As hawk watch locations across North America start hiring and counting migrating raptors, the raptors themselves are gearing up to head wherever. I've had the opportunity to see and photograph a lot of raptors in the past two years. The two common accipiter hawks, the sharp-shinned hawk (or "sharpie") and Cooper's hawk are often mistaken for one another. While the sharpie is usually considerably smaller than the Cooper's, size can be difficult to judge in the field. Sharp-shinned hawks often travel in pairs during migration.

I hope this graphic helps you to visualize some of the differences between these two species.

A link to the African Snakebite Institute, a great organization dedicated to snake identification and education in South Africa.

Only a favorite because they're so skinny and wiggly, I like showing the blunt-headed tree snake to students because they're just not what people new to snakes think a snake looks like. There are definitely weirder species out there, but the big eyes and shoelace appearance amuse the non-herpers.

Honduras, June 2023

I was amazed at how close these birds got. I had given up most hope on locating one (I wasn't sure where local birdfeeders were), but then I found a handful of em at a parking lot up the mountain.

Colorado, USA, May 2022

Merlins kinda breed in my area, but you're more likely to find them during migration. I believe we found three on this day.

Pennsylvania, USA, Oct. 2022

In the right habitat (a pile of rocks near buildings at somewhat higher, but not quite cloud forest, elevation), the yellow-spotted night lizard can be easily spotted... at night. They have a pretty nice chomp. They always look to be in shed.

Honduras, June 2023

Sometimes warblers don't care how close you are. This one was probably ten feet away. They are truly smol, and I like to crop my photos.

Honduras, April 2023

This cicada is such a brilliant emerald with gold tints. And they screm.

Honduras, June 2023

I was hoping for Erie watersnakes, but this was a nice find anyway. This area is known for having melanistic garters.

May 2022

Golden-crowned kinglet

Pennsylvania, January 2022

Few warblers retain their breeding plumage into fall. Most warblers transition into a nonbreeding/winter plumage after their young have fledged. Some look kinda close to their breeding plumage, but others look radically different.

A lot of baby or small snakes can be confusing if you're not sure what you're looking for. Fortunately, in the US, they're all relatively easy to ID with photos of decent enough quality.

In the eastern US, Dekay's brownsnakes are super common, both juveniles and adults. Their range largely overlaps with the eastern copperhead and only slightly overlaps with the cottonmouth. Both the copperhead and cottonmouth will have yellow tail tips as juveniles, and even when young, they are considerably larger than juvenile (and some adult) Dekay's brownsnakes. This brownsnake also usually has a pale neckband as a juvenile in addition to a spotted or chain-link pattern on its backside.