Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo Lineatus), Taken March 2, 2025, In Georgia, US

Common Loon (Gavia immer), taken July 19, 2024, in New Hampshire, US

Loons are absolutely fascinating to watch. This specific individual was going about the lake with its mate and another pair of loons, possibly from a neighboring lake. It got close enough for me to run out on the dock and try to get pictures at like 8 in the morning, but sadly the sun was on the wrong side of the lake lol! At least the backlighting looks cool!

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), taken February 10, 2025, in Georgia, US

Very cute and pretty brave, as is the case with most sparrows! This guy has a preferred spot directly underneath the feeder pole. It's a highly contentious seat, but he had it all to himself this time!

Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina), male, taken April 1, 2025

Quite the uncommon visitor showed his face at the feeders yesterday! I've only seen hooded warblers once before: a small group traveling south last fall. Males of this species can be distinguished from females by the black band around their face, which resembles a hood! Females can look much like other warblers such as Pine Warblers (Setophaga pinus). They can be distinguished from male pine warblers by their olive backs and easily distinguished from the brown females by color!

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata), male, taken March 28, 2025, in Georgia, US

This guy looks a little rough, but I believe he's just in molt! His spring colors are coming in, and you can see a bit of his golden crown becoming visible. I think he needs a good bath to wash out all those old feathers. It's just about nesting season, so hopefully he finishes his molt soon!

Common Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), taken April 25, 2025, in Georgia, US

A silly little skink! Me and this lizard spent a few minutes sitting next to each other, him catching ants and me watching. This guy was quite small, likely still young, and it was fun to watch him scuttle around, looking under leaves for little bug morsels!

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), juvenile, taken May 9, 2025, in Georgia, US

A young mockingbird eating like an absolute weirdo from the woodpecker feeder! This newly-independent teen could barely fit on the feeder ledge and kept almost falling off. Apparently the taste was worth it, though, because it kept trying! I can tell this is a juvenile because it's smaller and leaner than its parents, and they also never eat from this feeder due to the inconvenience. They prefer the easy to access barn feeders that are accessible to everyone, but this little guy hasn't figured out the tech yet—or maybe they haven't figured out his!

White-jawed Jumping Spider (Hentzia mitrata), juvenile male, taken March 9, 2025, in Georgia, US

I love this small baby man with his bald patch on his head... It's a little too early for it to be jumping spider season, but I'm still occasionally seeing juveniles out and about. As April comes in, the magnolia greens will begin reaching adulthood and breeding! Mitrata waits until a little later in the year, but that just means I get to see the awkward teens for longer!

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), juvenile, taken May 9, 2025, in Georgia, US

A disheveled young cardinal stopping for a few sips! Someone had been in the bath prior and made it absolutely filthy with dirt, but this guy didn't really seem to mind. The bath water is replaced daily, but it tends to get dirty pretty fast if there are lots of baths in a day. The birds could just go to the koi pond literally 5 feet away, but I guess it's too scary for everyone but the song sparrows!

Spine-headed Bugs (Acanthocephala terminalis), taken August 18, 2024, in Georgia, US

Two nymphs at different stages of life sharing a leaf! I believe there were actually three individuals on this same plant, but the third didn't fit into the frame so it got its own picture. This area is frequented by the adult forms of this species, especially when flowers are blooming, so it makes sense that there would be plenty of babies too!

Vesper Bluet (Enallagma vesperum), male, taken May 5, 2025, in Georgia, US

I am here once again with a new damselfly! I've actually seen a couple of these since taking this first photo, but none were as nice looking. Like many bluets, females can be differentiated from males by their thicker abdomen that lacks an elongated black segment on the end. As you can see, the last segment on this male's abdomen is black which would signify his sex if he were the same color as a female. Luckily, the males and females of this species are very easy to tell apart, males being bright yellow and females being blue!