Several days ago, I lucked out in the critter department. First, there was this LBB hopping about the front of my house, dangerously close to the human type animal (me). I suppose that it was a youngster, who hasn't learned the hard lessons about safe distances. (Well, maybe he had -- I see that this picture is more than a little noisy from being blown up too much.) No idea of what variety of bird, but it was sparrow or finch size.
But look at what I found over on the landscape river rocks at a neighbor's house. I haven't seen an adult horny toad in these parts in a couple of decades, though I did
discover babies two years ago, meaning that there were grown-ups hiding out somewhere. When spotted, the horny one freezes, unlike most of the local lizards. That's why I was able to get several shots; note how he has moved his head ever so slightly slightly to get a better look at the big monster photographer (below). Also interesting: he is blue-ish, compared to the usual brown. The reason may be the blue-ish color of the rocks where he appears to be living. FYI, head/body length about 5-6 inches.
Nature Linkage: According to Foothills Fancies, it you see tufts of Ponderosa pine on the ground, credit the Aberts squirrel. Which reminds me that over in Bavaria, the beautiful red squirrels that visit Steve's deck now have a young one or two. Warren displays shots of gorgeous Easter Lily Cactus at a Tucson nursery, while From My Point of View takes a trip to equally gorgeous Fossil Creek in its new, free-flowing condition. And down in Kermit in Texas, the 2nd graders do a major dinosaur show; no, no Tippy-style costumes.
Several days ago, I lucked out in the critter department. First, there was this LBB hopping about the front of my house, dangerously close to the human type animal (me). I suppose that it was a youngster, who hasn't learned the hard lessons about safe distances. (Well, maybe he had -- I see that this picture is more than a little noisy from being blown up too much.) No idea of what variety of bird, but it was sparrow or finch size.
But look at what I found over on the landscape river rocks at a neighbor's house. I haven't seen an adult horny toad in these parts in a couple of decades, though I did discover babies two years ago, meaning that there were grown-ups hiding out somewhere. When spotted, the horny one freezes, unlike most of the local lizards. That's why I was able to get several shots; note how he has moved his head ever so slightly slightly to get a better look at the big monster photographer (below). Also interesting: he is blue-ish, compared to the usual brown. The reason may be the blue-ish color of the rocks where he appears to be living. FYI, head/body length about 5-6 inches.
Nature Linkage: According to Foothills Fancies, it you see tufts of Ponderosa pine on the ground, credit the Aberts squirrel. Which reminds me that over in Bavaria, the beautiful red squirrels that visit Steve's deck now have a young one or two. Warren displays shots of gorgeous Easter Lily Cactus at a Tucson nursery, while From My Point of View takes a trip to equally gorgeous Fossil Creek in its new, free-flowing condition. And down in Kermit in Texas, the 2nd graders do a major dinosaur show; no, no Tippy-style costumes.
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9 comments:
I reckon that Mr/Mrs Phrynosoma is bluish because it's cold.
Hermano
I remember seeing horned toads all over the place as a kid, but they have definitely become sparse of late. I did catch a sight of one on a hike up Mt. Tritle last year though. :)
Glad to see they haven't all disappeared.
bro -- hah!
tombo -- when I first moved into the place on the west side of town, I saw one or two horneys on a regular basis for the first couple of years, but almost none since that time, though they've obviously been around.
What great pics of the toad. They are well disguised, so no wonder it is hard to see them!
meggie -- he would be better disguised on the normal terrain around here -- decayed granite & lots of smallish pebbles, just like all those colors on his backside.
As always great photos! I used to see horny toads in my yard, here in Chino, but haven't seen any in a couple of years either. I think there are too many humans. The burrowing owls have disappeared on W Rd 4 North. They had burrows all along the roadside where Windmill Farms is now. Too bad.............
laydey -- thinking way, way back, I don't recall seeing any horned toads at my grandfather's citrus spread on Southern Avenue down in Phx when I was a kid, tho my family lived in a rental house in orange grove country south of Southern, where I distinctly recall all manner of toads, horned & otherwise.
Too bad about the owls.
Thank you for linking to my dinosaur story! We used to have horned toads around here, but they are long gone!
froggie -- I hope the link brought you visitors -- it was a fine post! As for horny toads, never give up -- I had thought ours were totally gone after not having seen any for about 15 or so years; then in the past couple of years (since I've been out looking for photos, actually), I've come across the babies & this full grown fellow.
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