My subject froze in place, trusting in his (or her) invisibility.
The eye can be fooled but the camera cannot.
 |
| He shifted his head to keep his eye on me |
My close encounter with this Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) is my contribution to the Wednesday Vignette meme sponsored by Anna at Flutter & Hum. Also known as a blue-belly, the lizard was careful to keep his stomach pressed flat to the tree's trunk so as not to give himself away.
All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Oh wow! He's a handsome fella. And you managed to have your camera handy…I'm so impressed!
ReplyDeleteI'd been out beforehand snapping shots of some new plants in my garden before I started hauling trash for the morning pick-up. I'm not usually that lucky.
DeleteThat's great camouflage and a wonderful moment captured! Our lizards get out of the way faster than I can photograph them...
ReplyDeleteThat was the most surprising thing, Amy - these lizards usually move so fast I don't have a chance to catch a picture.
DeleteThe camouflage almost worked for the creature, cool and well spotted!
ReplyDeleteHe must have believed he was well and truly hidden because these lizards usually scoot off at any approach. He just froze in place.
DeleteIt was a nice lizard!
ReplyDeleteNot easy to see the.
Have a nice weekend
Mariana
I hope you have a great weekend too, Mariana!
DeleteA beautiful lizard. Well spotted!
ReplyDeleteTheir blue bellies are pretty flashy too but the only time I've seen that is when the cat manages to catch one.
Delete"I thought I saw the tree twitch". That is fabulous - you are a world class "noticer" and with this kind of company in your garden I hope you'll always have your camera handy.
ReplyDeleteWell, you have to admit it's odd to see a tree trunk move (outside of an animated film, of course).
DeleteGreat picture! I love the scales on that lizard
ReplyDeleteHe - and the legion of his companions in my garden - are handsome creatures.
DeleteWow - that was in your garden! How wonderful! Great shots too, and I'm with Matt here... Those scales are fantastic! :)
ReplyDeleteThere are hundreds of them in my garden. You can't walk 5 feet without one skittering by. The off thing was that this one stayed put.
DeleteKeeping your garden Earwig-free. We love lizards!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure what they ate but, if it's earwigs, they're certainly welcome here. (Not that I could get rid of them if I tried.) Since your post on the holes they dig for their eggs, I've noticed lots of those - if I hadn't seen your post, I'd have probably blamed the skunks for those.
DeleteWhen I was a kid at Camp Pendleton (Oceanside) I used to go hunting for these lizards. We'd always catch them and then flip them over to see their bellies. The lizards here are much less scaly and I see skinks more than lizards. Very cool pics! :)
ReplyDeleteYour kid-self clearly moved more quickly than I do - I'm sure that even this frozen lizard would have taken off if I'd made a move to grab him. Even my cat is rarely successful (but that's a good thing as a half-digested lizard is unpleasant to say the least).
DeleteI love it! Great photos, Kris. I've seen these east of the Cascades, but in my area I usually only see northern alligator lizards, and those only rarely at our current house. I miss seeing all the lizards and big garter snakes at our last house.
ReplyDeleteAlligator lizards sound much fiercer than "fence" lizards.
DeleteHow gorgeous is this guy!
ReplyDeleteHe (or she) is busy creating more look-alikes - you can't walk 3 feet without coming across one, especially when the temperatures rise.
Delete