Lizard Emerges from the Palm Tree

The weather has been fluctuating a lot lately. It has been sunny, then dense fog. A daytime warm enough to coax me to the beach, then cold enough to need an extra cover at night. Followed by another day that is brisk and chilly, but then balmy and humid at night as each new front moves through. 

I am not the only one seemingly confused by this erratic weather. While working in the garden, I saw this little guy hanging out on the Pindo Palm (Butia capitata) enjoying the warm afternoon sun. He is a Green or Carolina Anole (Anolis carolinensis), native to the region. 

Usually, they don't emerge from their winter torpor until late February or early March, when the days lengthen and temperatures stabilize. But the warm weather had him out and about. His emergence made me think about this microseason, Fish Emerge from the Ice. Although small ponds and fountains can freeze this time of year, it is rare that it would last a day or more, so the lizards emerging is a fitting parallel.

In slightly different terms, another lizard is emerging as well: the invasive Bahamian Anole (Anolis sagrei). It is brown and more mottled, with a diamond-shaped pattern along its spine. It has been moving north and west from South Florida since I was a kid. In fact, I never saw one until the early 2000s when I would visit home from college.

In some places, the Green Anole has ceded ground territory to the Brown Anole and now lives high in the treetops. So far, I have observed both coexisting in my yard; on the bricks walls, the fences, and in the many crevices of the Pindo Palm, such as this guy. 

What do you think? Are lizards a good analogue for us, or is there another animal emerging now that we should enshrine?