Fence lizards come in a variety of shades from light to dark, but most of the lizards I saw at Smith Rock had this light coloring. I don’t know if it is genetically more common or if it leads to higher survival rates by enabling the lizards to better blend in with the lightly colored rocks in the park.
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.
Bandelier National Monument was easily one of our favorite places during our first trip to New Mexico. The informational materials there pointed out that the modern Pueblo peoples don’t like the homes of the ancestral Pueblos to be referred to as ruins (and the implication that they are abandoned) as they feel a strong spiritual connection to their ancestors there.
The old cliff and cave dwellings aren’t abandoned in more ways than that, as we saw a variety of wildlife even in the main part of the day. Some of the animals I had never seen before, such as Williamson’s sapsucker, canyon wrens, rock squirrels, and a few lizards I wasn’t able to identify.
And then there were animals I had seen before but was still delighted to see, such as this fence lizard I found sunning itself beside the trail as I made my way back to the Visitor’s Center.