Share The Trail

Day 161: Spring has sprung, and that means the herps and amphibians will be out enjoying the warmer weather just like the rest of us who like to take walks on the Bud Blancher Trail. This little Northern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea) was going hell-bent-for-leather across the path and only paused long enough for me to get a photo. Fairly common in the Pacific Northwest, this lizard prefers the damp forest, but is frequently found around house foundations, under flower pots or sheltering beneath buckets, birdbaths, trash bins or any other object which provides a hideout. I usually find one or two inside the house every year, sometimes even in my kitchen sink. Like many other lizards, Northern Alligator is able to regrow its tail, a process well into development on this specimen.