Funny how a subject will get discussed on a forum and disappear only to show up again a couple of years later, sometimes with entirely new info. When this was discussed previously, we saw mostly info on Wolf Spiders and I remember pictures of some huge swimming spiders from the Carolinas, three to four inches across. I had to work off a phobia about spiders when my children had Anoles lizards as pets and now can view spiders with interest rather than panic most of the time. I am pretty sure I have seen spiders like these attempting to hide in mulch or other wood debris and I have seen spiders of different families striding across still water without breaking the surface tension. I don't know if they could be called swimming spiders but they checked out the water with their front legs and took off like they were walking on a solid surface. I wouldn't worry about them. They are beneficial as is the orb spiders in my flower and veggie gardens. Sandy

I'm not really familiar with many of the TX lizards, but you're right; this does NOT look like a native US species. Although the pic is small, from what I can see this almost looks like a Frilled Dragon, a native of New Guinea and Australia. Those are the one what spread out the big neck frill if they feel cornered or threatened, though simply moving away is their first line of defense. The head definately has that shape like a member of the Agamid family, and a foot and a half would be too big for a Fence Lizard, which is also in that family. Frilled Dragons are commonly sold as pets, though they are quite expensive, so if that's what it is, it must have escaped from someone-someone who is VERY upset! Check with the local papers' "Lost and Found" section and see if anyone has lost such a pet in your area, and you should certainly try to catch it without hurting it. Sharon McKenzie

igloochic, that was printed on a T-shirt sold in the Wall St area (clogged with tourists) of Manhattan a few years ago. Welcome to NY on the front Now go home on the back. Yeah, I wanted one.

Our ducks normally fly around which I thought was normal for all ducks. They walk looking for food but readily fly when they want to. Your long beaked birds look like Ibis of some kind which can demolish a crab. Crabs have an exoskeleton (outside of body) which splits when the crab outgrows it. They wriggle out of the exoskeleton and their new one underneath is very soft making them vulnerable to a lot of predators. It takes a while to harden. In relation to Anoles, I was thinking of predatory birds such as raptors (hawks and the like). Presumeably Anoles roost in trees at night so they would also be more vulnerable to owls. All these birds tear their prey apart to eat it and a head could easily be dropped or left behind.