Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • Unusual but not unheard of, this northwestern garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides) was unexpectedly found actively hunting in the grass near the beach on a rare February sunny day on the Oregon Coast in Oswald West State Park. One of the smallest of garter snakes in the region, it is also one of the hardest to identify because of the extreme variability in color and pattern. One of the best clues without counting scale numbers and patterns is the head, which tends to be quite small for a garter snake. This one was quite large for this smaller species - it was over 30 inches when the typical northwestern garter is usually around 24 inches. With a range from Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia in the north all the way south to Northern California, these snakes mostly inhabit the area between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountain Range.
    Northwestern Garter Snake (Thamnophi..des)
  • Unusual but not unheard of, this northwestern garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides) was unexpectedly found actively hunting in the grass near the beach on a rare February sunny day on the Oregon Coast in Oswald West State Park. One of the smallest of garter snakes in the region, it is also one of the hardest to identify because of the extreme variability in color and pattern. One of the best clues without counting scale numbers and patterns is the head, which tends to be quite small for a garter snake. This one was quite large for this smaller species - it was over 30 inches when the typical northwestern garter is usually around 24 inches. With a range from Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia in the north all the way south to Northern California, these snakes mostly inhabit the area between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountain Range.
    Northwestern Garter Snake (Thamnophi..des)
  • Unusual but not unheard of, this northwestern garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides) was unexpectedly found actively hunting in the grass near the beach on a rare February sunny day on the Oregon Coast in Oswald West State Park. One of the smallest of garter snakes in the region, it is also one of the hardest to identify because of the extreme variability in color and pattern. One of the best clues without counting scale numbers and patterns is the head, which tends to be quite small for a garter snake. This one was quite large for this smaller species - it was over 30 inches when the typical northwestern garter is usually around 24 inches. With a range from Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia in the north all the way south to Northern California, these snakes mostly inhabit the area between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountain Range.
    Northwestern Garter Snake (Thamnophi..des)
  • Unusual but not unheard of, this northwestern garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides) was unexpectedly found actively hunting in the grass near the beach on a rare February sunny day on the Oregon Coast in Oswald West State Park. One of the smallest of garter snakes in the region, it is also one of the hardest to identify because of the extreme variability in color and pattern. One of the best clues without counting scale numbers and patterns is the head, which tends to be quite small for a garter snake. This one was quite large for this smaller species - it was over 30 inches when the typical northwestern garter is usually around 24 inches. With a range from Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia in the north all the way south to Northern California, these snakes mostly inhabit the area between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountain Range.
    Northwestern Garter Snake (Thamnophi..des)
  • The infamous and rare, bleached earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata ruthveni) - a lizard with an evolutionary adaptation to living on the white gypsum sand dunes on White Sands (the largest gypsum sand dune desert in the world). This beautiful member of the Phrynosomatid lizard family has evolved white scales to enable it to blend in with the white gypsum sands. I wouldn't have seen it if it hadn't moved.
    Bleached Earless Lizard
  • The venomous, yet slow-moving gila monster posing in the lower branches of a mesquite bush in the Senoran Desert, just outside of Tucson, Arizona. This was my forst time seeing one in the wild, and I actually delayed my travel plan to spend extra time looking for one of these.
    Gila Monster
  • Close-up portrait of a Gila monster. This venomous lizard is only one of two venomous lizards in the world. This one was photographed in the Sonoran Desert just outside of Tucson, Arizona.
    Gila Monster
  • The venomous, yet slow-moving gila monster posing in the lower branches of a mesquite bush in the Sonoran Desert, just outside of Tucson, Arizona. This was my first time seeing one in the wild, and I actually delayed my travel plan to spend extra time looking for one of these.
    Gila Monster
  • Close-up portrait of a Gila monster. This venomous lizard is only one of two venomous lizards in the world. This one was photographed in the Sonoran Desert just outside of Tucson, Arizona.
