Hi folks,
Time for another monthly iNaturalist Journal discussion post! As we get into spring I’m excited to start seeing all sorts of native wildlife around my hometown and closeby, including a bunch of different herp species. With that in mind, I’ve been thinking about appreciation for native species a lot lately, so my question is this: what are y’all’s favorite backyard species to encounter and observe? It’s easy to appreciate unique species observed at destination locations, but what wildlife do you often encounter that you are always excited to make an observation of? For me I’d say it has to be moths. There are all sorts of native moths in the southeast, and I always get excited to encounter a luna moth or one of the many other species living closeby and snap a few pics for iNaturalist. Can’t wait to hear what y’all have to say!
Always Wild,
Drew
What up Drew!
Spring has brought a lot of nice life into my backyard (which I am letting grow wild so far this year). I’m with you on the Moths - I put a light out against my shed some nights to see if I’m able to attract anything interesting, and the porch light does a nice job of that as well. I have a tiny little backyard in trenches of suburbia, so I typically don’t see anything too wild, but I was pleased to find a mating pair of Dekay’s Brownsnakes under one of the gutter splash blocks. I have a resident American Toad under another one, which is always nice to see. I keep the bird feeder filled in the yard as well, which has attracted a lot of Bluebirds, a pair of mating Cardinals, and a pair of Brown Thrashers, among other things. So far I’ve recorded 370 plants, animals, and fungi in my yard, and am hoping as the warm weather continues to become more regular, that tally will continue to grow!