1.1.26
Mt Nebo
On site at 6.30 to a damp, cloudy, cool morning (20C) with a light mist in the canopy. The sun did emerge at about 7.30 and it developed into the usual hot morning before I finished at midday.
Walked the Thylogale Circuit as usual, my main aim to install the two trail cameras again. I located one in the rainforest before the wooden walkway and another similar beyond the walkway. Overall it was very quiet, although the usual birds were calling I saw very little but recorded 21 species – 2 Noisy Pittas were calling but, as usual, remained unseen. I didn’t use any ‘encouragement’ mind you, simply relying on my dubious audio skills….
At 8, I headed up to Mt Glorious and found the café open – it was very busy as one would expect on a public holiday, but I got my coffee on the back deck as usual.
At 9 I headed back down to the Manorina track on Mt Nebo. I have always enjoyed this trail, walking up to the outlook, then back down by the fire trail.
It was, too, very quiet, with more birds heard than seen. I did find Kangaroo Vine Leaf Beetle Oides fryi and Blue Oides Leaf Beetle Oides laetabilis again – they seem to be a common occurrence at the moment – took photos of 2 Garden Soldier Flys Exaireta spinigera mating and a Lycid Beetle species Cladophorus cinctus.
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| Garden Soldier Fly Exaireta spinigera |
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| Cladophorus cinctus |
At the top of the walk in the open area before the Outlook, there were several butterflys. Unfortunately I could only ID the obvious ones as the others weren’t inclined to land – by this time it had warmed up considerably and they just kept going. I did have one species in mind, however, having been given good advice some time ago that Four-barred Swallowtail Protographium leosthenes was a possibility at this site. I did find one, but it, too, declined to land so photos were not obtained although I did watch it for about 10 minutes….
Thanks in part to the lack of bird activity I took some photos of flowers I saw around the place.
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| Bank's Violet Viola banksii |
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| Pointed Aneilema Aneilema acuminatum |
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| Spade Flower Pigea stellarioides |
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| Woody-root Woodsorrel Oxalis perennans |
As I headed down the fire trail I spotted a Red Robberfly Colepia rufiventris perched up on a twig.
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| Red Robber Fly Colepia rufiventris |
Further down the track a pair of Leafwings Doleschallia bisaltide, one of which did oblige.
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| Leafwing Doleschalia bisaltide |
We all met at my place and I drove to arrive on site at 6.15. A bright, but cloudy, warm morning.
The track wasn’t very busy, but overall I ended up with a morning’s list of 50 species.
We had some interesting insects, the highlight of which Mr P spotted on a dead branch in a shit position for photos but we did our best and eventually agreed it was a Silky Azure Ogyris oroetes which was a lifer for me and a good butterfly for the site.
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| Silky Azure Ogyris oroetes |
Further out I had a Honeybrown Beetle Ecnologria grandis and a Banded Lichen Moth Cyme structa.
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| Honeybrown Beetle Ecnolagria grandis |
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| Banded Lichen Moth Cyme structa |
On the way back Mr D spotted 3 Tawny Frogmouths beside the track and then pulled up a Tessellated Stick Insect Anchiale austrotessulata. We’d seen this species before bur a Stick Insect is always worthwhile.
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| Tessellated Stick Insect Anchiale austrotessulata |
On top of the last gate we had a Common Brown Robber Fly Zosteria rosevillensis and I took photos during the walk of several plants…
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| Common Brown Robber Fly Zosteria rosevillensis |
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| Bower Plant Pandorea jasminoides |
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| Cutleaf Groundcherry Physalis angulata |
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| Liriope Liriope muscari |
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| Twiggy Myrtle Sannantha similis |
We breakfasted, as usual, at Arte & Gusto in Graceville.
4.1.26
Lamington NP - O'Reilly's
Linc, my grandson, had requested we go to O’Reilly’s and Lamington NP and we arrived on site at 8.15. My daughter, his mother, accompanied us and we set off straight away to the feeding area where (wild) King Parrots and Crimson Rosellas are fed seed. There were no birds present so we continued on to the Tree Top Walk.
