Lovely Lizards

Any “fly on the wall” in my home garden or at the dancehall garden might be startled by hearing my sudden squeal of delight whenever I see a lizard… and I know for sure that the lizards are surprised and probably pretty frightened!  But I just can’t help it, because I love lizards. 

 

During my first autumn in Arivaca, I went out to my studio one morning and there on my screen door was this good-size Ornate Tree Lizard.  What a welcome! And the longer I’ve lived around here, the more species of lizards I get to see, and I wish I had more time right now to research more about them all.  It’s definitely one of the things on my “nature to-do list” for when the dancehall is complete!  In the meantime, I am greatly enjoying watching them scramble around on and under the downed logs and rocks in my gardens, pump their chest up and down like a body-builder, freeze perfectly still on a tree trunk, or dart across my path.  

 

 

 

Sonoran Spotted Whiptail

Lately, my most frequent sightings have been of  Sonoran Spotted Whiptails. I don't know why they're called spotted instead of striped, but I do know that they really do whip their tails when they run!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Northern Alligator Lizard

 

In my years as a nature educator at Magnuson Park in Seattle, I was lucky enough to make a living leading kids and adults on nature walks, camps, field trips, and classes through all parts of the park.  This included Promontory Point, one of the only urban areas in the entire Puget Sound region where Northern Alligator Lizards still thrive.  One of the ways that these amazing lizards have adapted to the Pacific Northwest climate is that after mating, the females incubate and hatch their eggs inside their body in order to keep them warm during the cool, wet spring and early summer!  Sometime in August or early September, the young crawl out of their mother’s body for the first time to go off on their own.   

 

Cayman Island lizard

When visiting my family in the Cayman islands in 2019, this lizard with amazing curly toes appeared on our 2nd story balcony!  The tiles were splashed with red glaze, so don't worry that it does look like blood.

My cousin Alida will confirm that I squealed with delight when I saw this one too - ha ha!!!

 

Keep your eyes open for a new article with more details on Arivaca’s lovely lizards next year, but in the meantime,  hope you enjoy feasting your eyes on these fun photos!