A Life Reptile

 

Michael and I thudded and jostled out the rough and rocky road to Chino Canyon early this morning, where we hoped to run across a Mexican rarity or two. It wasn’t to be, but on the way back out, while Rufous-winged Sparrows sang around us and Greater Roadrunners bounded down the road, we glimpsed movement on the side of the road. A Gila monster! My first and Michael’s first, this one moved quickly into the protective shade of a mesquite tangle when we stopped, its pattern, so bold on the roadside, quickly merging into the dappled shadows.

Best bird of the day: a reptile!