We saw the usual birds along the boarded walkway into the Tree Top Walk and, after we had completed that part of the adventure, we walked the track down past the Mountain Garden and ‘re-found’ the Satin Bowerbird bower I had seen on previous visits.
We continued on to the Border Track and headed back towards the ‘resort’ via the bitumen. We had great views of a male Australian Logrunner digging right beside the track and just a few meters further on an Albert’s Lyrebird broke cover ahead of us and ran, half flew with wings and tail spread, around the corner and disappeared. Such is luck!
(Video - Australian Logrunner)
About 100 meters before we reached the entrance to the Border Track I heard what I believed was an Albert’s Lyrebird singing not too far down below the track, but invisible, of course.
After some discussion Linc and I moved down through the bush as quietly as possible, moving only when the bird was singing, until we saw movement approximately 25-30 feet in front of us. The Lyrebird was completely absorbed in its display and song and we sat and watched entranced for what seemed like ages, but was probably about 10 minutes. I filmed it as best I could and Linc used my Tascam to record the performance.
(I tried to join the two following videos together to make one continuous 'movie' but was unable to do so - probably because my equipment is too old, so there are in fact two videos on UTube - labelled 'Albert's Lyrebird 040126 1 (and 2) Lamington National Park' - or click on the links below...)
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| Albert's Lyrebird |
Once it finished, the bird started up the slope towards us, but about 15 feet away must have realised we were present and turned casually off to our left and moved silently and swiftly through the bush to disappear.
What a magical moment! Something I had hoped to see for 40+ years and just awesome! Linc was thrilled too and couldn’t wait to get back and tell his Mum waiting for us in the picnic area.
We visited the second Satin Bowerbird bower beside the picnic area and then spent a short while feeding the now present King Parrots and Crimson Rosellas before heading into the café for much needed coffee where we were visited by both Satin and Regent Bowerbird females.
We didn’t have a lot of time left but drove down to the Python Rock/Moran’s Falls track entrance and set off on the former.
Just inside the track Linc picked up a ‘small mouse’ beside the track – a Yellow-footed Antechinus Antechinus flavipes scuttled off through the leaf litter. Further along the track I spotted a large Land Mullet Bellatorias major lying beside a bunch of tangle branches. I took a few photos of other stuff....
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| Christmas Orchid Calanthe triplicata |
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| False Turkey Tail Stereum versicolor |
Apart from all that excitement the birds were pretty quiet and I only recorded 20 species all up.
My 'Year of the Snake' thing kinda continued because as I drove from Kara's place to pick up my other grandson I had another snake experience. It was raining fairly heavily and along Bahrs Scrub Rd a car going the opposite direction appeared to run over a snake. I pulled in and ran back in the rain - the 2 meter Carpet Python appeared unharmed although I think it might have got a knock on the head because it was heading back towards the road again from where it had crawled into the grass verge and was definitely not happy. I grabbed it by the end of the tail and basically dragged it away from the road and gently tossed it into the thicker bush where I hope it stayed. The other driver had also turned back to check and was happy to see the snake was OK.
9.1.26
Mt Nebo
My main aim at the Thylogale Circuit, firstly, was to retrieve the two Trail Cameras I had installed 8 days ago. On site at 6 – it was a cool, dull morning with a gusty breeze in the canopy. The track was very quiet, more or less as I had expected and I saw very little – but heard a few birds – during the hour I spent there. I got both cameras Ok, but was a little disappointed with the results.
One I had set, presumably, too far from the track picked up nothing at all. The other set right beside the track was a little better with at least 4 videos of Red-necked Pademelons Thylogale stigmatica, 2 Yellow-throated Scrubwrens, a Wonga Pigeon walking away from the camera unfortunately, an Australian Brush Turkey and a single video of a Brush-tailed Possum Trichosurus vulpecula, also walking away. What I did get were so many videos of walkers on the track that the 32GB card filled up after 3 days and failed to record anything else for the remaining 5 days. It was the school holidays and the time of year where a lot of people also took time off so it was almost predictable but I was surprised at how many walked this track.