    Gila Monster
  • A perfect specimen of the "old man of the woods" bolete mushroom (Strobilomyces strobilaceus) growing in Goethe State Forest in Central Florida. While edible, many say this native fungus to Europe and North America is delicious, while others say it tastes too much like the forest floor.
    Old Man of the Woods
  • A 34th-floor view looking northward from downtown Seattle.
    Downtown Seattle
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • A female eastern collared lizard hunts in the middle of a Texas springtime day in the Guadalupe Mountains for insects, spiders and scorpions on the side of an arroyo.
    Eastern Collared Lizard
  • The infamous and rare, bleached earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata ruthveni) - a lizard with an evolutionary adaptation to living on the white gypsum sand dunes on White Sands (the largest gypsum sand dune desert in the world) found resting in the shade of an enormous dune late in the morning of a bright and sunny spring day.
    Bleached Earless Lizard
  • This large adult male alligator lives in a pond in my hometown of Bradenton, Florida and is a particularly aggressive fellow. Every time I got near him, he gaped and hissed like he is in this image. For some reason he shut his eyes in this shot.
    Gaping Male Alligator
  • One of the more common lizards of the West Coast of North America, this one was found in its northernmost part of its range in Central Washington, by the bank of the Tieton River on a chilly late spring morning.
    Western Fence Lizard
  • This spiny desert lizard (probably a  juvenile male)  pauses in its hunt for insects, spiders and the occasional centipede under the fallen palm fronds in the Coachella Valley Oasis.
    Desert Spiny Lizard
  • The western side-blotched lizard is a subspecies of the common side-blotched lizard found over most the the American Southwest. This one photographed in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California's Mojave Desert was the most numerous of lizard species I'd found.
    Western Side-blotched Lizard
  • A very gravid eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus) clings to a small tree in Southern Georgia. She was so heavy with eggs that she was nearly unable to speed away when I took this shot.
    Gravid Eastern Fence Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • This baby alligator is probably only a couple of months old where it basks in the late afternoon sunlight in the Shark River Valley of the Florida Everglades. Notice the bold black and yellow camouflage pattern - this will help hide it in its early years from hungry herons, storks, otters, raccoons and other hungry predators in the swamps until it turns the tables and begins to hunt the same animals that once used to hunt it!
    Baby Alligator Close-up
  • A Northwestern Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus oreganus) in strike pose after being caught then released among the ponderosa pines in the Eastern Cascade Mountains in Central Washington. Had I known at the time how highly venomous these particular rattlers were compared to other North American rattlesnakes I might have thought twice. Interestingly, the rattle sounded more like a cicada than your typical warning.
    Northern Pacific Rattlesnake
  • Close-up detail of a northwestern ringneck snake in Cowiche Canyon, WA. Normally a moist forest-loving species, I was very surprised to find this slightly venomous, rear-fanged colubrid under a rock in the sagebrush desert next to Cowiche Creek.
    Northwestern Ringneck Snake
  • A beautifully patterned garter snake emerges from Lake Elizabeth in the Cascades Mountains of Washington State.
    Cascades Garter Snake
  • A male six-lined racerunner somehow photographed in a brief chase through Jonathan Dickenson State Park on Florida's East Coast. These incredibly fast lizards are found in pine scrubs and similar dry environments. Males have a beautiful turquoise underside.
    Six-lined Racerunner
  • Intensely colorful green anole showing off his red dewlap on Key Largo, Florida. Anolis
    Green Anole
  • One of the most striking lizards of my youth, the southeastern five-lined skink is also one of the fastest. This large adult female - chased down and photographed in Thomasville, Georgia - shows the beautiful stripes common to this species, as well as the brilliant blue tail. This skink looks like it had lost and regrown its tail at some point. Sometimes they will have a bright red nose, and males when in breeding season will lose the blue coloration and much of the stripes, while turning a more brownish color with a broad bright red head!
    Southeastern Five-lined Skink (Plest..tus)
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • Close-up of a beautiful curious eastern collared lizard in Northwestern Texas as she scrambles across the Guadalupe Mountains in search insects, spiders and scorpions in the Chihuahuan Desert.
