Wildlife photography of all kinds in no particular chronological order... call me North!All photos posted are taken by me, and everything that appears here is documented on iNaturalist as well.
242 posts
Latest Posts by northerlyy - Page 7
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis), taken February 27, 2025, in Georgia, US
A rather uncommon visitor appeared yesterday! In the past, we've had a decent goldfinch presence in the yard, but the past couple years they've been quite sparse. In their absence, other birds have grown more numerous, though, and I still see them elsewhere, so I assume they either left voluntarily or got pushed out by competition.
I actually think these are two different individuals, the first picture being a different bird, but I'm not sure since the lighting is different and I didn't see both at the same time lol. Maybe if I'm lucky it's a pair that's planning to nest here this spring :)
Nosy Pill Woodlice (Armadillidium nasatum), taken February 26, 2025, in Georgia, US
A nice pill bug family of four, living the life underneath a log I flipped. They didn't do much, but I suppose I too would be stiff with terror if a giant flipped my dark, unmoving house over and exposed me to the elements! I put them back after I was done, and they probably went right back to whatever conversation they were having before I interrupted them, so no harm no foul!
Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), males & juvenile male (2), taken February 25, 2025, in Georgia, US
More blackbirds!! Migrating flocks are still passing through all day, so there are plenty of opportunities to get pictures. The video is of one of them shuffling around on their preferred perch, participating in the cacophony of calls. They're so much louder in person...
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus), taken February 25, 2025, in Georgia, US
One of the birds that I guarantee you has been here the whole time, but I only noticed for the first time this winter. They blend into the ground perfectly, especially in the shade or when the weather is cloudy. Now that I know to look for them, I always enjoy seeing this cutie running about!
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), male, taken February 25, 2025, in Georgia, US
Bald!!!!! The spring molt has taken him... Every spring all of the cardinals become bald, and it is both pathetic and wonderful. This guy has started a bit early, so he's the odd man out of the bunch until they all follow!
Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis), female, taken June 29, 2024, in Georgia, US
I only have a small collection of dragonfly closeups, but they're some of my favorite pictures! When I took this one, this lady wasn't doing too hot. It had rained earlier in the day so she may have been tired, but she let me hold her and lift her onto a tree! This was taken before I gave her a hand, and you can see all of the little hairs on her body. Super neat!
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.
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), juvenile male, taken February 24, 2025, in Georgia, US
I believe I am in love with this beautiful fucking bird!!! Despite how pretty the males are, I might prefer the appearance of the female RW blackbird more. The brown tones and subtle red on the face are just gorgeous. This juvenile male has a combination of both sexes' best traits—intricate browns as well as a vibrant orange patch on the wing! Hopefully I'll be able to get more pictures before all of the blackbirds are gone!
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!
Handsome Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum pulchellum), female, taken September 28, 2024, in Georgia, US
Handsome, indeed! I have dozens of pictures of these guys, not just because they exist in excess here, but also because they're just too beautiful for me to pass up photographing! This species is differentiable from all others in the genus at almost every life stage by its bright blue eyes, which nobody else shares. It's quite striking to see a katydid with a rainbow of colors, even after having seen them a hundred times!
Velvetbean Caterpillar Moth (Anticarsia gemmatalis), taken September 28, 2024, in Georgia, US
Aside from Renia moths, these are some of the most common lepidopteran inhabitants of the leaflitter in my back woods! They're terrible to photograph because they startle when leaves crunch near them, so I always have to creep up on them really slowly. Even then, it sometimes takes several minutes for me to finally catch one! Despite their drab coloration, I still find them quite beautiful. They're perfectly made for forest floor life!
Clouded Skipper (Lerema accius), taken August 4, 2024, in Georgia, US
What a talented model! These guys and Zabulon Skippers often sit on the same patch of leaves in the sun and spread their wings. It makes for excellent photos since they have a really high tolerance for me getting up in their business! Clouded Skippers have some gorgeous chocolate brown wings, and this guy really wanted me to know that!
Eastery Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), taken January 23, 2025, in Georgia, US
Just a little guy trying to stay warm. This picture shows off its soft underbelly quite nicely—it looks so comfortable! With how cold it is right now and the regular presence of several hawks in the backyard, there are few squirrels visiting the feeders. I never thought I'd say it, but I actually kind of miss them!
Shore Spiders (Pardosa milvina), male (left) and female (right), taken July 3, 2024, in Georgia, US
I only discovered after I was sorting through my photos from this trip that I had coincidentally gotten a male and female of this species in the exact same position, which helps emphasize their differences. You can see the difference in coloration, abdomen size, and palp size pretty well! This species is everywhere where I am, and they're especially prevalent on the shore of the creek, as their name suggests!
