Sunday, May 23, 2010

Gang colors... there goes the neighborhood!

Stepping out on the porch this morning, I was surprised to see a brown anole flashing his gang colors at me! If you’ve not seen a brown anole, they are much more tolerant of humans than the green anoles typically seen in our neighborhood.

Since he didn’t seem like he was in a hurry to go anywhere, I went back inside and grabbed my camera. He waited.


This particular brown anole is a male. Males are brown and speckled; females have diamond-shaped patterns. This fella is also a mature male as evidenced by the crest-like ridge along his back.

When I started taking his picture, he was quite the true professional. Brown anoles get used to humans; you can typically get really close to them if you move slowly. I was able to get the lens within a foot of him, and he only flinched at the clicking sound of the camera’s shutter. I guess he thought he was going to be on the cover of National Geographic.



After shooting a few pictures of him on the stone, he hopped into the bushes and began the characteristic head bobbing. Then he displayed his yellow-trimmed, red-orange dewlap for the camera lens. I had to turn the ISO up to 1250 because of the poor lighting in the bushes, so there’s a little noise in the dewlap portraits, but he’s still a handsome fella.



He won’t make the cover of National Geographic, but I trust you will appreciate his dashing looks and flamboyant display.

5 comments:

  1. Second to last picture is my favorite. Lovely!

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  2. He is a very handsome fella indeed! Good job on all of them. I really like the second picture when he's looking at you as if to say, "Who are you and what are you doing, silly human?"

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  3. Henry Wong5:49 AM

    Very cool Bill. He looks like a dinosaur from the 1960 movies. Great photo too. Henry

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  4. Anonymous10:03 AM

    Thanks for the pix. I took a pic this morning of a spotted lizard w/a distinct crest and could not find a matching photo in either of my field guides. I've also seen many brown anoles but never w/a ridge or crest, so I turned to the internet for an ID. Thank you, and btw, beautiful photos!

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  5. Beautiful pics. Nice bokeh.

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