    Eastern Collared Lizard
  • The infamous and rare, bleached earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata ruthveni) - a lizard with an evolutionary adaptation to living on the white gypsum sand dunes on White Sands (the largest gypsum sand dune desert in the world) found resting in the shade of an enormous dune late in the morning of a bright and sunny spring day.
    Bleached Earless Lizard
  • This very wary 7-8-foot adult American alligator is poised to launch itself out from under the cocoplum bushes if I wade any closer deep in the wilderness of the Big Cypress National Preserve in Southwest Florida. As part of the Northern Everglades watershed, this area is very rural, there is often no dry land for miles. No help either in case of an emergency.
    American Alligator in the Big Cypress
  • An adult male desert spiny lizard basks in the spring afternoon sun in the desert sand in rural San Bernardino County. This individual had very vivid blues and oranges in the sunlight.
    Desert Spiny Lizard
  • Close-up of the male desert spiny lizard. While the females tend to be a more or less sandy color, the males have very dark markings on the neck, with turquoise to blue under the jaw and along the belly - often with orange to yellow markings on the side.
    Desert Spiny Lizard
  • An adult female desert spiny lizard watches warily from mear the base of a desert fan palm in rural San Bernardino County in Southern California.
    Desert Spiny Lizard
  • The Great Basin whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris tigris) is a subspecies of the common western whiptail found in Southeastern California. Found throughout most of the American Southwest, whole populations of western whiptails tend to stay in the same region resulting in great variety of patterns, stripes, and spots based on geographic location across their range. This one was photographed in the Mojave Desert in Joshua Tree National Park.
    Great Basin Western Whiptail
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed on Utah's Antelope Island, an island near Salt Lake City which lies near the southeastern shore of Great Salt Lake.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed on Utah's Antelope Island, an island near Salt Lake City which lies near the southeastern shore of Great Salt Lake.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • One of my favorite snakes to be found in the wilderness of the American Southeast is the Florida yellow rat snake. This very long, mustard-yellow colored subspecies of the western rat snake is not very common, like most gray or near-black rat snakes found in the wild, but it is one of the coolest. I have an affinity for this type of snake and once had one as a pet in captivity for years until I decided to let it go free and "go forth and propagate". These non-venomous constrictors primarily feed on rats and birds, although their habit of sneaking into barns and eating eggs has also earned them the nickname of "chicken snake". This one was found by surprise on accident (as most snakes are usually encountered) as I was walking through the edge of the woods in the Ocala National Forest  in Juniper Springs when the tree limb I grabbed suddenly moved in my hand and tried to bite me. I pulled this beauty out into the open for this shot and let it go. It was just about four feet in length and was fat and healthy!
    Florida Yellow Rat Snake
  • The brown anole is a member of the spiny lizard family and native to Cuba and the Bahamas. Common, and invasive to the United States, it is spreading north from the Florida Keys, and in a little more more than a century it has established itself as far north as Georgia and as far west as Texas in recent years. The problem with this particular species is that it is outcompeting the native and less aggressive green anole, with the additional pressure of adult male brown anoles having been known to prey on young green anoles. This particular individual resting on a  banana tree in Fort Myers, Florida is a female. Males tend to be larger and more boldly patterned. Anolis
    Brown Anole
  • A wild northwestern ringneck snake posed in an antelope bitterbrush shrub solely for this photograph. This fast, secretive, nocturnal and beautiful small predator is a subspecies of the ringneck snake found all over North America. Unlike most other subspecies, instead of the normal black background, this group has a blue-gray color variation with the typical striking bright orange belly and neck ring. Notice the curled tail, which serves as a "warning flag" - a common threat display warning a bigger predator (me in this case) that it is toxic to eat, which is entirely a bluff.
    Northwestern Ringneck Snake
  • This young alligator is probably close to its first birthday judging by the size and yellow banding on the tail and body. At this stage, it is no longer hunted by storks, herons, and raccoons and before long they will in turn become the prey. This clearly well-fed youngster was found sunning in the Fakahatchee Strand in Collier County, Fl.
