2.3.26
Minnippi
Autumn at last – cooler, overcast but still a bit sticky.
An average birding morning, nothing super special. Butterflys a bit thin on the ground and even insects few and far between. The only bird of note was a probable flock of 4 Little Lorikeets that flew over and disappeared.
I did have a nice Swamp Wallaby Wallabia bicolor stand up well in The Avenue – usually they bolt fairly quickly – and a nicely perched up Great Cormorant on the lake (realised lately I had virtually no photos of this species in Australia – just one of those things – It’s common so one forgets to take photos…). I also found a Predatory Stink Bug that was ‘new’.
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| Swamp Wallaby Wallabia bicolor |
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| Great Cormorant |
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| Common Web Spider Neoscona theisi (I think) |
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| Montrouzierellus turnerii |
3.3.26
Blacklighting JC Trotter (again)
I was delayed starting out due to an unexpected, but welcome, international call so it was 20.15 when I had set up. I had chosen to go to the same spot on the track as the previous expedition, mainly in terms of consistency and because I liked the habitat. I was particularly interested to see if I would attract the same species as previous?
As it happened I only doubled-up on the Black Field Cricket, everything else was new for the site, mostly new for me too, which was very interesting I thought, considering it was only 3 weeks since my last Blacklighting effort.
It was a bit slow to begin with – slower than the last time – and it never got to the level of the first visit. I did alright with another 12 new Moth species, several Beetles, a Mantid, a Katydid and a ‘Christmas- type’ Beetle among a few other things, but none of the always-hoped-for Stick Insects unfortunately.
It was the last quarter of the moon, apparently, but also a partial eclipse. Once the ‘eclipse’ was over, the moon was so bright it was throwing shadows and surroundings were visible for approx 30 meters without assistance. Whether this had an ill effect on insects in general I was unable to say due to my lack of experience. It stayed relatively warm all evening (24C Felt Like 26C) and only slightly humid.
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| Moon in partial eclipse |
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| Moon post-eclipse |
I sat it out till midnight – in the last hour a few new things turned up so it was worth hanging around.
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| Cryptophasa irrorata |
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| Epicoma protrahens |
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| Garrha pudica |
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| Lewin's Bag Shelter Moth Panacela lewinae |
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| Maechidius divergens |
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| Polichne spinulosa (Katydid sp) |
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| Porela vitulina |
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| Purple Wave Idaea inversata |
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| Red-lined Looper Crypsiphona ocultaria |
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| Scoparia spelaea |
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| She-Oak Moth Pernattia pusilla |
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| Tinged Tussock Moth Laelia obsoleta (Check out the antennae on this guy - laid back along his back!) |
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| Cashew Beetle Anoplognathus pallidicollis (Christmas Beetle-type) |
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| Burying Mantis Sphodropoda tristis (It's pretty cool the way they look at you!) |
On a nearby tree the next two creatures appeared - not exactly due to the light but.......
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| Australian House Centipede Allothereua maculata |
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| Mastachilus australasicus (A type of Bess Beetle which I had seen previously in Toohey Forest) |
I thought I’d give Whites Hill Reserve a go – dry eucalypt forest, generally pretty unexciting habitat but you never know!
On site at 19.15 and set up a short distance in along the track. Approx 100 meters away (behind me) high floodlights appeared to attract some moths – I could see them buzzing around 30 meters off the ground. The lights and AFL practice/games went on until 22.00. Whether this had any effect on the results I obtained I was unsure. Only comparison on a non-playing night might offer an answer to that, but it was weird when everyone went home and the lights were turned off.
Activity on the Blacklight was very slow and never achieved the mass of really small stuff that I had become used to at other locales. Most of the stuff was small with just a couple of exceptions – and they weren’t huge either. Only Moths and Beetles, nothing much beyond that. I did get a couple of ‘things’ I had had before, but, maybe surprisingly, 9 new Moths and 2 new Beetles so it wasn’t a waste of time by any means.
I used a bit of encouragement for the appropriate species but got no responses. Late in the piece just before 22.00 I heard an Australian Boobook somewhere up the hill. I played back and it seemed to come a little closer, but then stop calling altogether. I left at 22.15 – after the previous night I was a bit knackered, but this site had the advantage of only being 10 mins from bed.
