DEAR JOAN: Is there anything I can safely feed my friendly lizards? I don’t want to spoil their natural diet, but they are so cute and will stop to listen to my voice, cocking their heads.
I bought mealworms, and would occasionally throw one out to them, but I think they were really too large for these small lizards. I also leave a small dish of water close by.
Fran Love
San Jose
DEAR FRAN: It is sweet of you to care about the lizards and want to make sure they are well fed.
The two most common lizards we have are the Western fence lizard, also known as a blue belly, and the alligator lizard. Both eat insects, and the alligator also will eat snails.
They can fend for themselves, so there’s no need to supply them with food. They prefer hunting and eating live creatures, so it would be difficult to round up a mess of ants, crickets and gnats to serve up.
The best way to provide them with ample food is to keep your yard pesticide free. The more bugs you have in your yard, the happier the lizards will be, and they’ll stick around.
In addition to the little dish of water, you also could create some lizard habitat by picking a sunny, out-of-the-way spot in your yard and stacking up some small rocks or broken pottery to create hiding places for them. Lizards often are the favorite meals of birds and other creatures.
DEAR JOAN: We have deer and lots of wildlife in our yard, and I keep pans of water and birdseed out front for all of them.
A few weeks ago, a pair of quail showed up. We called them “Dan and Marilyn” after former Vice President Dan Quayle and his wife, Marilyn.
Recently I saw some more quail in the backyard and then an hour or so later I counted 12 of them on the front lawn, eating and drinking. What a joy. Dan and Marilyn are bringing all their family and friends. We are enjoying watching them.
They are here in the morning and return later in the day. We are so glad they are here, and so are the neighbors. Since they arrived late in the summer, I am wondering if they will stay the winter and if they will have another brood.
Sharron Calundan
Hillsborough
DEAR SHARRON: California quails are my favorite birds. They are so beautiful, and I love watching them walk, run and take dirt baths. They can move very quickly on those short little legs.
In February, the quail will pair up and start nesting. The birds are monogamous during mating season, but they often find new mates each spring.
The female will lay 12 to 16 eggs, which will hatch in around three weeks.
In late summer, coveys of quail form. The typical size of a covey can be around 50, but in times of stress and shortage of food and water, the coveys can be up to 100.
It appears Dan, Marilyn, their extended family and friends are in the process of forming such a covey and likely will be around all winter if nothing interferes with their plans.
The covey will break up next spring, but you could see a few family groups visiting your yard as the quails don’t have large territories.
The quail population is continually shifting and doesn’t appear to be endangered, but the mortality rate for the birds is high and they often have short lives.
Thanks for welcoming them to your yard.
Contact Joan Morris at jmorris@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow her at Twitter.com/AskJoanMorris.
