Dragonfly, July 1 2014, by Michelle Sharp

Saturday August 9^th, 11am

Back by popular demand, Brenda van Ryswyk will host a workshop about dragonflies and damselflies as part of the UBG’s Summer 2014 Series.

Dragonflies and damselflies are powerful hunters, performing amazing feats of aerial agility to gobble up scores of smaller insects. Their life cycle is fascinating, beginning underwater before crawling to land, shedding their skins, and then taking to the air.

Due to the proximity of the Desjardins Canal, there is a great diversity of these creatures at the Urquhart Butterfly Garden. Brenda van Ryswyk is a well known local expert on both dragonflies and damselflies. In this session Brenda will show participants how to observe, identify and recognize some of the most common species in our area.

Bring your own chair if you can — last year, we didn’t have close to enough seats for Brenda’s excellent talk.

Part of the 2014 Summer Series

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

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.