Tiny Chuckwalla on Piestewa Peak

Look at this little guy I saw today at Piestewa Peak in Phoenix.  He was the tiniest chuckwalla I've ever seen.  Too young to know that he should be afraid of us, Too young to go do what chuckwallas normally do.  So I got to watch him for a while.

The second chuckwalla I saw today was good at doing what chuckwallas normally do:

 

Peoria West Wing Mountain in Palo Verde Season

I hit this hike on the perfect day for palo verde.  Big yellow puffballs dotted the subdivisions below.  So very pretty.  This was April 15, 2018

Here's a close-up:

A lot of the creosote was also in bloom (creosote blooms more according to rain than season):

A few of the staghorn or buckhorn cholla were putting on a show:

And then there were the chuckwallas.  I saw three on that hike, literally doubling my lifetime sightings.  The first picture is a tiny one:

And here is a bigger one hiding in a crevice (as they're wont to do):  

And this lovely hummingbird.  What a great day.

To access Peoria West Wing Mountain Preserve, park at Westwing Park (27100 Westwing Pkwy, Peoria, AZ  85383) and then walk across Westwing Parkway and follow the trail markers.