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| Concealer Moth Hoplomorpha abalienella |
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| Cyclophora obstataria |
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| Hawaiian Beet Webworm Moth Spoladea recurvalis |
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| Hemiscopis violacea |
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| Pasture Wireworm Monocrepidius exsul (A type of Click Beetle) |
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| Rhinophthalmus modestus (A species of Longicorn Beetle) |
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| Tetracona amathealis |
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| Waved-lined Geometrid Gastrina cristaria |
On a tree nearby - a caterpillar......
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| Lichen-eating Caterpillar Brunia replana |
My neighbour, Claire, had expressed interest in joining me for a morning’s outing and so together we arrived on site at 6.15. Our expedition had been a bit doubtful given the potential rain and it was actually raining when we arrived, however, we sat it out in the Red Shed for 15 minutes or so until it ceased. It continued to be an overcast, threatening rain kinda morning and it did spit for a few minutes during our walk, but overall we were glad we had ventured out.
Not particularly birdy but enough to satisfy our interest - it being our first outing together.
Best bird was a Nankeen Night Heron on the muddy banks of the creek, it being very low tide, but apart from that, pretty average.
A few butterflys showed, mainly on the return walk when it had brightened up somewhat – but again, nothing out of the ordinary. We did find a couple of Australian Christmas Jewel Spiders Austracantha minax which are always nice to see.
We had breakfast at Arte & Gusto afterwards that Claire kindly paid for.
10.3.26
Minnippi
After 3 days of rain the ground was sodden, but not flooded. It was a bright, warm morning relieved a little by a decent southerly breeze.
The Striped Marsh Frogs Limnodynastes peronei were going off in several locations, enjoying the wet habitat. Birds were average with the highlight being a Rufous Shrike Thrush on the M1 track – the first time I had ever recorded one there. Butterflys were, predictably, few and the only other things of interest were some species of Fungi that had sprung up over preceding days. It being Autumn I had been expecting these to appear, but mostly they were species I had seen before.
A comfortable cool morning to start with and it remained cloudy with bright spells throughout my 4 hour visit.
I walked the House Loop counting 9 Red-necked Wallabys along the way but few birds. Back on the main track I was the centre of a bird wave that contained several Rufous Whistlers, Grey Shrike Thrushes, Leaden Flycatchers, a very quiet White-throated Treecreeper, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and a Shining Bronze Cuckoo while in the background a Striped Honeyeater sang.
When I reached the dam itself I turned left along the thin track that I had used to follow but was much less defined now and in fact, it petered out almost completely before I reached the bank of the inlet.
As I headed back, along the bank of the dam, it all became worth it when I flushed a pair of Speckled Warblers. I only saw them long enough to ID but it was good to know they were still on-site and at this time of year their presence suggests they are resident (i.e. not winter visitors)
There wasn’t much else exciting about the morning – a flock of 100 (rough count) Little Black Cormorants roosting on a small island was an unusually large number and on the track under the powerlines I found a new grasshopper.
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| Handsome Macrotona Macrotona mjoberg |
I also took photos of a selection of recently erupting fungi and a few plants some of which proved to be ‘new’.
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| Boletellus deceptivus |
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| Marshmallow Bolete Fistulinella mollis |
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| Ochre-gilled Barefoot Lepidella Amanita ochrophylla |
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| Salmon Gum Mushroom Phlebopus marginatus |
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| Feathered Yellow-eye Xyris complanata |
On the last stretch near the wooden bridge thing I got a cluttered view of a Collared Sparrowhawk perched up quietly, being mobbed by a not-very-enthusiastic Little Friarbird – that brought it to 3 raptors for the day having had an adult White-bellied Sea Eagle perched up and a fly-by Whistling Kite over the water. 49 species for the morning was a pleasing list.
11.3.26
Blacklighting Minnippi 2
On site at 19.15, Blacklighting from 19.30 until 22.30. Another warm evening, very calm, quite cloudy, low humidity despite it being 68%.
It was very slow overall. Not a lot of small stuff, but several decent sized moths hung around all evening. For the first time there were a couple of the same species. I had noted on previous expeditions that only one member of each species generally showed and it made me wonder how they found each other? I would have expected several moths of the same species at the same location at the same time but that was not my experience – until this event.
