Wildlife photographs in southeastern Pennsylvania: Small animals with multi-month sightings in May - part 2

in American Steem • 2 days ago (edited)

Welcome to part two of the small animal photos that I took during the month of May. Here is part one, and you can find the rest of my spring 2026 wildlife photography at the end of this post.

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As regular readers are aware, this continuing series emerged from my desire to learn photography with a Nikon P1000 that I bought for Bald Eagle photography at Maryland's Conowingo Dam. What started as simple photography practice gradually turned into citizen science with wildlife observations submitted to the iNaturalist platform, and a month-by-month blog series on the Steem blockchain.

The part-1 post for small animals in May covered four species with seven sightings: the American Crow, the American Red Squirrel, the Brown-headed Cowbird, and the Mourning Dove. This post will cover five species with fifteen sightings. Today's animals are: the Blue Jay, the House Finch, the Northern Cardinal, the Northern Flicker, and the Red-bellied Woodpecker.

And here's a summary table that shows all of my small animal observations that were reported to iNaturalist in May, and also in previous months. (May's first encounters got their own post.)

Common NameMay CountFirst SightingLast SightingMay Observations
American Crow12026-04-282026-05-312026-05-31
American Red Squirrel32026-03-222026-06-062026-05-10, 2026-05-17, 2026-05-26
Blue Jay32026-03-212026-06-062026-05-11, 2026-05-26, 2026-05-29
Brown-headed Cowbird22026-03-262026-05-182026-05-16, 2026-05-18
House Finch52026-04-262026-06-062026-05-09, 2026-05-13, 2026-05-15, 2026-05-24, 2026-05-31
Mourning Dove12026-03-212026-05-122026-05-12
Northern Cardinal52026-03-302026-06-062026-05-08, 2026-05-15, 2026-05-22, 2026-05-26, 2026-05-28
Northern Flicker12026-03-252026-05-092026-05-09
Red-bellied Woodpecker12026-03-012026-05-262026-05-26
Total May Count22

Now, let's get on to the photographs.

Blue Jay

In my opinion, this is one of the two most charismatic birds in this post - along with the Northern Cardinal. It's a common bird, but now that the leaves have grown in, it is often hard to find and photograph. The Blue Jay sometimes mimics the call of other birds, but its own call sounds (to me) like something halfway between the "caw" of the American Crow and the "quack" of a duck. The stereotypical Blue Jay photo shows them with their crests raised, and I only learned through this new photography hobby that they will lower their crests in a relaxed situation - such as when feeding with family. The oldest known wild Blue Jay was 26. It was banded near Newfoundland in 1989 and found there again in 2016.

On May 29, I observed a pair of them gathering nesting material, but I haven't yet figured out where they built their nest.
May 11May 26
ƒ/8; 1/1000; ISO800;
539mm (125X; 3000mm equiv.)		ƒ/5.6; 1/160; ISO1600;
216mm (50X, 1200mm equiv.)
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May 26May 27
ƒ/5.6; 1/160; ISO1600;
216mm (50X, 1200mm equiv.);
Unfortunately, the autofocus locked on the brush, not the bird, but you can see the flattened crest.		ƒ/7.1; 1/1600; ISO1400; 395mm (91X, 2198mm equiv.);
Lighting adjusted in Google Photos
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May 29May 29
ƒ/6.3; 1/125; ISO1600; 324mm (75X, 1803mm equiv.)ƒ/5; 1/200; ISO1600;
102mm (23X, 567mm equiv.)
image.pngimage.png

House Finch

Like the European Starling in previous posts, the House Finch is another bird that's not a native to the region. They are originally from the southwest United States. According to the Audubon Society, they were released by pet-shop owners in New York City during the 1940s in order to evade prosecution, because the shop owners had been selling them illegally. Within 50 years, the bird had colonized the rest of the continental US, and now covers the entire country - with small exceptions in the deep south. It seems that these birds can survive in almost any habitat, with the exception that they tend to avoid expansive grasslands and unbroken forests.

Females and juveniles have plain brown faces. Males have reddish markings on the heads. I thought I had spotted a female during May, but I can't find a photo now, so maybe I remembered wrong.
May 9May 13
ƒ/6.3; 1/500; ISO125;
359mm (83X, 2000mm equiv.)		ƒ/7.1; 1/500; ISO800;
467mm (108X, 2599mm equiv.)
image.pngimage.png
May 15May 24
ƒ/8; 1/250; ISO1600;
539mm (125X, 3000mm equiv.)		ƒ/7.1; 1/320; ISO400;
432mm (100X, 2404mm equiv.)
image.pngimage.png

Northern Cardinal

I mentioned that the Blue Jay is one of the two most charismatic animals in this post. IMO, the Northern Cardinal is the second one. Especially in snow scenes and Christmas cards ;-). I'm pretty sure that we have a pair nesting somewhere nearby, but - as with the Blue Jay - I haven't spotted the nest yet. Unlike the Blue Jay, it's easy to distinguish between the male and the female. As is typical with many bird species, the males are brilliantly colorful, while the females have colors that blend in with the background.

May wasn't the first time that I photographed these birds, but I'm pretty sure it was the first month where I photographed one on the ground, in plain view.
May 13May 15
ƒ/7.1; 1/60; ISO800;
395mm (91X, 2198mm equiv.)		ƒ/8; 1/320; ISO1600;
539mm (125X, 3000mm equiv.)
image.pngimage.png
May 26May 28
ƒ/6.3; 1/500; ISO1600; 324mm (75X, 1803mm equiv.)ƒ/8; 1/200; ISO1600; 503mm (116X, 2799mm equiv.)
image.pngimage.png

Woodpeckers

The two woodpecker species that I saw again in May were the Northern Flicker and the Red-bellied Woodpecker. Both species checked in with just single observations.

The Northern Flicker can hammer on trees for food like other woodpeckers, but it actually prefers to feed on the ground. Its primary food is the ant. It lives year-round through most of the continental US, but it is also more prone to migratory behaviors than some other woodpecker species, going north to Canada during summer months and south to Mexico during the winter. Both the Northern Flicker and the Red-bellied Woodpecker will nest in holes in trees.

Pennsylvania is near the northern edge of the Red-bellied Woodpecker's year-round range. It mostly lives across the southeastern US, and does not show a migratory pattern on the range map.
May 9 - Northern FlickerMay 9 - Northern Flicker
ƒ/6.3; 1/640; ISO800;
359mm (83X, 1998mm equiv.)		ƒ/8; 1/320; ISO400;
503mm (116X, 2799mm equiv.)
image.pngimage.png
May 26 - Red-bellied WoodpeckerMay 26 - Red-bellied Woodpecker
ƒ/5.6; 1/160; ISO800;
180mm (41X, 1001mm equiv.)		ƒ/5.6; 1/160; ISO800;
180mm (41X, 1001mm equiv.)
image.pngimage.png

Wrap-up

Thank you for visiting my post. I hope you enjoyed this exploration of backyard wildlife in southeastern Pennsylvania. As with previous months, the raptor photos come next. Unlike previous months, for May's photos I think the raptors will need to be split into two parts.

Appendix

Here are my previous wildlife photography posts from the Spring months of 2026:

May's photographs

April's photographs

March's photographs

Thank you for your attention!

All photos above were taken by me with a Nikon P1000 camera. I'm sharing them under the CC BY 4.0 license (share & adapt freely with attribution to the original source).

#wildlife #photography #citizen-science #animals
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