Outdoor Hour Challenge - Using the Reptile and Amphibian Grid Study

We have been blessed with many lizard sightings in the past few weeks. Just this past Sunday we saw four lizards on our hike and on Monday we saw three! They are all the same kind of lizard, the Western Fence Lizard. They look like little alligators with really big feet. They are super fast when they want to get away but many times they will sit on a rock in the sun like a statue and pose for the camera. These lizards made a great subject for the start of our Reptile and Amphibian Grid Study.

Here are a few of our images from these encounters.

Love the feet!

I have been keeping my eyes open, looking on rocks as we walk.

Here is what I gleaned from our reptile field guide and recorded in my nature journal.

• From the family, Iguanidae
• They are often found on rocks, on logs, in wood piles, and on rails and rock fences (confirmed by our sightings).
• Females lay up to 25 soft-shelled eggs anytime between mid-may to mid-July, hatching about two months later.
• Dormant in winter.
• Diet consists of beetles, flies, termites, ants, and spiders.
• Throat and belly are blue. (We have not seen this so we need to try to take a closer look.)
• Range is the length of the Sierra, primarily in the foothills.

For our Amphibian Study:
We also found a spot that has a lot of frogs eggs...a small pool of water alongside our walking trail. We will be watching and waiting for tadpoles to arrive.

Other Reptiles:
No snakes yet....I know the last time I said that here on the blog we saw a snake that very next day.

This was a great start to our Reptile and Amphibian Grid Study this month and I hope to continue finding interesting subjects to add to our journals.

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