    Alligator Yearling
  • A highly aggressive alligator lunges in a lake in Bradenton, Florida. Still slightly lean, this 8-9 foot alligator is big enough to be dangerous and will start packing on the bulk the really big gators are known for.
    Highly Aggressive Alligator
  • Side image of the California kingsnake showing the distinct black and white bands of this native colubrid. These markings have made it a prized species for the pet trade world-wide.
    California Kingsnake
  • As close as I dare in front of an angry  four-foot kingsnake. I dropped to my belly about two feet in front of it and got this shot as it was just about to strike. This was my first snake of the day on this outing to Southern California.
    California Kingsnake
  • This rather aggressive kingsnake was seen hunting through the fallen palm fronds of the Coachella Valley Oasis in Southern California. After spotting it, it took a few tries to catch it, and upon release it reared nicely for me in this strike pose.
    California Kingsnake
  • Very young hatchling alligator in the Shark River Valley of the Florida Everglades. Singled out of a clutch of about thirty chirping babies, this one sat still enough for me to get this image, until the mother appeared and gave me a direct warning to leave them alone.
    Baby Alligator
  • This distant relative to the iguana is very common all over Florida, most commonly found in dry pine or palmetto scrubs, but can be found in any non- damp environment.
    Eastern Fence Lizard
  • This charasmatic little lizard was found sunning on an old plank in Suwannee County, Florida. These lizards are shockingly fast!
    Eastern Fence Lizard
  • This gorgeous knight anole was found in Fort Myers, Florida clinging to a melaleuca tree, and was the second I had seen in this area. These highly aggressive and largest of Florida's anoles are native to Cuba and have spread into South Florida. Anolis
    Knight Anole
  • We went specifically to see these exotic invasive lizards on the island of Boca Grande, Florida after hearing about how they are taking over the whole island. We saw about 100 in an afternoon.
    Spiny Iguana
  • Blue-striped garter snake discovered on a trail in the Goethe State Forest in Levy County, Florida. It has the most beautiful turquoise sides and belly!
    Blue-Striped Garter Snake
  • This rather small plain brown amanita mushroom, but if you stop and look at it, it has the spots very similar to it's famous relative, the Amanita muscaria. This one was found in a heavily forested area above the Carbon River near Mount Rainier in Washington State.
    Candlestick Amanita (Amanita calyptr..des)
  • A Texas patch-nosed snake (Salvadora grahamiae lineata), a subspecies of the more common and widespread eastern patch-nosed snake warms up in the sunshine on a surprisingly chilly winter late afternoon in Southern Hidalgo County in Mission, Texas - about 5 miles form the Mexican border. This snake gets its name from the unusually large scale on the tip of its snout and is completely harmless to people and reach about 2 to 3 feet in length. This snake primarily eats anything they can catch which is typically lizards, eggs, small rodents and other snakes.
    Texas Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora g..ata)
  • A Texas patch-nosed snake (Salvadora grahamiae lineata), a subspecies of the more common and widespread eastern patch-nosed snake warms up in the sunshine on a surprisingly chilly winter late afternoon in Southern Hidalgo County in Mission, Texas - about 5 miles form the Mexican border. This snake gets its name from the unusually large scale on the tip of its snout and is completely harmless to people and reach about 2 to 3 feet in length. This snake primarily eats anything they can catch which is typically lizards, eggs, small rodents and other snakes.
    Texas Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora g..ata)
  • The pencil cholla is easily distinguished from other cholla cacti in the American Southwest by the scale-like arrangement on the stems that is often referred to as a diamond pattern. I thought the yellow coloration on the spines were beautiful, especially backlit lit this here in the Mojave Desert in Southern California.
