I don’t go through other people’s faves, and use my own mostly to save observations I particularly like, without any intent to do anything about them (except maybe look at them sometimes and dream about visiting that part of the world someday and seeing that critter with my own eyes).
Like this little guy! Especially this little guy!!! Gods, Australian spiders are absolutely precious little goobers, I want to hold one so bad TwT
On an tangentially related note, I’m not a particularly squeamish person, so I don’t mind literal dumpster diving as well if it allows me to photograph a cool critter. Some of my favorite finds have been on animal corpses and poop piles.
I still fondly remember one time a few years ago where I spent twenty minutes crouching over a pile of fresh cow poop watching a congregation of shiny golden dung flies having an orgy:
If you like your dumpsters on fire, try reading through the flagged posts. Now that is a real boredom buster!
On a more literal note, I’m also an artist and I do a lot of collaging in my work. I enjoy using random “scrap” papers and in the past couple of years I’ve discovered that the public-use recycling bins behind my local grocery store are a great spot to find art fodder. There are two meant specifically for paper, so it’s not like there’s super gross stuff in there most of the time. I’ve found calanders, novels, a field guide about birds once, an 1800s poetry book, some postcards from an Antarctic research base… you’d be amazed what people throw out.
I get free art supplies without having to give my hard-earned money to some evil corporation and also I keep things from potentially ending up in a landfill or something just a little bit longer. Environmentally friendly, makes me feel like a mischievous raccoon, good for my wallet… an absolute win in my opinion!
Ah, yes. Years ago I noticed flies on a fresh cow pie on our farm. The Golden Dung Flies were lovely (as flies go) and their lekking behavior was fascinating! I took photos. My relatives were tolerant of being told about them but clearly were not impressed. When I mention to an entomologist that Golden Dung Flies are my favorite flies, they look at me oddly, probably thinking I don’t know what they live on.
I must admit that Golden Dung Flies may have been edged out as my favorites by Adejeania vexatrix, Tachnid flies that I think of as flying strawberries.
I have dumpster dived irl myself, and it has in fact netted me some awesome observations. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/370214262
This, being my favourite - and the first time I had ever seen this genus