Soaking up the Reyes?

 

 

I was admiring the nice scales and color pattern on this Western Fence Lizard (Scleropus occidentalis) today while it was basking at Point Reyes, so now I'm passing along a close-up to you!  Photographed on 26 August 2023.

Little lizard

  

When we got home from work tonight, this tiny lizard ran across our path.  It was only ~6 cm (~2.5 inches) long, including the tail.  I think it's a juvenile Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), but let me know if you have a different opinion.

October sun

It was warm in the sun this afternoon and I turned the corner to see a flash of blue:

Can you tell what it is?

The entire animal is below:

 

 

A nice look at a Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) basking at the edge of a crevice between two blocks.

 

Here's a close-up:

 

Rockscapes

  

A few photos of rocks from along the northern Sonoma coast this past weekend.  Thanks to Eric for his excellent eye and framing some beautiful patterns!

 

 
 

And here's one from me:

 

 

 

One more, from Eric, because the fence lizard matched the rock so nicely:

 

Color matching

 

Another local that demonstrates excellent color matching with its background, a Northern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea).

In the sun and the shade

So many interesting pictures from The Cedars, it's been hard to choose which to show!  Here's another view of a creek surrounded by the dry, rocky landscape:

 

And Sagebrush Lizards (Sceloporus graciosus) in the sun (Check out those toes!):

 

 

And back to the water, with some columbine, too:

 

More to come! 

Scales and stones, Part 2

We were working farther north in Sonoma County this morning.  On our walk back, we had some nice views of the local lizards and stones.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Green patina:

 

Inner circle:

 

Outer circle:

 

ADDENDUM (26 April 2019): Thanks to Lotsoflux's comment/question, I recalled another time when we observed Black Oystercatchers eating sea urchins.  Here's a photo showing examples of oystercatcher prey items at a site in Mendocino County in May 2013 (clockwise from top left) — Mossy Chiton (Mopalia muscosa), Purple Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus), limpet (likely a Shield Limpet, Lottia pelta), and California Mussel (Mytilus californianus).  [I positioned them for the photo.] 

 

Scales, stones, and shadows

While up on the northern Sonoma Coast this past weekend, we were having a snack on some sunny rocks when we realized we weren't alone:

 

When Eric leaned over to greet this Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), he managed to get a wonderful close-up highlighting the scales:

 

What a nice home this lizard has!  We especially enjoyed some of the smooth curves and shadows on the rock faces:

 

And check out these patterns.  There's something interesting to see everywhere you look!

 

Many thanks to Eric for sharing his photos of the lizard and rock formations. 

Overlapping

 

Scales on the underside of an alligator lizard's tail.  Aren't they beautiful?

 

Down to earth

 

Sometimes it's just fun to see things from a different perspective!

Northern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea), sunning in the grass on Bodega Head, 3 September 2015.

Warming up

 

We had several nice looks at lizards during our hike at The Cedars on 25 April 2015.  I'm pretty sure these were Sagebrush Lizards (Scleropus graciosus).  However, since I'm new to identifying lizards, I'd like to ask for some help.  I'll show all five individuals that I photographed.

Here's the next individual:

 

I'm leaning towards Sagebrush Lizard (rather than Western Fence Lizard) for several reasons: (1) finer, smoother scales (with less of a keel and a shorter spine); (2) no yellow on the hind legs; (3) a dark bar on the "shoulder."

The next picture shows a close-up of the scales.  (And don't miss those emerald green colors behind the back leg!  Click on the image for a larger version.)

 

The photo below shows one of the smallest individuals I photographed.  This is a good opportunity to note the extremely long toes, if you haven't already.

 

Whereas the first three individuals were pale with greenish overtones, the last two were amazingly red!

 

Is this a color variant?  Does it have to do with the breeding season?  What a wonderful match for the red rocks of The Cedars!

 

One more orange-red lizard — this one was sunning on the rocks by the creek:

 

I'd welcome any help you can provide in confirming the identity of this lizard or offering another suggestion.  And please share any thoughts you have about the red coloration.  I'm curious!

 

Hunting and grasping

I've had a couple of fun encounters with lizards recently.  

One young lizard hunting among the vegetation in the dunes: 

 

And a dramatic view of what I think is probably a male grasping a female with his mouth (see below).  After seeing this, I did a little research and read that males will do this prior to mating.

 

I think these are Northern Alligator Lizards (Elgaria coerulea), but I didn't get a close view of them, so I'm hesitant to say for sure.  [Interesting note: Northern Alligator Lizards will give birth to live young during the summer and early fall.]

Tale of a trailing tail trail

 

Another interesting track in the dunes.  Sadly, this one was harder to photograph, and I was working at the time, so I only took a few shots which didn't come out great.

I'm not sure whether there's enough here to identify the animal responsible for these tracks.  See what you think.  It looks like there's a tail trailing behind the animal, creating a gentle wave-like pattern through the middle of the track. 

 

And it appears that there are feet pushing off to either side of the tail drag.

 

 

Here's another view from a different angle.  Do you have a guess?

 

I'm wondering about lizard.  (Claudia, can you help?)  My first guess was Northern Alligator Lizard, because they're the most common lizard in the Bodega Dunes.  But I searched for pictures of alligator lizard tracks on the Internet and found a few images that don't look like this.  

Then I wondered about Western Fence Lizard, since they're uncommon to rare in the Bodega Dunes.  But I couldn't find good pictures of their tracks.  So for now I guess I'll wait to see if anyone has more experience with their track patterns and can confirm or deny that these are a possible match. 

For the record, since I haven't shown this species yet, here's the only Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) that I've photographed on Bodega Head.  This picture is from 24 June 2006.

 

To truly appreciate the beauty of this lizard, I zoomed in on the scales (this also allows you to see a hint of the "blue belly"): 

 

Finally...a reptile!

While preparing a garden bed in Sebastopol this past weekend, Eric happened upon an interesting resident.

 

Northern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea)

This is one of two species of lizards that have been documented on Bodega Head.

Note the olive, brown, and black coloration and the triangular-shaped head.

 

The eyes are brown (rather than yellow as in the Southern Alligator Lizard).

 

Northern Alligator Lizards occur as far north as British Columbia, farther north than any other species of lizard on the West Coast.  

They live in forested habitats, but on Bodega Head I probably see them most often around shrubs in the dunes, and sometimes in the grassland...especially in nice sunny spots.

The prey of Northern Alligator Lizards includes insects, spiders, ticks, centipedes, millipedes, slugs, snails, and worms.  They give birth to live young (between 2-15, often 6-7) in the summer and fall.