Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus Carolinensis), Taken May 20, 2025, In Georgia, US

Keeled Treehopper (Entylia carinata), taken April 27, 2025, in Georgia, US

A lifer treehopper for me! This guy flew in and landed right on top of a fly. Because of that, I thought it was another fly but noticed the pigmentation was strange, so I bent down for a closer look. Thank god I did, because this guy is epic! I'm always on the lookout for treehoppers, but they seem so rare to me. Hopefully this spring brings me even more hopper luck!

White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis), taken January 10, 2025, in Georgia, US

Georgia got its first decent snow in years, so I sat outside in the freezing weather for hours yesterday and took pictures of the birds. Some of my favorites are of White-throated Sparrows—they're surprisingly photogenic for a bird their size!

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!

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!

Northern Mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos), taken May 27, 2024, in Georgia, US

Just a mom and dad trying their best. The individual in the top right image, who I believe is mom, seems to have used some of her breast feathers for their nest. During breeding season, they're pretty territorial of the feeders, but not so much that nobody else can eat. In recent years, they've actually chilled out. The dad used to sit on the feeder for up to an hour chasing other birds off but never eating himself!

American Robin (Turdus migratorius), male, taken February 24, 2025, in Georgia, US

A drinker, I fear... The robins were incredibly bold today, though that isn't unusual for them! This guy allowed me to take some nice pictures and a short video of him before he took off. With the sound on, you can hear the cacophony that is 20 birds screaming and my pond waterfall all layered on top of one another. Be grateful the blackbirds hadn't arrived yet—they're deafening.

Sawfly (Genus Dolerus), taken March 7, 2025, in Georgia, US

'Tis the season for sawflies! I've only seen two so far, but more are certainly to come. This guy was quite striking, being bright red! Until now, I've only seen black sawflies in person, so I actually thought this was some kind of blood bee (Genus Sphecodes) until I put it into iNat lol! However, if you look closer, you can tell that the body is almost fully red, the antennae are not elbowed, and the head isn't really bee-shaped. What a cool find! Here's to hoping I see more!

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!

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!