Critters 1

We returned to our home in Vermont from Belize Tuesday afternoon. The contrast was stark - from the green tropical forests and jungles with flowers in bloom to the white, browns and grays of late winter. The snow gauge in our backyard was just below 20 inches when we left; it is now at 21 inches. We missed some nasty winter weather, but that was the intent of our travels.

Even so, we were greeted by signs of Spring - Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles crowded the ground around our feeders. The titmice and cardinals are singing, and robins are clearly on the move.

This afternoon our oldest grandson, Julius (almost 11) talked with us. His first question about our trip was - did you see any reptiles or lizards? Yes, Julius, we did, and this post is for you - and tomorrow we will add the mammals that I also managed to photograph.

This iguana (spiny backed iguana, I think) was at the top of a tree not far from where we were staying for the "beach" part of our trip in Hopkins, on the coast ...

Not far from the Jungle Lodge at Tikal in Quatemala was a small pond with this warning sign:

Lying in the shallow water near the edge was the real danger, a small crocodile. But notice also his (or her) friend. He must not have been hungry!