Man it has been chilly out here for herping, but some herps have been out and about.
Week of Feb. 15 - 21:
6 Tree lizards, where else but on a tree. I saw these on the sunny side of two trees at a rest area somewhere between Phoenix and Why. Yes that is the name of the town and if you ever stop by you too may wonder why they ever opted to plant a town there!
1 as of yet unidentified, by me, lizard found under a rock that I slipped on while out hiking. The rock went tumbling and the lizard just stayed put. I put the rock back in place but first picked up the lizard so as not to squash it. I checked the lizard out and it seemed not to have been injured at all. I then let it crawl back under the same stone.
1 Desert Banded Gecko, also found under a rock, this one I actually looked under.
6 Centipedes, all under rocks. Yellow at each end with a grayish body, each about 3 inches long.
1 huge Black Widow.
(Sure those last two are not herps, but were pretty neat finds).
I didn't try to catch any of these. I would like to get a nice trio of Yarrow's Spiny Lizards, but I have to check on their status with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. I am pretty sure they are fair game with a hunting license.
It warmed up a couple of days last week, but cooled right off again. I am still hoping it warms up for a long spell before I leave in early march, but no warming trend is in site right now. Daily temps in the sixties, and it was in the mid fifties in the hills where I found that unidentified lizard. It was warmer under that stone, I am sure, but I was still rather surprised to see a lizard with that cool of an ambient air temp. Oh well, at least I have not been skunked!
Happy Herping,
Glenn B
