White-jawed Jumping Spider (Hentzia Mitrata), Juvenile, Taken October 8, 2024, In Georgia, US

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), taken May 20, 2025, in Georgia, US

A lovely crow yelling back to their partner who sits a few branches away. These two flew overhead and stayed a while to (I assume) yell about me from the trees. I think they were sandwiched between me on the ground and a hawk circling a little ways off behind them, and they clearly had a lot to say about it! They circled around above me a few times before continuing in the direction they were headed, and after they left the hawk started yelling instead. You can never have quiet in the woods!

Eastern Calligrapher (Toxomerus geminatus), male, taken March 18, 2025, in Georgia, US

A lovely hover fly perching on a dandelion! Pollinators are out full force now, and that means that hover flies have more competition. Most hover flies have adopted a bee-mimicking appearance, likely to reduce competition and predation. This works a charm, as even most people can't tell the difference!

Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina ssp. carolina), juvenile, taken May 25, 2024, in Georgia, US

Literally the most tiny and pathetic thing I have ever seen in my LIFE. Its eyes are too big for its tiny turtle head!!! It was in my front lawn moving Southeast, maybe for spring migration purposes, so I helped it across the road. When I picked it up it let out the most tiny and pathetic squeak of a hiss I have ever heard. Absolutely precious.

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), taken February 10, 2025, in Georgia, US

Getting a tasty sip of water! He was nervous to drink with me there and sat in a tree eyeing the bird bath for a few minutes, but he was brave and took the risk! Once he realized it was fine, he even came back for seconds later. His little drinking face is very cute!

Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum), taken May 27, 2024, in Georgia, US

Behold, the Georgia state bird! Quite pretty, but also will throw all of your woodchips/mulch onto the sidewalk to get to the tasty bugs inside. I suppose they're living up to their name by giving the landscape a thrashing...

Nomad Bee (Genus Nomada), taken March 28, 2025, in Georgia, US

I have never seen a bee sit so still in my life. I spent like 3 minutes trying to get a good photo of this guy (practicing with the raynox dcr-250) and he quite literally didn't even twitch the entire time. A couple minutes after I switched my focus from him to a jumping spider beneath him, he started buzzing and flying around again, but the period of stillness was just uncharacteristic of a nomad bee! Usually they don't even land long enough for me to look at them!

Oh!!! I love!! Hehe admiring his reflection..

Treehoppers are so hard to come by, for me at least. I have lots of 2 species in my area, and likely more, but they're just so rare as adults lol! Interestingly enough, when I don't have a camera on me, they come and land on me. They know what I want, and how to not give it to me :(

Oak Treehopper (Platycotis vittata), taken October 23, 2024, in Georgia, US

A beautiful, freshly-peeled treehopper! This was my first time seeing one of these guys in person, and their colors are just magnificent. This species has two main morphs: one with a horn on the pronotum (one of the segments on the back) and one without. It would have been nice to see a horn-morph individual, but this one is nice as well!

Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans), taken April 20, 2025, in Georgia, US

Little guys!! Cricket frogs are out all over the place right now! I keep scaring them when I patrol the creek banks because it's nearly impossible to see them before they move. Once they think they're hidden, though, you can just scoop them right up, especially from the water. Because of this, they're extremely good for photos! I would advise against touching frogs and other amphibians unnecessarily because of their sensitive skin and our tendency to carry diseases they are susceptible to. Luckily, these guys don't need to be moved anywhere!

White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis), taken February 10, 2025, in Georgia, US

A couple cuties posing at the bird bath! Sparrows just keep growing on me—I love it when they look over their shoulders at me 🥺

Really really love the additions to this—they're all very correct lol.

Most prey animals, especially birds, have a notable field of binocular vision. Binocular vision offers both enhanced vision quality and depth perception, which is why most predators have a larger field of binocular vision than prey animals. Predators need to know exactly where their prey is in relation to them and need to be able to accurately assess the state of the prey which requires depth perception and detailed sight. Prey animals need a large range of monocular vision to scan for movement and a small range of binocular vision to better assess the possible threat once it's detected.

One of the coolest things to remember is that because prey animals have eyes on the side of their head, they are looking at you when they're in profile, not facing you! Hot tip for artists and animal lovers!