Another view of the western fence lizard from Smith Rock, this view nicely shows off the blue speckles that run the length of his torso. The body color of fence lizards can range from dark to light and I saw all varieties at the park, but this color was the most common.
After featuring an eastern fence lizard, here’s a look at the western variety. The blue patch under the chin indicates that this is a male.
I’m not a rock climber but I enjoy watching both the two-legged and four-legged variety at Smith Rock State Park. I found this fence lizard on an old log in the higher elevations at the park.
You can find the little guys everywhere from the valley floor to the rocks along the cliff faces to the top of the rock formations. A telephoto lens was helpful, as they didn’t like a close approach and they scamper along the rocks a lot faster than I.
From this angle, it’s pretty clear where the rock formation Monkey Face at Oregon’s Smith Rock State Park gets its name — from other vantage points the rock loses its simian appearance. The picture is taken from the River Trail, which loops up onto the rocks to the right of Monkey Face. It’s a nice way to get to the top if, like me, you’re scared of heights and wouldn’t scale the cliff face if your life depended on it.
Caution is advised in this area because, although I have no definitive proof, when it all goes down I’m pretty sure this will be ground zero when the earth becomes the planet of the apes.