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California Deserts, August 1999
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page 5 of 7 |
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Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area
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The Lizard-Watching Guide hadn't let me down yet,
so I chose yet another destination from it.
East of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area,
a large hunk of desert used mainly by off-road vehicles. I never would have thought to look
for wildlife there, but I had learned to trust the Guide, which claimed it
was home for Colorado Desert fringe-toed lizards, desert iguanas, and flat-tailed horned
lizards. I followed a dirt road out to the middle of nowhere, carefully marked
by road signs.
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As at Coachella Valley Preserve, I had arisen earlier than the lizards. It was an overcast
day, and the heat-lovingest of the heat-loving lizards didn't start stirring until nearly
10:00. This morning view east across the Barrel Spring dunes features a jackrabbit in the center.
(Click the picture to see a larger version in which the jackrabbit is actually visible.)
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Eventually the lizards awoke. I saw a quite a few desert iguanas,
including this charming fellow. It looks like it's been chomping on some orange plants recently.
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Most of the desert iguanas were on the sand, shuffling under bushes or vanishing down burrows when
I came near. This one was perched in a mesquite bush where it had been ruminating on the leaves. I
almost got a great side view photo but at the last second it was spooked by a
clicking sound from a camera adjustment.
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Once again, the Lizard-Watching Guide did me right. Rushing about on the tops of the dunes were
a number of Colorado Desert fringe-toed lizards. They
are camouflaged incredibly well in the sand, and they didn't want me anywhere near them. I
usually saw them only as they were racing away. This
peek-a-boo shot of a broken-tailed individual is the closest photo I could get.
Sadly, I did not locate any of the rare and elusive flat-tailed horned lizards. But I guess
there's got to be an excuse to come back!
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