White-jawed Jumping Spider (Hentzia Mitrata), Female, Taken April 22, 2025, In Georgia, US

My beloveds... a whole row of some of my favorite native inverts and, of course, robins.

iNaturalist reblog game: post your top 5 most observed species. i'll go first

House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus), male, taken October 29, 2024, in Georgia, US

Another bird getting a little sip of water! I just love watching them visit the bird bath lol. This guy was a very delicate drinker, unlike some others I know (looks at the starlings) and later shared with a juvenile finch who came to take a bath!

Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), males (1-3) and female (4), taken January 10, 2024, in Georgia, US

Male cardinals stand out so much in the white and gray of the snow! However bright they may be, the female of this batch is definitely my favorite. Her almost imposing image framed by branches is just perfect to me.

Downy Woodpeckers (Dryobates pubescens), juvenile males, taken May 27, 2024, in Georgia, US

Preparing for this spring and staving off the baby bird withdrawals by posting all of my spring 2024 stuff... Downy fledgelings are the cutest! The babies always look lost, slightly to extremely ruffled, and love looking cutely into the camera because they don't know what the fuck that thing pointing at them is!!

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia), taken April 24, 2025, in Georgia, US

What I believe is my first butterfly of the year, at least that I've been able to photograph! I saw what I think was a Blue Morpho in early, early spring, before almost anything was awake, but it flew off before I could get a picture. Since then, it's been some skippers and a few Tiger Swallowtails, but never when I have my camera on me! This guy was touched down because of a storm. I went out right after the rain, when many flying insects are still reluctant to fly, and was able to get a couple decent pictures!

the leafhoppers are back 🥰

Erythronerua acuticephala

Erythroneura calycula

Erythroneura infuscata

Orchard Orbweaver (Leucauge venusta), female, taken April 28, 2024, in Georgia, US

A lovely young lady! I believe she's still subadult because she isn't very dark yet, but she's still beautiful! Orchard Orbweavers can be identified by the orange smiley face on the ventral (under) side of their abdomen, which you can see a bit of in this image. They're one of the most common orbweavers in my area—absolutely all over grasses and shrubs during the spring!

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!

Orchard Orbweaver (Leucauge venusta), juvenile, taken March 18, 2025, in Georgia, US

Behold, a spider belly! In even the smallest orchard orbweaver, the orange smiley on their abdomen is visible. This is diagnostic for the species, along with 3 stripes that run down their cephalothorax, one down the center and 2 on the margins, but that isn't visible here. Those markings allow you to differentiate the species from Joro Spiders, which look extremely similar as juveniles. A smiliar species, the Mabel Orchard Orbweaver (Leucauge argyrobapta), is often confused with this one but can be distinguished (if not by range) by its blue hues and larger, more yellow smiley. This is only the case for some individuals, though, as females of the species are nearly identical and males can only be distinguished by the shape of their palps. Both are beautiful regardless!

Whitman's Jumping Spider (Phidippus whitmani), female, taken March 28, 2025, in Georgia, US

A jumping spider lifer for me! I initially caught a glimpse of her while trying to photograph a bee and thought she was a mutillid. That was until she peeked back out of the leaves to watch what I was doing! She was an excellent model, turning in all directions and moving slowly and calmly so I could get the best photos I could. It's almost like she knew what was happening!