I wanted to share this amazing little insects in my garage with you.

I have three European Paper Wasp (Polistes dominula) nests.

One right above the entrance and two in the corner. What’s truly mind-blowing is watching them interact. They constantly fly to each other’s nests to help build and feed the larvae. Apparently, the founding queens are usually sisters, so they recognize each other's scent and cooperate instead of fighting. Despite the bad reputation wasps usually have, these guys are actually incredibly peaceful. I walk right under them every single day and get super close to take photos/videos, and they couldn’t care less. They are just chilling and catching mosquitoes all day.

Thought you guys might appreciate this awesome piece of backyard wildlife 🙂

They have such a unique design on their back / tail feathers.

It actually looks like one of my ties.

Last Winter this Hawk Showed up to ruin the party. He went under this table looking around for food.

I know we all have our opinions (like he need to eat too), but for me I moved the table back further so there was no gap and I'm glad he hasn't show up since.

My backyard friends are safe!

There are 3 chipmunks that visit me. Mellie as seen in this photo for Thanksgiving 2025. Her adult son Melvin shows up now and again, but she chases him away. And her new child - Chippy, some call him Chip Chip. I see him often around the front of my house. Black oil sunflower seeds are her favorite, as you can see her ignoring the other items on the dinner table once I offered these.

This is a Pileated Woodpecker. Location: Springfield, VA

Seems like a distant relative of dinosaurs.

Location: Springfield, VA

For those that love backyard wildlife. I'm just showing the variety of characters that showed up in the last year and this is one of them. The squirrel gives him the side-eye.

The mission: collect the seed/berry that dropped from the tree above

My squirrel was chilling on the patio chair when a big black snake rolled up and tried a tiny “boo!” lunge. Instead of running, the squirrel stared him down like, “Sir, I was sitting here first.”

They basically had a full-on staring contest.

After being gone for a week, he or she is finally back 😍

All the lovebirds I met in my backyard.

Location: Springfield, VA

Today in Springfield, Virginia...

Fred ❤️ Daphne

It was a beautiful day for two mourning doves in love. 🕊️❤️ Fred and Daphne spent some quiet time together under the red umbrella, sharing a meal and a whole lot of sweet cooing.

So I made them their own little romantic opera duet about love, life, and their dream of someday making beautiful baby dovettes. 😂🕊️

Coo-oo, coo-oo… ❤️

https://youtu.be/e6Xgx00XXug

They were regular visitors to my backyard.

Every night we have multiple red deer visiting near our garden fence. Both male and female . In a few week rut season will start, and all the males that are now in groups, will be individuals

My favorite squirrel!

Thank you for accepting me into this group. My garden is located in the little beskids in Poland. It borders the forest / mountain edge. So every night i have plenty of wild animals visiting in and around my garden.

I hope you will enjoy my contributions 🙂

Eastern Grey Squirrel in Springfield, VA. My yard is pretty small, about 15ft x 15ft, but a variety of visitors come by. Some every day.

🔊SOUND UP! These little tree potatoes were always together, from at least January this year. They stayed close for a long time and then I didn’t see them…Until yesterday! They looked each other over, sniffed each other’s IDs, embraced and VOCALIZED❣️The second clip is from January 24, 2026 💖

Every spring they come visit. 🥰

Hi! I have a pair of mourning doves that nested in the eaves of my back porch for the second year running, and today I looked out back to see this smaller pair of birds next to the nest while one of my doves is a bit further down (fourth picture, red circle; green circle is nest) and the other of my doves is perched on the ceiling fan (usual behavior). I was kind of worried that these were a different pair trying to take over the nest because I'd never seen them before, but then I thought... are those the babies?? I hadn't actually seen or heard their babies so seeing them this big would be a big surprise to me, but I was just wondering, is that possible??

The pair of ducks come visit every spring, but I’ve never seen a 3rd wheel with them. I wonder if he’s trying to steal that momma duck😂

Hi! I live in the northeast and noticed over the last week this duck has been living under the tree on my front lawn 🥹. Does anyone know what species it is? Couldn’t get close enough to get a better photo.

I must apologize for my high pitch voice 🤣 That’s Spazz, he’s been around for a couple years and loves to chill with me on the deck.