I'm Also In Georgia And My University Has A Herpetology Club That Does Nature Walks, I Love Seeing Your

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), taken February 18, 2025, in Georgia, US

My feeder had a very large visitor this morning! Despite how close to the house it is, we get hawks perching on the feeder much more often than you would think. This guy spent over 20 minutes soaking in the late-morning sun and getting screamed at by hundreds of birds before he finally decided it was too loud. At one point a bluejay perched a few feet away in the nearby japanese maple and used up his entire arsenal of calls yelling at the hawk lol! It was extremely loud...

After a few minutes of him sunning, the smaller birds said fuck it and started eating again, and I got some decent video of him watching them flit around that I'll probably post later. I also got a video of him taking off, which I'll definitely post, but I have to figure out how to export the videos from my camera first! I've never taken video on this one before. So enjoy only photos for now!

Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis), taken October 23, 2024, in Georgia, US

October is getting to the end of mantis season! 2024 was the first time I was ever outside looking for it, and I got to see lots of fun mantises, including this one! He was the perfect model, even if he got a little freaked out at the end and put his legs out.

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!

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

Looking quite sharp in more than one way! This guy must have just finished his spring molt—those feathers are spotless! I'm still seeing some bald and semi-bald cardinals running around, so the molt is still underway, but they, too, shall be fresh and beautiful like this guy afterwards!

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), taken June 28, 2024, in Georgia, US

Pondering, I believe. Sometimes life is just sitting on the edge of the bird bath and overlooking the koi pond a few feet ahead.

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), taken April 1, 2025, in Georgia, US

Preening time! This dove sat and preened vigorously for several minutes, likely staying pretty for his partner! I love seeing the doves all puffed up like this. The local pairs will often sit in the morning sun all puffed up and warming up for the day—their little morning date :)

Downy Woodpeckers (Dryobates pubescens), males (1 & 3) and female (2), taken February 10, 2025, in Georgia, US

Their youthful looks and shiny eyes captivate me... They just make such good photos lol! There's so many of them here that I honestly don't know how often I'm photographing the same individual. The male here is the same one, but once they leave the feeder it's impossible to keep track!

Jumping Spider (Maevia expansa), female, taken May 8, 2025, in Georgia, US

A curious jumper making her way along a twig! She was not very happy with me but ultimately cooperated enough to get a single good picture. Like the Dimorphic Jumping Spider (Maevia inclemens), this spider's males have two different morphs: a "gray" morph that is gray with black stripes and bright orange palps and a "tufted" morph that is black with white legs and 3 black tufts of hairs above its eyes. The males of the species look nothing alike, which may cause them to be misidentified. This species can be differentiated from M. inclemens by the presence of white patterning on the head of the female and around the eyes of the males. You can also use locality, as they have currently only been found in Georgia and once in Tennessee.

Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteos lineatus), taken March 2, 2025, in Georgia, US

Unhappy, me thinks!

Spiny Assassin Bug (Sinea spinipes), taken May 5, 2025, in Georgia, US

Spiny, indeed! Look at those legs! The nymphs of this species are mostly black with a yellow abdomen, quite different from the brown camouflage of adults. If you're not looking closely, adults can be overlooked at a brown spot on leaves or part of tree bark. They're quite good at what they do! I usually only find nymphs, so finding this adult hiding in the leaves was a nice treat!