Saturday, March 31, 2012
Spotted salamander crossing the road
This big spotted salamander found crossing Big Hole Rd, Harwich. A treacherous journey. Moved to side of road.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Which way do the snow geese go?
2nd lizard, March 7th
First Lizard of the year, Santa Fe, NM, March 5, 2012
March 5, 2012 – Out working in the garden, I was surprised to find the first lizard of the year! It was warm but I wasn’t quite prepared to see a lizard. I think he/she wasn’t prepared to see me either and it made a hasty retreat under a wood pile when I got too close. I had always called these common lizards Western Fence Lizards but looking in my Stebbins Field Guide, I see from the range map that it is actually a subspecies of the Eastern Fence Lizard, the Southern Plateau Lizard, Sceloporus undulatus tristichus. It looked to have over-wintered in good condition. It was an odd feeling knowing that he/she had just woken from its long sleep of at least 4 months, and now was being watched by this strange and very large creature. No wonder it scurried out of sight.