Lizards, Insects and Birds of Anza-Borrego State Park and Joshua Tree National Park

By Steve Kuo, April 21 2008

There was lots of wildlife in the desert. With a little patience, you could get somewhat close to the lizards. We would have liked a snake sighting (as long as it wasn't too close), but no snakes made themselves visible to us. The roadrunner is supposedly hard to spot. Well on the last day while driving through one of Joshua Tree's campgrounds, we spotted one. I guess there's plenty of food in the campgrounds.

In case anyone is wondering, all photos were taken with my Nikon D80, 18-200mm VR lens, Lowepro Nova Mini AW camera bag, and post processed with DxO Optics Pro. Most of these pictures were cropped as 200mm is not enough reach.

Please email me if you can help identify any of these cute animals

• SteveKuo.com Home
• Zion, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Grand Canyon pictures
• The Lizard-Watching Guide, by Sherburn R. Sanborn, very helpful in identifying many of these lizards

Desert Iguana
Hawk Canyon, Anza-Borrego State Park

Desert Iguana
Hawk Canyon, Anza-Borrego State Park

Side-Blotched Lizard?
Cactus Garden (near Harper Canyon), Anza-Borrego State Park

Common Chuckwalla
Trail to Wind Caves, Anza-Borrego State Park

Banded Rock Lizard
Pictographs (Blair Valley), Anza-Borrego State Park

Banded Rock Lizard
Pictographs (Blair Valley), Anza-Borrego State Park

Banded Rock Lizard
Pictographs (Blair Valley), Anza-Borrego State Park

Western Whiptail
Split Rock, Joshua Tree National Park

Side-Blotched Lizard?
Lost Horse Mine Trail, Joshua Tree National Park

Side-Blotched Lizard
Lost Horse Mine Trail, Joshua Tree National Park

Desert Iguana with cute girl, mural by Chuck Caplinger
Twentynine Palms

Desert Spiny Lizard
Hi View Loop Trail, Joshua Tree National Park

Desert Blister Beetle
Hawk Canyon, Anza-Borrego State Park

Meloid Beetle (Phodaga Alticeps)
Hawk Canyon, Anza-Borrego State Park

Gambles Quail
Hi View Loop Trail, Joshua Tree National Park

Cactus Wren
Split Mountain Wash, Anza-Borrego State Park

• SteveKuo.com Home
• Zion, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Grand Canyon pictures
• The Lizard-Watching Guide, by Sherburn R. Sanborn, very helpful in identify many of these lizards

Copyright © 2008 Steve Kuo, all rights reserved