Finished there I headed up to Manorina. My aim here was, primarily, to catch Four-barred Swordtail before it warmed up and flew actively – as it had been doing when I saw one the previous week. I wanted photos but was, again, disappointed, as although it had warmed up and the sun shone sporadically there was a stiffer breeze at the outlook area and no butterflys were active.
I took photos of plants and what I thought, thanks to my poor eyesight, was a small jumping spider but which turned out to be a Fruit Fly sp and headed down the fire trail. I saw virtually nothing until just before the end I found a White-brand Grass-skipper Toxidia rietmanni which, although not a lifer was a nice find.
I headed up to Mt Glorious and soothed my frustration with a coffee. However, not all bad as I added 5 new plants to my database and the Fruit Fly was pretty cool!
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| Flax-leaved Horseweed Erigeron bonariensis |
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| Kreysigia Tripladenia cunninghamii |
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| Lolly Bush Clerodendrum floribundum |
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| Roseleaf Bramble Rubus rosifolius |
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| Oxalis rubens - at least I think so. It's very similar to the Woody-root Woodsorrel I photographed the previous week, but I believe its a different species. |
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| Sphaeniscus atilius - a Fruit Fly sp. |
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| White-brand Grass-skipper Toxidia rietmanni which, I might add, iNaturalist first identified as Lilac Grass-skipper. |
11.1.26
Oxley
An oppressive, dull, very humid morning, even at 6.00. I spent a long time walking out the track looking for insects – and finding a decent variety of beetles, shield bugs etc. The track was busy humanoid-wise, as one would expect on a Sunday morning.
All in all I saw few birds in comparison to a normal morning’s outing but the conditions did seem to favour insects. (I didn’t climb the gate, as the track was a bit busy.)
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| Common Gum Tree Bug Amorbus robustus (I suspect this is a more adult individual than the following, although both appear to be the same species) |
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| Common Gum Tree Bug Amorbus robustus (This is an earlier 'instar' I believe, of the same species above) |
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| Dicranosterna semipunctata (a Leaf Beetle sp) |
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| Figleaf Beetle Poneridia semipullata |
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| Grey House Spider Badumna longinqua |
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| Metallic Green Acacia Beetle Calomela ruficeps |
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| Pigeonberry Rivina humilis |
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| Pumpkin Beetle Aulacophora borrei |
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| Seashore Vervain Verbena litoralis |
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| Showy Balloon Vine Cardiospermum grandiflorum |
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| Straggler Daisy Calyptocarpus vialis |
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| Bush Cockroach Ellipsidion humerale (Back in late November (24th) I featured a juvenile Eastern Ellipsidon. It has since come to my attention that that species and this - Bush Cockroach - are, in fact the same species) |
Another grandfather day or two and, as I had to pick up my ‘middle’ grandson, I had time to go to the wetland again. On site at 6.30, a dull, relatively pleasant morning, not too hot, not too cold – like porridge in the fairy tale.
The Salvinia on the lake seemed to have reduced somewhat, leaving more open water and I saw a couple of Grey Teal and a single Hardhead to add to the usual Pacific Black Ducks. There was a White-necked Heron, too, that was a little ‘out of season’ and an Australian Hobby hunted insects from a tree beside the road.
Other than that it was pretty much same as the last time but I added a couple of plants, one beetle and a butterfly to my site list before heading off to Mackers for breakfast and picking up my eight-year-old descendant.
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| False Daisy Eclipta prostrata |
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| Lesser Wanderer Danaus chrysippus |
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| Mexican Primrose-Willow Ludwigia octovali |
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| Arsipoda chrysis |
15.1.26
Anstead, Moggill Pocket Swamp & Moggill SF
Another close, humid morning but a small breeze brought relief at times and the sun shone through the light cloud cover sporadically.
The birds were very quiet and there was nothing to write home about so I spent the time squandering a few happy hours chasing insects….
I took nearly 600 photos and spent the rest of the day identifying 39 separate items – all but 1 spider resulted in identifications I was happy with.
