lizards

This is a juvenile great plains skink. A very different critter than the usual whiptails and fence lizards. This inexperienced little guy was chased into the shallow ditch by a dog (mine). Because the ditch had been recently shaved, the lizard had no ground cover to hide in. This one opted to try swimming. Luckily the ditch was empty, because, as it found out, lizards can't swim. Not only that, but the water comes from underground and is cold and flows fast, which does not work for a land dwelling ectotherm. This one survived with just a grumpy look.I have rescued my fair share of these whiptails from irrigation ditches, they have no buoyancy and drown pretty fast. When the ditches first open and flood the fields, they usually catch many lizards off guard, especially in big fields like Los Poblanos Open space. This is a great time to catch the usually fast and tricky little desert whiptails, but they don't make as good pets as tadpoles do.

There has been many birds fledgling and learning to fly. This little goldfinch will likely be fine once he figures out what he needs to do to fly. You can take birds to Wildlife rescue Inc. , or locally "On a wing and a prayer" rescue. My personal advice; mostly leave everything alone, This guy figured it out before a pet was able to get him.

Animal behaviors are funny things. I noticed this morning that the hummingbirds that are so aggressive and buffons in the mid day are quiet and thoughtful in the early mornings, preening, feeding and vocalizing. Of course, once the heat got higher, I also saw them harassing Cooper's hawks and doing aerial displays like I was used to. The early morning was also a good time to see rabbits interacting in our garden, they were a lot more active than I'm used to seeing during the day. I have noticed a lot of squirrel activity too, but those guys seem to prefer showing off during the heat of the day

Picking tomatoes, I ran into a dragonfly I hadn't seen before. A clubtail; very apropos.