Monday Musings: Wildlife in my backyard—Godzilla vs. Cactus Wrens

I don’t even have to leave my house to see a variety of wildlife. We don’t live on the edge of town, but we have a side yard outside our wall filled with nasty cactus that protects small animals from larger predators. I know for sure that rabbits, lizards and kangaroo rats live in there. I’m not sure I want to know what else might be residing in our side yard.

Since we moved here, we have had an injured hawk in the front yard, a sick or injured vulture in our backyard that I had to herd out of the yard because my husband was afraid of it, and we’ve opened our front door in the morning to find pieces of rabbits leftover from marauding coyotes. That thankfully stopped once we started leaving our porch light on at night. One morning, I opened the sliding back door because I heard a bunch of shrieking bird noises to find the yard covered in gray feathers and one bird foot. Ick. I think a raven killed a mourning dove.

Today I heard some loud, scolding bird noises and went outside with my camera to find two cactus wrens beneath our palo verde tree. I took a picture of the birds and then saw Godzilla, the large white lizard that inhabits the side yard, confronting the birds. He scared the hell out of me one day when he got stranded in our garage. I had to call my dad over to help me get him out of the garage because I was afraid of him. I didn’t want him to die in the garage though. Besides, he eats bugs and I hate bugs in my house. Usually Godzilla is elusive, but I was able to get some good pictures of him this time. I’m not sure what was happening, but I think the lizard and the birds were fighting over the grub worms in the soil beneath the tree.

That’s a popular spot in our backyard. The area beneath our palo verde tree is like a popular animal bar or restaurant. I get mad because birds and other unknown nocturnal creatures dig and mess up my rocks. But it is kind of cool to see all the wildlife in my backyard. I just wish they could put the rocks back after they dig up their worms.

I took this picture and didn’t even see Godzilla.

I think he’s posing for me. lol

He’s looking at me!

This was taken a few days ago. How would you like to walk outside

and see this on your wall? This is the first time I saw this lizard.

I haven’t named him yet. The pattern on his back reminds me of tiger

stripes. I might call him Tigger.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

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