Hello Kelly and others,

On the topic of Western Fence Lizards and your query on sightings in western
WA we wish to give 2 personal records from us in the past 2 years. The 1st
sighting was of 3 specimens along the hot,gravelly road edges near Wood Lake
in Mason Co. last year on the 24th of July. All the lizards were noted alone
within 50-75 yards of eachother,but all in the manner and habitat. The 2nd
sighting occurred this past spring on the 4th of April,2005 at the base of a
large concrete block near the entrance to the Schouweiler Rd. wetland in
eastern Grays Harbor Co. This location is near a gravel pit and the day we
observed the lizard the conditions were quite warm,although the date seemed
somewhat early. The lizard was only seen briefly before returning to the
safe cover of the block,but the sighting was certain enough to know the
exact species.

Sincerely,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan


----- Original Message -----
From: "Kelly Mcallister" <mcallkrm at dfw.wa.gov>
To: "Scott Atkinson" <scottratkinson at hotmail.com>
Cc: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Saturday, October 08, 2005 3:48 PM
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Re: Off topic; herp question [Bryan Owens ]


>I have to chime in that Western Fence Lizards, often called blue bellies,
>are really pretty limited
> in distribution here in western Washington. They are mostly associated
> with marine shoreline areas,
> particularly in association with large accumulations of driftwood. They
> occur on quite a few upper
> beach areas of south Puget Sound but they occur at least to Port Townsend
> on the west side of the
> sound and to Chuckanut Beach south of Bellingham (introduced there). Their
> northern-most native
> range on the east side of Puget Sound may be near Tulalip (I working from
> memory of their
> distribution).
>
> I have seen Western Fence Lizards in a few areas that are a half mile or
> so from the marine shoreline.
> One was a gravel pit near Belfair, another near a cemetery north of
> Steilacoom. I'd be more than a
> little interested in other sites in western Washington where they are
> found away from the marine
> shoreline. In the Puget Sound region, I think this species is vulnerable
> due to its limited range
> and specialized habitat associations.
>
> Kelly McAllister
> Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
> Olympia, Washington
> Reply to: mcallkrm at dfw.wa.gov
>
> On Fri, 7 Oct 2005, Scott Atkinson wrote:
>
>> Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2005 10:06:04 -0700
>> From: Scott Atkinson <scottratkinson at hotmail.com>
>> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
>> Subject: [Tweeters] Re: Off topic; herp question [Bryan Owens ]
>>
>> Interesting, I too had real good luck on N. Alligator Lizard as a kid
>> down
>> near to Pt Defiance. I caught them in the area known as Twin Lakes, they
>> were locally abundant in dry, cutover or edge habitat. They were fast as
>> lightning and other than the nasty bite, they have another defense, the
>> neat
>> detachable tail that grows back with time. Swifts seem pretty local in
>> wWA,
>> but I recall seeing those near the s. tip of the Toandos Peninsula near
>> Quilcene.
>>
>> Scott Atkinson
>> Lake Stevens
>> mail to: scottratkinson at hotmail.com
>>
>>
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