I wandered up and down the track within 100 meters of the sheet and found a Squirrel Glider Petaurus norfolcensis in the trees above me. We (Mr D, Mr P and I) had had one in the same location in October 2014 so it was good to know they were still around! I tried to get photos but had a lot of trouble focusing with one hand while holding the head torch in the right position…. Wasn’t as successful as I would have wished.
I ended up with 8 new Moth species and several repeats. On the way out I found a couple of Jungle Huntsman Spiders Heteropoda jugulans and two Blackish Meadow Katydids Conocephalus semivittatus all perched on the long grass or other plants.
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| Acatapaustus leucospila |
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| Cleora injectaria |
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| Eressa geographica |
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| Flecked Wave Moth Idaea philocosma |
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| Hypomecis externaria |
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| Leptosaces schistopa |
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| Schistophleps albida |
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| Squirrel Glider Petaurus norfolcensis |
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| Blackish Meadow Katydid Conocephalus semivittatus |
Following a smoking' hot day previously (34C) it was a relatively pleasant morning - despite the very humid, sticky conditions - without any major excitement.
Highlights included – a Tawny Frogmouth roosting in the sun, an Australian Hobby being harassed by a couple of Pied Currawongs on the pylons and 2 Brown Quail on the track on the return walk.
Butterflys were average – Common Crow Euploea core (5), Monarch Danaus plexippus (6), Lesser Wanderer Danaus chrysippus (1), Yellow Migrant Catopsilia gorgophone (2), Dainty Grass-blue Zizula hylax (5) and White-banded Plane Phaedyma shepherdi (1).
Insects almost completely absent – just a few Golden Orb-weavers Nephila plumipes, a ‘pair’ of Australian Christmas Jewel SpidersAustracantha minax and a handful of Paddy Bugs Leptocorisa acuta.
15.3.26
JC Trotter
Mr P picked me up at 6.15, on site at 6.30. A pleasant coolish morning that ended up being a bit sticky all the same. It remained cloudy/glary making identification of small birds in the canopy challenging.
A good morning’s birding with nothing outstanding. A couple of bird waves of multiple species kept us occupied between the vacant gaps on the walk. We tried for the Speckled Warblers I had had a few days previously but failed to find any.
Nothing much in the way of butterflys or other insects, but I did pick up a few fungi.
A ‘discussion’ with a, rather arrogant, pony trek leader kinda spoiled the morning when we were accused of disturbing one of the horses ‘with our equipment’ so much so it turned and trotted back towards the stables across the road while being uncontrolled by its obviously inexperienced rider. The woman seemed to fail to understand we were on a public path not an exclusive horse trail and had, in fact, done everything we could to avoid spooking the horses – as we always do.
15.3.26
Blacklighting Toohey Forest
I thought I’d give Toohey a go – it’s the closest potential location to home and I wasn’t hugely expectant of a big result, but it was better than just sitting on the couch watching Netflix.
Toohey is mainly dry eucalypt with a thin understorey and I didn’t feel it held much in the way of decent sized insects – but I gave it three hours and was moderately surprised. I went in about 50 meters from Isabella St and set up on the side of the track.
Most of the stuff was small – and there was never a build up of the usual swarming micro-stuff. Whether this was due to the environment or the slightly cooler weather I was unable to decide. I ended up with 10 new Moths, a new Mantid (weird thing), a couple of Beetles and Planthoppers and a one-legged Katydid who limped his sorry ass up and down the sheet - so it wasn’t a complete waste, but it was a slow night.
I did have my first ‘visitors’ – a middle-aged couple walking the track with torches who claimed to be the ‘managers’ of the local parks and appeared interested in what I was doing and were very knowledgeable regarding the local wildlife – we chatted for 20 minutes or so.
I didn’t try any ‘encouragement’ and saw no mammals or birds during my visit.
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| Agriophara confertella |
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| Calathusa hypotherma |
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| Chezala brachypepla |
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| Cryptophasa rubescens |
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| Eulechria acrotropa |
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| Macadamia Twig Girdler Xylorycta luteotactella |
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| Tortricopsis pyroptis |
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| Mantis Lacewing Ditaxis biseriata - weird little guy |
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| Stenolemus fraterculus - a Spider Assassin Bug |
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| Polichne brevipes - the one-legged Katydid |
