So.....1.5 mile, grass/plants waist high, boulder fields, shear outcroppings, no shade, heat indexes in the mid to upper 90s, 14 lbs of camera gear and gatorade, every item of clothing completely soaked through with sweat.......why make the effort??? Well, because the light at the end of that tunnel was by far, one of THE COOLEST animals I have ever found in MO. This male Eastern Collared Lizard was the prize for the effort. I received confirmation that these lizards could have been in a place I thought they might be by another photographer so I decided it was time to make the trek. The hike was not easy, but not hard. I got there at the time he said too and nothing, but the sky was also slightly overcast as well. I pressed on deeper into the maze of creek beds, rocks and grasses. The sun started to come out and eventually I saw my first female. A little further down, another female. Same story over and over. I was super glad to see them because even they are super cool lizards. I was about ready to call it a day, when a voice said no..cross that creek bed and see whats on top of those boulders. I got to the top and couldnt believe it. There, about 50' down from me, sitting right out in the open atop a large rock, was this gorgeous Collared Lizard. I had to play it cool since i didnt want to spook him off his perch. I dove down into another creek bed, walked up past him and crossed back over so the sun was in the right place. Then I started shooting. Move a little closer...shoot some more...little closer...shoot some more. Eventually it became clear to me that he was very content with his perch and me moving about him shooting. I spent almost an hour alone shooting this lizard, another female and the area I found him in. I left telling them both thanks for show, and headed back through the rocks, grass and sticks. Im not going to mention where I found these lizards, as they are of conservation concern here in MO so I want to try to protect them the best I can. I hope you will enjoy this as well, there is going to be an album of them because i shot over 9 gb of photos. I also hope if you ever see something like this, that you can admire it in the wild, take some pictures and leave it its home as you found it.
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