    Pencil Cholla
  • Also commonly called the diamond or branched pencil cholla, this hardy tree-like cactus is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the Southwestern United States, California, and Northwestern Mexico, and to Baja California and its San Benito Islands. Uncommon in its range compared to other cholla species, the pencil cholla is usually found in well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on flats, bajadas, and moderate slopes into the lower mountains in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) habitats. Easily identified by the smooth surface of the stems with a distinct diamond-shaped pattern, each scale-like flat tubercle sprouts a viciously long, 2-inch golden-tipped silvery-white spine on the youngest and newest growth. This one was found growing along the side of a dried-out arroyo in a nameless canyon in Southern California's Anza-Borrego Desert in San Diego County.
    Pencil Cholla
  • Also commonly called the diamond or branched pencil cholla, this hardy tree-like cactus is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the Southwestern United States, California, and Northwestern Mexico, and to Baja California and its San Benito Islands. Uncommon in its range compared to other cholla species, the pencil cholla is usually found in well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on flats, bajadas, and moderate slopes into the lower mountains in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) habitats. Easily identified by the smooth surface of the stems with a distinct diamond-shaped pattern, each scale-like flat tubercle sprouts a viciously long, 2-inch golden-tipped silvery-white spine on the youngest and newest growth. This one was found growing along the side of a dried-out arroyo in a nameless canyon in Southern California's Anza-Borrego Desert in San Diego County.
    Pencil Cholla
  • Also commonly called the diamond or branched pencil cholla, this hardy tree-like cactus is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the Southwestern United States, California, and Northwestern Mexico, and to Baja California and its San Benito Islands. Uncommon in its range compared to other cholla species, the pencil cholla is usually found in well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on flats, bajadas, and moderate slopes into the lower mountains in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) habitats. Easily identified by the smooth surface of the stems with a distinct diamond-shaped pattern, each scale-like flat tubercle sprouts a viciously long, 2-inch golden-tipped silvery-white spine on the youngest and newest growth. This one was found growing along the side of a dried-out arroyo in a nameless canyon in Southern California's Anza-Borrego Desert in San Diego County.
    Pencil Cholla
  • Also commonly called the diamond or branched pencil cholla, this hardy tree-like cactus is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the Southwestern United States, California, and Northwestern Mexico, and to Baja California and its San Benito Islands. Uncommon in its range compared to other cholla species, the pencil cholla is usually found in well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on flats, bajadas, and moderate slopes into the lower mountains in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) habitats. Easily identified by the smooth surface of the stems with a distinct diamond-shaped pattern, each scale-like flat tubercle sprouts a viciously long, 2-inch golden-tipped silvery-white spine on the youngest and newest growth. This one was found growing along the side of a dried-out arroyo in a nameless canyon in Southern California's Anza-Borrego Desert in San Diego County.
    Pencil Cholla
  • The pencil cholla is easily distinguished from other cholla cacti in the American Southwest by the scale-like arrangement on the stems that is often referred to as a diamond pattern. I thought the yellow coloration on the spines were beautiful, especially backlit like this here in the Mojave Desert in Southern California.
    Pencil Cholla
  • The Inca dove is one of the prettiest doves found in the New World. Not because it has brightly colored plumage or is large and showy, but because this small dove has feathers that very much resemble fish scales and make for a very intricate and high-contract pattern, which in turn makes for excellent camouflage in the their native habitat. Native to Central America to the Southern United States from Texas to California, this pair was seen foraging for seeds in near the Mexican border near Weslaco, Texas.
    Inca Doves (Columbina inca)
  • Contrary to the name, Spanish moss in neither a moss, nor is it Spanish. It's a native bromeliad that is closely related to pineapples and air plants found in the tropics and subtropics. This interesting epiphytic plant is most often found hanging from live oaks in the American Southeast, Texas, Mexico and Caribbean Islands where it clings to the bark of these trees by tiny scales on their long thread-like stems. Spanish moss is completely harmless to their host trees, except in some cases where there can be so much of it that it actually blocks the sunlight needed for photosynthesis. This one was found in an area along the Rio Grande right next to the US-Mexico border near Alamo, Texas.
    Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides) - 1
  • Contrary to the name, Spanish moss in neither a moss, nor is it Spanish. It's a native bromeliad that is closely related to pineapples and air plants found in the tropics and subtropics. This interesting epiphytic plant is most often found hanging from live oaks in the American Southeast, Texas, Mexico and Caribbean Islands where it clings to the bark of these trees by tiny scales on their long thread-like stems. Spanish moss is completely harmless to their host trees, except in some cases where there can be so much of it that it actually blocks the sunlight needed for photosynthesis. This was part of an enormous patch found in an area along the Rio Grande right next to the US-Mexico border near Alamo, Texas.
    Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides) - 3
  • Close-up of the wiry stems of Spanish moss. Contrary to the name, Spanish moss in neither a moss, nor is it Spanish. It's a native bromeliad that is closely related to pineapples and air plants found in the tropics and subtropics. This interesting epiphytic plant is most often found hanging from live oaks in the American Southeast, Texas, Mexico and Caribbean Islands where it clings to the bark of these trees by tiny scales on their long thread-like stems. Spanish moss is completely harmless to their host trees, except in some cases where there can be so much of it that it actually blocks the sunlight needed for photosynthesis. This was found in an area along the Rio Grande right next to the US-Mexico border near Alamo, Texas.
    Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides) - 2
  • Male coho salmon (also called a silver salmon) spawning in the Greenwater River in Pierce County, Washington far up in the Cascade Mountains. Coho males in this final part of their life cycle have bright red "cheeks" and have tails that are in relatively good shape compared to their female counterparts who often have pure white tails from losing all their scales and even skin from digging out a nest in the gravel to lay their eggs. This one was taking a rest near the shore behind a fallen tree that was creating a sort of calm in the otherwise fast-moving alpine river.
    Spawning Coho Salmon
  • This attractive desert fern is found across much of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts of the United States and Mexico and is easy to recognize by the simple pinnae or leaflets with the coppery-colored stem and undersides of the leaves. Both the tops and bottoms of the leaves are covered in tiny scales. Reportedly toxic to sheep, this and many other ferns like it were found in abundance in the Big Bend National Park of West Texas.
    Cochise Scaly Cloak Fern
  • This attractive desert fern is found across much of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts of the United States and Mexico and is easy to recognize by the simple pinnae or leaflets with the coppery-colored stem and undersides of the leaves. Both the tops and bottoms of the leaves are covered in tiny scales. Reportedly toxic to sheep, this and many other ferns like it were found in abundance in the Big Bend National Park of West Texas.
    Cochise Scaly Cloak Fern
  • Close-up of the wiry stems of Spanish moss. Contrary to the name, Spanish moss in neither a moss, nor is it Spanish. It's a native bromeliad that is closely related to pineapples and air plants found in the tropics and subtropics. This interesting epiphytic plant is most often found hanging from live oaks in the American Southeast, Texas, Mexico and Caribbean Islands where it clings to the bark of these trees by tiny scales on their long thread-like stems. Spanish moss is completely harmless to their host trees, except in some cases where there can be so much of it that it actually blocks the sunlight needed for photosynthesis. This small, isolated piece on was found in the Corkscrew Swamp near Naples, Florida.
    Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides)
  • This attractive desert fern is found across much of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts of the United States and Mexico and is easy to recognize by the simple pinnae or leaflets with the coppery-colored stem and undersides of the leaves. Both the tops and bottoms of the leaves are covered in tiny scales. Reportedly toxic to sheep, this and many other ferns like it were found in abundance in the Big Bend National Park of West Texas.
    Cochise Scaly Cloak Fern
  • This attractive desert fern is found across much of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts of the United States and Mexico and is easy to recognize by the simple pinnae or leaflets with the coppery-colored stem and undersides of the leaves. Both the tops and bottoms of the leaves are covered in tiny scales. Reportedly toxic to sheep, this and many other ferns like it were found in abundance in the Big Bend National Park of West Texas.
    Cochise Scaly Cloak Fern