Dear Creepy Subscriber *I hope to travel to Central America and South America this year.* I know I can't see everything but I hope to see at least some parts of both. The places I pick to visit will be influenced by the contacts I make/have there. So if you or anyone you know could help me in anyway with accomodation/ advice I'd greatly appreciate it. As I've mentioned before I am not fussy about where I sleep and what I eat! I'm excited about photographing birds in particular so if you do know of a good guide that would be very helpful too.
*I also plan to visit Canada for a short bit so If you are able to help while I'm there that would be awesome too!* I plan to travel to these places somewhere between June and Oct. Besides the regular newsletter here are the links to my latest blogs on birds of Goa. http://rahulalvares.com/2014/02/crimson-sunbird/ http://rahulalvares.com/2013/12/oriental-dwarf-kingfisher/ http://rahulalvares.com/2013/12/malabar-trogon/ Rahul Alvares Banded Rock Gecko [image: Inline image 1] When I'm out on a walk looking for critters to photograph I'm always on the lookout for rocks to upturn. Rocks and stones hide all kinds of interesting animals underneath them. Depending on the area you're searching you could find anything from tiny insects to a sizeable snake under one of them! To increase my chances of success and so as not to waste energy I only upturn what I think to be the right sized rocks for the job. Anything smaller than an unhusked coconut is unlikely to harbor anything interesting beneath it. On the other hand massive rocks are too big to be moved and also best left alone. Some rocks are literally 'rolling stones gathering no moss' and are also quite useless. The best kinds of rocks are the ones that are between 1-3 feet across and sit with a small part of their mass submerged in the ground. Upturn one of these and you might find something very interesting. Like this Banded rock gecko that I chanced upon on a nature walk in Mollem National Park. Most animals will quickly dart away when exposed like this but luckily for me this Gecko just sat unmoving while I photographed him. Done with my shots of the gecko I put back the roof of his house. This isn't as simple as rolling the stone to its original position. This is because in doing so more than likely you will smash the heavy rock onto the little critter. So I first coaxed the four inch long reptile away. Then I moved the rock back into its original position. With the rock back in place the little lizard needed little convincing in dashing back underneath it! Back home I thumbed through my reptile books to find hardly any information on this species of Gecko. An internet search turned out to be a little more productive and revealed some fascinating bits of information about this species in particular and geckos in general. For instance I was surprised to know that Geckos climb walls with the help of tiny setae under their feet. The suction power created by these setae is so strong that a gecko can easily suspend its entire body hanging from a single toe! When lifting its foot to move forward a gecko bends its toes in the opposite direction from the way we do. In doing so the setae suction forces are drastically reduced allowing the gecko to 'unstick' its foot and move forward. A gecko's tail breaks off easily when grabbed by a predator allowing the little reptile to make a hasty gettaway. The gecko will eventually grow a new tail back but rarely if at all will the new tail resemble the original one in shape and size. Banded rock geckos like all geckos lack eyelids. Come to think of it I've never noticed a Gecko blink. But I've more than once seen geckos lick their own eyes to keep them clean! -- www.rahulalvares.com -- www.rahulalvares.com -- www.rahulalvares.com