Note: Moggill Pocket Swamp appeared to have lost most of the small reed patches that had surrounded the muddy hole – possibly as a result of the depredations of the two Water Buffalo who lay almost completely immersed in the mud looking like two horned Hippopotamus from an African safari photo. There were 32 Masked Lapwings standing around but little else of particular interest.
In Anstead I found....
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| False Leaf-curling Spider Leviana dimidiata |
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| Giant Green Slantface Acrida conica |
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| Inland Macrotona Macrotona securiformis |
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| Lively Rainbow Skink Carlia vivax |
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| Painted Leaf Euphorbia cyathopora |
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| Razor Grinder Henicopsaltria eydouxii |
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| Rutilia argentifera (a Tachnid Fly) |
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| Silver Orb Spider Leucauge dromedaria |
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| Slender Vervain Verbena rigida |
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| Small Dusky-blue Erina erina |
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| Triple-banded Moth Mocis trifasciata |
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| Variable Ladybird Beetle Coelophora inaequalis |
And in Moggill SF....
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| Pale & Blue Triangle Graphium euryplus & choredon |
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| Pale Triangle Graphium euryplus |
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| Blue Triangle Graphium choredon |
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| Giant Golden Orbweaver Nephila pilipes (Despite its small size, this seems to be the only option) |
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| Nisotra bicolorata |
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| Polka Dot Plant Hypoestes phyllostachya |
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| Red Narrow-necked Leaf Beetle Lilioceris bakewelli |
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| White-banded Plane Phaedyma shepherd |
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| White-faced Brown Paper Wasp Ropalidia plebeiana |
Once again I went to Sandy Camp thinking it being Friday it would probably be ‘quiet’.
Once again it wasn’t.
Once again I ran into a Black-backed Bittern Twitch – Brisbane-style.
The on-going bird/s were still attracting the punters with a crowd of 3 staring at the reed bed just beyond the ‘crossroads’.
Once again I got lucky.
As I stopped to enquire a bird was seen and I caught a glimpse of it flying down from the reed bed into the water’s edge plants where it moved quite quickly, in my opinion, showing reasonably well. It appeared to be a juvenile and they may have explained it’s lack of caution – or maybe its just got used to crowds….
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| Black-backed Bittern |
I didn’t stand around once it vanished, it’s not really my thing to stand in a group and discuss a sighting at length, so I moved on. The track was, as always, medium busy, with local walkers, some accompanied by their canine friends, photographers and a couple of probable birders, although I sometimes wonder.
The birds weren't too bad and I ended up with a 49 species list - without really trying. I did note the Magpie Geese in the 'back' or 'Bittern' pond had 4 very young goslings being over-watched by at least 4 adults.
I had hoped for an insect identifying morning but found very little, almost nothing, despite close examination of trackside plants – a process that had been very successful the previous day. The only butterflys I had, for example, were 2 Common Crows Euploea core and 1 Large Grass-yellow Eurema hecabe.
I resorted to plants, taking photos for later identification and trying to remember what some I had recently seen were called.
( I would note that I am using iNaturalist to identify the plants. I am not sure that iNaturalist is the best source, due to, in my opinion, the very minor details that can differentiate one plant from another. However, it is, for me, the easiest - and possibly the only - option and in most cases I do have 100% confidence in the outcome.
I am more than happy to hear from anyone who has more experience and knowledge - then again that applies to all the claims I make on this blog - bird, mammal, insect, reptile, plant etc.)
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| Argentine Cress Lepidium bonariense |
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| Mexican Primrose-Willow Ludwigia octovalis |
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| Spotted Knotweed Persicaria strigosa |
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| Turkey Berry Solanum torvum |
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| Water Snowflake Nymphoides indica |
I took a photo of the Salvinia - just to get it on record. It appeared to be spreading in some areas where I had not seen it before, but dying back in the 'Bittern' pond where it had previously completely covered the water. No further efforts appear to have been made to control it.
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| Giant Salvinia Salvinia molesta - well named....... |
