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moloch05

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There is a paved road that extends west from Windorah for about 120kms before finally giving away to gravel on the Birdsville and Diamantina Tracks. This road is a great place for night driving since there is very little traffic on it at night. It also passes through a variety of habitats that alternate between red dunes, gibber flats and clay pans. Gibber flats are barren places that are covered with small stones. All of these habitats support mulga trees, especially along drainages. Mulgas, like spinifex, are one of the characteristic plants of the Aussie outback.

About 85km west of Windorah, the road descends a small escarpment into the Eyrean Basin. The habitats in the basin are particularly dry and mostly consists of gibber flats with cracking clay in places. Cracking clay is the home of the Fierce Snake as well as other species such as Speckled Brown Snakes and Mulga Snakes (a.k.a., King Brown Snake).

Here are a few pics of these varying habitats along the road to the west of Windorah.

Clay pans, red dunes and mulga forest in the distance.
habitat1.jpg


Windorah_tympanocryptis3.jpg



Our first day at Windorah was hot (~40C) with a searing wind and dust storm
habitat_wind.jpg



Eyrean Basin (85km+ west of Windorah)
habitat6.jpg



Gibber flats with mulga trees
habitat21.jpg


habitat22.jpg


habitat23.jpg



Cracking Clay. This bleak, hostile environment is the home of the Fierce Snake. Unfortunately, we could not find it on this visit and in fact, saw hardly anything here even at night. I think that the snake is probably more reliable earlier in the year when the temperatures are cooler and it must sun-bake for longer periods of time.
Tympanocryptis_TessallatedGecko_Win.jpg



One morning, Nick decided to walk around on the flats to try and spot a Fierce Snake. He saw only a few dragons.
nick4.jpg



We have seen Grey Falcons before on these desolate plains but this year, could only manage the much more common Brown Falcon.

Brown Falcon (imm)
bird_greyfalcon.jpg



This is the escarpment at the edge of the Eyrean Basin.
habitat20.jpg



Ring-tailed Dragons (Ctenophorus nuchalis) were common on rocks along the upper cliffs of this escarpment. They can be wary and difficult to approach but on this trip, I could walk right up to them for photos. This species, like the Central Military Dragon, is widespread in Australia. Some of the races look very different to these from Windorah.

Male #1
Ctenophorus_caud5_Windorah.jpg


Ctenophorus_caud1_Windorah.jpg



Male #2
Ctenophorus_caud3_Windorah.jpg



Females were quite drab.
Ctenophorus_caud_female_Windorah.jpg



This Ctenotus septenarius was found along the edge of the escarpment.
liz_ctenotus30.jpg



Nick found this mummified Black-headed Python (Aspidites melanocephalus) . It did not show signs of external injury so I don’t know what caused its death. It just appeared to have died as it crawled between a couple of trunks of a mulga in a gully.
BHP.jpg



While in the basin, I saw a couple of Emus that were not far from the road. I was able to hide in a mulga thicket and then began to whistle and squeak. Emus are curious birds and it did not take long before they began to approach to try and find the source of the racket.
habitat_emu1.jpg


habitat_emu2a.jpg


habitat_emu4.jpg



When I stepped out from cover, they raced away.
habitat_emu5.jpg



Clay pans were the preferred habitat of earless dragons (Tympanocryptis tetraporiphora). They usually were seen perched on small rocks near the road.
Windorah_tympanocryptis3.jpg


Windorah_tympanocryptis2.jpg



The lizard with the yellow face was a gravid.
Tympanocryptis_tetra2_Windorah.jpg



The lizards often stood on top of rocks.
TympanTetra1_Windorah.jpg


liz_tympanocryptis4.jpg



Sometimes when it was hot, the lizards would stand upright on their hind legs with their breasts facing the sun.
liz_tympanocryptis7.jpg



This lizard was asleep on the road one night.
Tympanocryptis1.jpg



Central Netted Dragons (Ctenophorus nuchalis) also lived here but they were more abundant on red sands where they were often seen on top of termite mounds.

Male in breeding colours
liz_nuchalis3.jpg



Another male:
liz_nuchalis1.jpg


liz_nuchalis4a.jpg



Female:
liz_nuchalis5.jpg



Tessellated Geckos (Diplodactylus tessellatus) were the most common species of gecko on clay pans and gibber flats. They vary a little in colour and pattern. Here are a number of photos that illustrate this variability.
gecko_tessall1.jpg


gecko_tessall3.jpg


gecko_tessal4.jpg


gecko_tessal5.jpg


gecko_tessal6.jpg



I found two Fat-tailed Geckos (Diplodactylus conspicillatus) that looked very different to those that I have seen in Western Australia. It is hard to believe that they are the same species.

This one had a regenerated tail:
gecko_fattail1.jpg



… and this one had its original tail.
gecko_fattail4.jpg



Mulga trees provided cover for Northern Spiny-tailed Geckos (Strophurus ciliaris), Marbled Velvet Geckos (Oedura marmorata) and Gehyra variegata.

Northern Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus ciliaris)
StrophCiliaris2_Windorah.jpg


gecko_ciliaris2.jpg



Marbled Velvet Gecko (Oedura marmorata)
gecko_marbled1.jpg


gecko_marbled2.jpg



Gehyra variegata were also arboreal geckos. They were easy to find at night on mulga trees.
gecko_gehyra1.jpg



This Red-naped Snake (Furina ornata) was one of the few snakes that I found on the trip. These little elapids are considered harmless due to their tiny size and reluctance to bite. They do put on quite a nice threat display.
snake_rednaped2.jpg


snake_rednaped1.jpg



Fuel is quite pricey in the outback. To keep costs down, I always try and hire for these little Hyundai. These are quick, fuel efficient and perfectly comfortable for one or two people.
car.jpg




Regards,
David
 
Some greats pics you have thier mate. Sounds like you had a good time.

What kind of camera have you got?
 
Great pictures there mate, thanks for sharing. Just out of curiosity, how big were those emus? They look pretty big.
 
Wow, thanks for sharing your field trip with us... you guys always do a great job with these... cheers, Brad
 
Great pics once again. Just love those little red-napes.
 
Thanks, everyone.

Camo, I use a Canon 40D


Regards,
David
 
wonderful photos david! your trips always amaze me!!! love the red naped! very lucky to see him!
 
Grey Falcons.... they don't actually exist. They are a construct of Birds Australia to keep the romance in birding. Same with night parrots.

:D

-H
 
(I thought I'd posted this earlier today, but it doesn't seem to have made it.)

Nice haul as usual, David. I think that bipedal Tympanocryptis tetraporophora wins the cutest pic prize!

Stewart
 
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