Return to Yuma, AZ
Our last field work in Yuma occurred in 2005, so we were long overdue for a visit to the Sonoran Desert and to our many good friends in Yuma. Even though it is one of the hottest, driest places in North America, we have a fondness for the desert life after living there for many field seasons. Everyone was excited to go out to look for our favorite little critter, the flat-tailed horned lizard (Phrynosoma mcallii).
If you can decipher the trail from all the other desert tracks, you will be rewarded by finding a lizard at the end. Few people ever find this species because of its camouflage and its propensity to bury in the sand long before you see it. Here is one lizard that did its best to escape detection, but April's finely-honed lizard-sleuthing skills paid off yet again! She was pleased that she had not lost the touch after all these years. Kevin, on the other hand, was getting frustrated that he was not finding any.
Between the horned lizard finds, Ian and Megan kept busy chasing and catching other lizards. Ian noosed this zebra-tailed lizard (Callisaurus draconoides). Zebra-tailed lizards are one of the fastest species of lizards.
Then Megan noosed a baby desert iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) that Kevin had found hiding in a creosote.
And as we were returning to our Suburban, everyone teamed up to catch this gorgeous juvenile leopard lizard (Gambelia wislizenii). The bright orange colors are only found on gravid females and hatchlings. This lizard is famous for biting hard.
By 9:00 a.m. it was far too hot to play anymore, so we drove back to cool off in a lovely swimming pool at our hosts' house. The H Family was very gracious to let us stay in their home and enjoy their pool while they were vacationing in Peru.
Following lunch, it was just too hot to do anything more outside, so we visited the J Family, who hosted our family for 3 different years during our field seasons.
Megan had been anxious to see one of her best friends, Hannah. They have been corresponding via snail mail and exchanging photos over the years. They were so excited to be able to spend the afternoon together in person.
Miss Megan was the FIRST to find one, thanks to her fine training from her highly skilled parents.
Look at that proud smile!
Not to be outdone by her daughter, April found the second, third, and fourth lizards, all by following tracks that look like this:
If you can decipher the trail from all the other desert tracks, you will be rewarded by finding a lizard at the end. Few people ever find this species because of its camouflage and its propensity to bury in the sand long before you see it. Here is one lizard that did its best to escape detection, but April's finely-honed lizard-sleuthing skills paid off yet again! She was pleased that she had not lost the touch after all these years. Kevin, on the other hand, was getting frustrated that he was not finding any.
Dallin was a party pooper and slept through all the fun. We had to document him with his first flat-tail, however, since we have baby photos of all the other children with one. Here is his glamour shot. No lizards were harmed in the taking of this photo.
It was getting pretty hot, but Kevin couldn't leave until he could claim a horned lizard. He found the CUTEST one, a hatchling which Erin adored and wanted to keep for a pet. We had to explain that horned lizards don't make good pets and usually end up dying in captivity.
Between the horned lizard finds, Ian and Megan kept busy chasing and catching other lizards. Ian noosed this zebra-tailed lizard (Callisaurus draconoides). Zebra-tailed lizards are one of the fastest species of lizards.
Then Megan noosed a baby desert iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) that Kevin had found hiding in a creosote.
And as we were returning to our Suburban, everyone teamed up to catch this gorgeous juvenile leopard lizard (Gambelia wislizenii). The bright orange colors are only found on gravid females and hatchlings. This lizard is famous for biting hard.
By 9:00 a.m. it was far too hot to play anymore, so we drove back to cool off in a lovely swimming pool at our hosts' house. The H Family was very gracious to let us stay in their home and enjoy their pool while they were vacationing in Peru.
Tree lizards (Urosaurus ornatus) were hanging out on the walls around the pool.
Following lunch, it was just too hot to do anything more outside, so we visited the J Family, who hosted our family for 3 different years during our field seasons.
Megan had been anxious to see one of her best friends, Hannah. They have been corresponding via snail mail and exchanging photos over the years. They were so excited to be able to spend the afternoon together in person.
Ian and Reed reunited to rescue toads "stuck" in a hole.
Grandma J still has her late afternoon routine of spraying down the tortoise pen and feeding all her critters (a menagerie that puts ours to shame).
It was so fun to see everyone and reminisce. We really love this family and are so glad they "adopted" us years ago. They fed us dinner and dessert (as always--no one ever goes hungry at this house!). Then as darkness approached, we packed up and headed back to the desert sands for some scorpion catching.
Megan and Hannah worked as a team with one black light, and Ian and Reed worked with the other.
Dallin once again fell asleep and missed the adventure. It is always surprising just how many scorpions are crawling around the desert at night. Each team ended up with a small bucket full of the arachnids.
The day sadly came to an end, and we bid farewell to our friends.
2 comments:
That is one full day! I kind of wish I was in the desert looking for lizards! I hope the next installment explains what you do with a bucket of scorpions.
Here's the best thing to do when you get a bucket of scorpions! http://www.interbent.com/insects-you-should-eat-insects-on-stick/
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