American Pelecinid Wasp (Pelecinus polyturator), taken July 29, 2024, in Georgia, US
My beautiful skinny queen.. How must it be to have such a perfect figure? For such an elegant looking insect, you'd think they'd be agile, but I've had these guys just. come at my face. They have collided with me, though they're not alone in that. Too many wasps have crashed into my face. How would you feel if you turned around and immediately received a face full of WASP?
Tan Jumping Spider (Platycryptus undatus), female, taken October 28, 2023, in Georgia, US
A head-on view of a small jumping friend! You can see her tapping her palps on the post as she moves, likely for extra sensory input. She was quite wary of me, but she was nice and allowed me to take a nice video and get a couple pictures! Tan jumpers have such fuzzy faces, unlike most other jumpers I see, and that gives them extra cuteness points in my head!
He hath returned...
He visited again twice today. Not sure what he's doing, but during this visit he borbed it up on a branch in the sun and then looked at things on the ground for a couple minutes before flying off. It's possible he's just weathering the winter in the area, but it'd be nice if he was thinking about spending his first nesting season here :)
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!
Versute Sharpshooters (Graphocephala versuta), taken October 15, 2023, in Georgia, US
Some beautiful "red morph" versute sharpshooters looking all snug in some leaves! These photos were taken in their favorite little patch of plants—tall with long, tightly packed leaves for good protection and lots of surface area. I always find lots of G. versuta in there, though I often find G. coccinea (Red-banded Leafhopper) and many other assorted species of leafhoppers in the patch as well!
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), taken February 18, 2025, in Georgia, US
I spent 15 minutes filming this doofus to catch his takeoff. My arms were numb from holding my camera so still for that long!!! Worth it in the long run though, because large bird takeoffs are absolutely fascinating to me. It's so cool to watch them fall and catch themselves!
Spine-headed Bugs (Acanthocephala terminalis), taken August 18, 2024, in Georgia, US
Two nymphs at different stages of life sharing a leaf! I believe there were actually three individuals on this same plant, but the third didn't fit into the frame so it got its own picture. This area is frequented by the adult forms of this species, especially when flowers are blooming, so it makes sense that there would be plenty of babies too!
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!
Stretch Spiders (Genus Tetragnatha), female (top) and male (bottom), taken July 7, 2024, in New Hampshire, US
This pair was set up under the awning of a dock lamp. It was an extremely effective setup, seeing as I had to hang out over the water on my stomach and put the life of my phone at risk to get pictures lol! In the top photo, there's a good view of the horrifically large fangs of this genus, while the male on the bottom is showing off his lovely gold coloration! He's a catch!
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!
Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta), male, taken July 30, 2024, in Georgia, US
Dragonflies remain fierce contenders for my favorite photo subjects, at least amongst bugs! For their size and speed, they're very cooperative. I've even had some take advantage of the mosquito cloud following me to grab a snack! This guy just sat on the tip of this stick and helped me make some sick looking pictures!
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), male, taken February 10, 2025, in Georgia, US
After weeks of staking my feeders out, ONE brave soul FINALLY inched forward onto the feeder perches. Even if all he did was look around and stare at me judgmentally, he still let me get some nice pictures of him before leaving (without even grabbing a snack..) and I respect him for that. Clearly, blackbirds are braver alone than in groups!
Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica), taken September 15, 2024, in Georgia, US
Some of my favorite bee photos! I think I had my nicer lens on for these, so they turned out a bit higher quality than others. Taking pictures of bees moving frantically from flower to flower is hard enough already—add in needing to get close and it's near impossible because they run away! My more ranged lens is nice for insects like bees, butterflies, and dragonflies that are large enough to focus easily from afar and are too skittish for getting super close. These turned out pretty cute!
White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis), taken February 10, 2025, in Georgia, US
A couple cuties posing at the bird bath! Sparrows just keep growing on me—I love it when they look over their shoulders at me 🥺
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), male, taken February 11, 2025, in Georgia, US
Cardinals have been pretty shy at the feeders as of late. They all show up and just sit in the trees, too nervous to come down. Even a red-winged blackbird came down before them, and they've been horribly difficult for me to photograph! This guy came down to pose for me, though! He seems to be starting his spring molt, poor guy lol.
Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii), taken February 13, 2025, in Georgia, US
He is assessing the situation after catching a lovely robin lunch! I saw him come in quick through the trees to land before he was spotted, and no watchful birds (blue jays, starlings, mockingbirds, etc.) were around to raise the alarm for everyone dining at the feeders. He swooped in fast and made a quick kill, then flew off after, perhaps to make it on time to a lunch date with a mate :)