When U Are Holding A Hammer Everything Looks Like A Nail -> When U Are Holding A Point And Shoot Camera

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), taken March 21, 2025, in Georgia, US

A lovely dove cooing into the evening sun. Someone was on the other end of their song, likely a partner, and I could hear them calling back. Not only is this dove's call very calming, but—when you can find them—they're interesting to watch while calling! You can see in the second photo this dove puffing its neck feathers up and tucking its head in to call. It was both holding a conversation and keeping an eye on me in case I got any closer—professional multitasking!

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!

Went out somewhere new yesterday and was lucky enough to bump into both forms of Maevia expansa male! Top images are the "tufted" morph and bottom are the "gray" morph.

They look absolutely nothing alike, and both males even use different courtship rituals to attract females! Like I've said before, the easiest way to differentiate this species from the much more common M. inclemens is to look for the bold white markings around the eyes of M. expansa, which are displayed in the pictures I have provided. The white is very bright and obvious, which makes distinction very easy, especially since jumpers love to look at you head-on!

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.

Made awkward eye contact with an Osprey flying overhead today

Taurus Mason Bee (Osmia taurus), taken March 18, 2025, in Georgia, US

Hard at work...admiring a rock? I'm honestly not sure what these guys are doing, possibly removing fine sediment from the rocks? There are dozens flying along the stones on the edge of my creek banks. The best guess I have is that they're collecting fine sand or dirt to do their "mason" work with. They're quite shy, but if I sit still enough, they'll come check out the rocks near me!

Chalcid Wasp (Brasema rhadinosa), female, taken April 12, 2025, in Georgia, US

Feast your eyes on some (okay-ish) pictures of this gorgeous woman!! She was quite the pain to photograph because she would not sit still ever. She did, however, stay wandering around the top of the same boardwalk post for 3 hours. I have no idea why, but she clearly liked that spot. It ended up being helpful because it allowed me to spend as much time as I needed trying to get decent pictures. A wasp as thin and flat as she is sucks to get in focus, but the effort was worth it! The pictures don't do her justice, but you can still see how pretty she is!

Globular Springtail (Ptenothrix renateae), taken February 7, 2025, in Georgia, US

I spent about half an hour yesterday inspecting a wet, rotten log and found some absolutely epic looking springtails!! This guy is probably my favorite of those finds, but I also found a different black and gold one who from the naked eye literally just looked like a speck of dust. The only reason I saw him was because he was on a pretty smooth spot of wood and he was running like mad. When stuff is that small, it really helps if it's moving!

Red-banded Leafroller Moth (Argyrotaenia velutinana), taken February 27, 2025, in Georgia, US

What an ornate moth! I always find it interesting how intricate the patterns of moths can be despite their small size. This guy was maybe as long as my fingernail, and yet he has the most gorgeous coloration!

Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula), taken February 10, 2025, in Georgia, US

The "king" part of this bird's name has certainly gone to their heads. I've seen these little guys pick on some pretty big birds, with notable success. It pays to be little and mean in the bird world!

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea), male, taken March 21, 2025, in Georgia, US

A fun new birding lifer for me! This guy was a pain to photograph, though that's only partially because he was flitting around constantly and mostly because the sun was making it hard to see if my camera was in focus or not :'). I got some nice pictures, though, and a video of him singing I have to review. This bird's song is so quiet that I'm not even sure my camera picked it up over the ambiance. It's like a whisper!