Western Fence Lizard
Sceloporus occidentalis
Western Fence Lizard · Torrey Pines State Reserve · 7 March 2026
The default lizard of California's coastal scrub, holding a sunlit rock at Torrey Pines at the end of a warm day, after the air has already started to cool. It is found across the West from Washington to Baja, on rocks, fences and walls, which is where the name comes from.
The common name "blue-belly" comes from a patch of iridescent blue on the throat and underside that males flash at rivals and mates alike - not visible from this angle, but reliable enough that a flipped-over lizard settles the identification in a way a photo like this one can't. Its blood carries a protein that kills the Lyme disease bacterium in the ticks that feed on it, which is one reason Lyme is rare in California.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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