Lifes Little Surprises

I was sitting outside having eaten dinner, the evening was warm and humid and the crickets were chirping whilst the bats flitted overhead. As is my habit, I took my Maglite to see if I could spot any nocturnal visitors going about their evening business.

The Arizona Blonde Tarantula was in her usual spot under the Prickly Pear, a Tailless Whip Scorpion was just sidling under the gate and then I noticed this little treasure hunting amongst the rocks. I love geckos! This little Western Banded Gecko was enchanting. No sooner had I spotted this one, which was my first ever in Arizona when a few feet away I noticed another smaller one.

I wondered why it was I had never noticed these beautiful little characters before so I did a little research and discovered that they, rather like the Gila Monsters, spend very little time above ground and they have a very narrow temperature and humidity window that sparks their above ground jaunts, which made this particular sighting all that much more special.