop on Saturday July 26^th, 11am. Bringing a chair is recommended.

Part of the UBG Summer Series

The Summer Series 2014 is funded by the Dougher Fund of the Hamilton Community Foundation

The Urquhart Butterfly Garden is excited to announce our 2014 Summer Series. Starting July 19th, we will be hosting workshops with experienced naturalists and guided bird and butterfly ID walks in the garden with Matt Mills.

Matt’s free Guided Butterfly and Bird Identification Walks will begin Saturday August 2nd at 11am and continue every second Saturday: August 2nd, 16th, and 30th, and September 13th. Matt is an experienced naturalist and public educator, and many people who attended his walks last year can attest that he’s great at opening our eyes to the huge diversity of life that exists alongside us in Dundas and Hamilton.

The free public workshops will cover a range of subjects and will occur on alternating Saturdays starting July 19th at 11am.

July 19: Butterfly Gardening for Everyone! From backyards to balconies

July 26: Insect Lives and Loves: Find out about the insects around you

August 9: Dragonflies and their Kin

August 23: A Bee or Not a Bee? Learn about the thousands of bee species in our environment

Sept 6: Plant & Herb Lore and Bird Calling

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