American Robin (Turdus Migratorius), Male, Taken March 7, 2025, In Georgia, US

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), female, taken January 23, 2025, in Georgia, US

One of the only cardinals brave enough to come down to the feeders while I was out today! The red-winged blackbirds are coming through right now, so I sat for an hour in the cold weather only for them to keep just enough distance to make okay-ish—but not good—pictures!! All of the male cardinals were skittish today because of the wind, but this pretty lady posed nicely!

Wilke's Mining Bee (Andrena wilkella), taken July 12, 2024, in New Hampshire, US

I always love getting pictures of hymenopterans stuffing their little faces in flowers! This bee was a little skittish but ultimately found a flower she liked enough to eat off of while I photographed her.

Nomad Bees (Genus Nomada), taken April 12, 2025, in Georgia, US

Sleepy bees!! I found several nomad bees taking naps on the bare branches of some shrubs. None of them woke, even when I manhandled the branches for better pictures. I only see this species sleeping in this way, though I know other nomad bees do it. I assume other species use different objects to stay steady and that's why I haven't found them—it makes sense that larger bees would use larger anchors!

society has ingrained in all of us that bugs are bad and evil and scary and they Bite You for no reason and Sting You For Fun and I would like to challenge every single person that reads this to try to step back and challenge those thoughts. CHALLENGE that knee-jerk reaction to kill every bug you see. REALIZE that killing it doesn't have to be the answer. it's fine to not want bugs in your home. but I see so many people whose FIRST choice is to kill it, even though it'd be easy to just cup it and toss it outside. why?

one of the greatest things that got me over my extremely intense arachnophobia was knowledge. learning more about the thing I was afraid of made me realize, "oh, they're just little guys trying to get by too" and I stopped killing every spider I saw.

and it's like. no, that wasp didn't sting you for fun. it stung you because it felt scared or defensive. no, the spider in your shower isn't trying to kill you. spiders need water to live too.

you don't deem a scared dog/cat evil for biting you, do you? then why are we demonizing insects and spiders for feeling scared? they are so, so small and we are so large. they don't know anything about us, they're just trying to live life. they didn't know they built their web in a bad spot. they didn't know they built their nest next to your door. please, show some kindness to these tiny creatures. I understand you can't let infestations happen or wasps build in your walls, but whenever possible, try to put bugs in a cup and take them outside. yes, even wasps. even black widows. if you want tips for safely capturing bugs, I'm always around to ask.

also, to those who say things like, "x bug eats other pest bug, so they're okay" why? why does something have to benefit you to deserve to live? shouldn't all creatures have a chance at life, even if they're ugly, even if they don't benefit you, even if they do something you don't like? what gives you the right to decide to take the life of any animal just because ahhh it looked scary? please. all I ask is you try to be kinder. it's okay to be scared, it's not okay to pointlessly kill things.

White-jawed Jumping Spider (Hentzia mitrata), female, taken April 22, 2025, in Georgia, US

A cute female jumper who thinks she's hiding from me! I absolutely adore this species—they're my little locals. I'm seeing lots of adult males about, so they're preparing to breed soon! Juveniles of this genus are usually unable to be IDed to species until they begin to gain their adult colors. H. mitrata juveniles retain their white legs while H. palmarum (Common Hentz Jumping Spider) and most others in the genus develop brown front legs and brown or black patterning as opposed to orange.

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater), juvenile, being fed by a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), taken May 9, 2025, in Georgia, US

A fat cowbird chick being fed by its song sparrow foster parent! It seems as though our only song sparrow pair were chosen by the cowbirds as fosters this spring. Luckily, song sparrows are known to attempt to nest up to four times in a season, so they have plenty of chances left to raise their own brood! Once this baby cowbird becomes independent, it will meet with other baby cowbirds and begin its life as a young adult! For now, though, it's content to take handouts from mom and dad!

I feel as though the concept is much more common knowledge now, but to those who come across this and don't know: cowbirds are nest parasites, meaning they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds so they don't have to raise their babies themselves. They do this because building a nest and caring for young is extremely costly for females and may result in a lower chick yield than creating more eggs (up to 40) and laying them in an array of host nests does. The cowbird chick often hatches before the host nest's chicks, grows faster, becomes larger, and is louder, leading to the host chicks being neglected and often dying before fledging. While this is sad, bird parents have evolved to account for the possibility of being parasitized and will often nest multiple times in a season to ensure they have at least one healthy brood of their own chicks! Many bird species are also extremely good at recognizing cowbird eggs and can either eject them from the nest or destroy them before they hatch. Nest parasites are one of many natural population control agents that ensure native bird populations remain stable, so they are not a bad thing if the parasite is native, which cowbirds are in the US!

Banded Snipe Flies (Chrysopilus fasciatus), males, taken May 26, 2024, in Georgia, US

What handsome flies! These guys only fly for about a month here, but I love to see them while they're in season! I've yet to see a female, but maybe someday I'll get lucky and see a pair breeding!

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), taken April 30, 2025, in Georgia, US

My friend pointed out to me that catbirds have soulless, black eyes, and now I see it every time I look at them. I can't deny that this guy looks like he's committed crimes. Either that or his children that are actively screaming at him as this photo is taken have sucked the soul out of him. Is he telling me that he doesn't care about the horrific things he's done, or is he silently pleading for reprieve from parenthood? I don't think I could help him either way!

Crab Spiders (Genus Mecaphesa), taken April 12, 2025, in Georgia, US

Some crab spiders hiding underneath flowers! This is a known undescribed species, currently labeled "black tibia spot" (for obvious reasons) as far as I know. I see them pretty often hanging out, especially on fleabane flowers like this. Crab spiders are ambush predators, and most in the genus Mecaphesa lie in wait on similarly-colored flowers until a prey item (flies, beetles, and perhaps small bees) lands on it. The spider quickly overtakes its prey and hides underneath the petals of the flower to enjoy. A rather boring life for us, but these guys don't seem to mind!

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), male (top) and Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) (bottom), taken June 27, 2024, in Georgia, US

Whenever I look at these photos, I always like to put them next to each other to compare. In terms of woodland birds, these two could be considered opposites of one another, being arguably the most famous blue and red birds of North America, at least in the east!

Seeing as these were taken in about the same pose, at the same distance, it's also a good comparison of anatomy and size. I don't think it really hits home how much bigger jays are than cardinals until you see it yourself in person. There was a long period of my childhood that I considered the two equals, and learning that the jay was much larger was a big surprise later on!