A yellow-crowned night heron holding its wings out, a pose thought to be thermoregulation and/or to kill parasites on their wings. 🪶 (4 July 2025 / Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens / Washington, DC, USA)

Cinnabar chanterelles like tiny flames. (13 July 2025 / Rock Creek Park / Washington, DC, USA)

A few recent frogs. 🐸 (14 September 2025 / Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge / Cambridge, Maryland, USA)

Forster's terns with winter/non-breeding plumage. During the summer/breeding season, the top of their heads down to their eyes are jet black. 🪶 (14 September 2025 / Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge / Cambridge, Maryland, USA)

This broad-winged hawk swooped right in front of my car as I was slowly down a dirt road, landing about 10 feet away in a tree. I was thankful it was patient and brave as I grabbed my camera from the back seat. 🪶 (19 September 2025 / Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge / Rock Hill, Maryland, USA)

Monarch butterfly on some late-season yellow crownbeard. 🦋 (19 September 2025 / Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge / Rock Hall, Maryland, USA)

A common watersnake catching some rays. 🐍 (22 September 2025 / Marshy Point Nature Center / Middle Point, Maryland, USA)

A hummingbird clearwing moth on swamp milkweed. 🦋 From my first film-only nature outing! Taken on a Canon AE-1, 50mm f/1.8, 1/500, Fujifilm 400 color negative. (5 August 2025 / Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens / Washington, DC, USA)

A common buckeye in a bed of boneset. (1 September 2025 / Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge / Woodbridge, Virginia, USA)

A great spangled fritillary on field(?) thistle. 🦋 (1 September 2025 / Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge / Woodbridge, Virginia, USA)

A sunny Western Honey Bee. (11 July 2025 / McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area / Poolesville, Maryland, USA)

A sunny Western Honey Bee. (11 July 2025 / McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area / Poolesville, Maryland, USA)

Leafhoppers I’ve photographed in Washington DC this summer. 🐞

Washington DC wildlife: Spined assassin bug this morning on Rodman Street. Definitely glad they’re tiny.

A watchful Tree Swallow (male) rests atop a cattail (also known as bulrush). (1 June 2025 / Jug Bay Wetland Sanctuary / Lothian, Maryland, USA)

Trooping Crumble Cap mushrooms, also known as Fairy Inkcap, have 143 mating types (the fungal equivalent of sexes). Each mating type can reproduce with members of any of the other 142 mating types! These tiny troopers often carpet dead wood. (14 July 2025 / Rock Creek Park / Washington, DC, USA)

Swamp Milkweed in bloom, and a Monarch Butterfly caterpillar dining on it. (21 July 25 / Huntley Meadows Park / Alexandria, Virginia, USA)

Lichen-carrying green lacewing larva, yesterday in Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens. TIL it camouflages itself by attaching bits of lichen, along with other debris, to its back. You can see its legs at the bottom and it was moving around at a good clip. 🐞

A super chill Fowler's toad that was hanging out on a log in the forest. A+ pal. 🐸 (21 July 2025 / Huntley Meadows Park / Alexandria, Virginia, USA)

Old man (men?) of the woods. 🍄 (21 July 2025 / Huntley Meadows Park / Alexandria, Virginia, USA)

This common eastern bumble bee was absolutely lost in the swamp rose mallow pollen sauce, resting at the opening for a while, just snackin on pollen and grooming itself. 🐝🌺 (21 July 2025 / Huntley Meadows Park / Alexandria, Virginia, USA)

Washington DC wildlife: Green frog last week in Linnean Park. 🐸

Washington DC wildlife: Green stink bug yesterday on Rodman Street showing that it can be leggy. 🐞

Eastern Carpenter Bee grabbing a snack on some Wild Teasel. (11 July 2025 / McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area / Poolesville, Maryland, USA)

🌻 🐝 (11 July 2025 / McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area Sunflower Fields / Poolesville, Maryland, USA)

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth #moths #nature #photography

Huron sachem butterflies from this weekend. Plant IDs in alt text. 🦋 (4 & 6 July 2025 / Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens / Washington, DC, USA)

Eastern Pondhawk #dragonflies #nature #photography

A yellow-crowned night heron tossing back a crawfish snack whole. 🪶🦞 (4 July 2025 / Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens / Washington, DC, USA)

A wetlands giant wolf spider carrying her hatchlings on her back. (6 July 2025 / Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Garden / Washington, DC, USA)

Pond slider popping out of the duckweed. (4 July 2025 / Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Garden / Washington, DC, USA)

A downy woodpecker (female) grabbing a snack. 🪶 (8 June 2025 / backyard shot / Williamsburg, Virginia, USA)

Ruby-throated hummingbird this morning in the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Woodbridge, Virginia. 🪶

Blooming pink lotus. 🪷 (4 July 2025 / Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens / Washington, DC, USA)

Widow skimmer dragonfly. (4 July 2025 / Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens / Washington, DC, USA)

Slaty Skimmer dragonflies. (4 July 2025 / Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens / Washington, DC, USA)

Blue Dasher dragonflies. (4 July 2025 / Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens / Washington, DC, USA)

A harvestman, short a couple legs, rests on a porcelainberry leaf. Although members of the arachnid family, harvestmen (also known as daddy longlegs) are not spiders. (30 June 2025 / Soapstone Valley Park / Washington, DC, USA)

Some mushrooms (likely ornate-stalked boletes, also known as goldstalk) enjoying the humidity. 🍄 (30 June 2025 / Soapstone Valley Park / Washington, DC, USA)

Blue and orange barn swallow beauties. (1 June 2025 / Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary / Lothien, Maryland, USA) 🪶

Illustration for Audubon's Let's Go Birding Together initiative!!! 🐦🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Dried-out lotus pod. 🪷 (15 October 2024 / Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens / Washington, DC, USA)

Female common whitetail dragonfly. (19 May 2025 / Patuxent Research Refuge / Laurel, Maryland, USA) 🦋

Washington DC wildlife: Mother osprey and three chicks this morning by the Frederick Douglass Bridge. 🪶

A red-bellied cooter catching some rays. (25 May 2025 / Ladew Topiary Gardens / Monkton, Maryland, USA) 🐢

A very sweet moment, two cedar waxwings showing some affection. It looks like a kiss, but the male in the back was feeding the female in the foreground berries as a courtship ritual. (25 May 2025 / Ladew Topiary Gardens / Monkton, Maryland, USA) 🪶

A cabbage white butterfly on red clover. (Adult cabbage whites actually have a strong preference for purple, blue, or yellow flowers.) (26 May 2025 / Rachel Carson Conservation Park / Brookville, Maryland, USA) 🦋

Maryland birds this weekend: 2 Maryland crickets this weekend: 0 Left: male chipping sparrow (25 May 2025 / Ladew Topiary Gardens / Monotony, Maryland, USA), right: male eastern bluebird (26 May 2025 / Rachel Carson Conservation Park / Brookville, Maryland, USA) 🪶

Per eBird: "Indigo Buntings learn their songs as youngsters, from nearby males but not from their fathers. Those in the same 'song neighborhood' share nearly identical songs. A local song may persist up to 20 years." !! (26 May 2025 / Rachel Carson Conservation Park / Brookville, Maryland, USA) 🪶