moloch05
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My wife and I spent most of our recent holiday (early Sep) at Mission Beach, Qld. Mission Beach is about a 90 minute drive south of Cairns.
While at Mission Beach, I visited Lacey Creek almost every day. Lacey Creek flows through rainforest that was damaged by Cyclone Larry a few years ago. The forest is regenerating nicely but there still are many fallen trees and branches to be seen. Palms are abundant here and include an annoying one that grows as a vine (a rattan) and is known as a "wait-a-while" or "lawyer vine". Its tendrils have many cat-like claws that hook into skin with ease. They definitely get ones attention.
I walked along Lacey Creek many times during the day and night. The trail through the rainforest is a good place to see Cassowaries although I only saw their droppings on this trip.
I have seen Scrub Pythons here before but unfortunately no snakes on this visit. I did see quite a variety of skinks. The most common species were Red-throated Rainbow-skinks (Carlia rubrigularis). These were social little lizards and often would share the same patch of sun on the forest floor. The small skink in the photo is a Rainforest Sun-skink (Lampropholis coggeri).
The males are nicely coloured and exhibit the typical iridescence of the Carlia skinks:
These little skinks are no doubt the food source of many other animals. This male appears to have had a lucky escape from something and is missing scales from its head.
Females are more sombrely marked:
Rainforest Sun-skinks (Lampropholis coggeri) were also common and social.
... a juvenile:
An interesting group were these Shade-skinks (Saproscincus basiliscus). They seem to me to be the Aussie equivalents of Anolis. They were arboreal and usually found on shrubs or rocks in deep shade within the forest.
This is a Four-fingered Shade-skink (Saproscincus tetradactylus). It is one of the smallest species of lizards in Australia with a SVL of 3cm. I only found this species when they crossed the trail. Once in leaf litter, they vanished immediately beneath the leaves.
I saw a few Eastern Water Skinks (Eulamprus quoyii) along the creek:
I found this partially eaten carcass of a Pink-tongued Skink (Cyclodomorphus gerrardii) in the creek. Freshwater shrimp (Macrobrachium australiense) were feeding on it.
The largest skink of the forest was the Major Skink (Egernia frerei). These were incredibly shy and this was the only shot of the species that I could obtain. It looks quite different to those that I have seen elsewhere.
Saw-shelled Turtle (Wollumbinia latisternum) were common in the creek. The smaller turtle in this photo swam with the larger animal and continuously nibbled at its feet and head. The larger turtle completely ignored it. I know little about turtles. Is this some sort of courtship activity?
In addition to reptiles, I saw quite a number of interesting animals on the walks. Freshwater shrimp (Macrobrachium australiense) were a common sight at night:
Fish included Snake-headed Gudgeons:
... and these Jungle Perch and Australian Rainbow Fish:
I saw these large White-kneed King Crickets many times:
Mammals included Grey-headed Flying Fox that succeeded in dropping fruits on my head on two occasions. I was not able to take a pic, but I had a nice look at an enormous White-tailed Tree Rat, a huge native rat of the forest. Long-nosed Bandicoot and Northern Brown Bandicoot were common around the edges of the forest.
Northern Brown Bandicoot:
I think that this is a Red-necked Pademelon (Thylogale thetis). They were very shy and I had to take this shot from quite a distance. Usually, I only heard their thumping alarm as they sprinted into cover.
Lacey Creek was a good area to see one of the most spectacular Australian Butterflies, the Cairns Birdwing. Females are the largest butterfly in Australia with a wingspan of nearly 7". Males are smaller and more brightly coloured. This male had been killed by a car.
... a skipper:
... a snout beetle:
... an interesting fungus:
... an canopy orchid growing on a fallen branch.
I thought that my new camera rig was quite heavy compared to my old point-and-shoot ... but then I met Jerry Lemmo who used this incredible lens. Gerry is a professional wildlife photographer from New York(http://www.gerrylemmo.com/).
Regards,
David
While at Mission Beach, I visited Lacey Creek almost every day. Lacey Creek flows through rainforest that was damaged by Cyclone Larry a few years ago. The forest is regenerating nicely but there still are many fallen trees and branches to be seen. Palms are abundant here and include an annoying one that grows as a vine (a rattan) and is known as a "wait-a-while" or "lawyer vine". Its tendrils have many cat-like claws that hook into skin with ease. They definitely get ones attention.
I walked along Lacey Creek many times during the day and night. The trail through the rainforest is a good place to see Cassowaries although I only saw their droppings on this trip.
I have seen Scrub Pythons here before but unfortunately no snakes on this visit. I did see quite a variety of skinks. The most common species were Red-throated Rainbow-skinks (Carlia rubrigularis). These were social little lizards and often would share the same patch of sun on the forest floor. The small skink in the photo is a Rainforest Sun-skink (Lampropholis coggeri).
The males are nicely coloured and exhibit the typical iridescence of the Carlia skinks:
These little skinks are no doubt the food source of many other animals. This male appears to have had a lucky escape from something and is missing scales from its head.
Females are more sombrely marked:
Rainforest Sun-skinks (Lampropholis coggeri) were also common and social.
... a juvenile:
An interesting group were these Shade-skinks (Saproscincus basiliscus). They seem to me to be the Aussie equivalents of Anolis. They were arboreal and usually found on shrubs or rocks in deep shade within the forest.
This is a Four-fingered Shade-skink (Saproscincus tetradactylus). It is one of the smallest species of lizards in Australia with a SVL of 3cm. I only found this species when they crossed the trail. Once in leaf litter, they vanished immediately beneath the leaves.
I saw a few Eastern Water Skinks (Eulamprus quoyii) along the creek:
I found this partially eaten carcass of a Pink-tongued Skink (Cyclodomorphus gerrardii) in the creek. Freshwater shrimp (Macrobrachium australiense) were feeding on it.
The largest skink of the forest was the Major Skink (Egernia frerei). These were incredibly shy and this was the only shot of the species that I could obtain. It looks quite different to those that I have seen elsewhere.
Saw-shelled Turtle (Wollumbinia latisternum) were common in the creek. The smaller turtle in this photo swam with the larger animal and continuously nibbled at its feet and head. The larger turtle completely ignored it. I know little about turtles. Is this some sort of courtship activity?
In addition to reptiles, I saw quite a number of interesting animals on the walks. Freshwater shrimp (Macrobrachium australiense) were a common sight at night:
Fish included Snake-headed Gudgeons:
... and these Jungle Perch and Australian Rainbow Fish:
I saw these large White-kneed King Crickets many times:
Mammals included Grey-headed Flying Fox that succeeded in dropping fruits on my head on two occasions. I was not able to take a pic, but I had a nice look at an enormous White-tailed Tree Rat, a huge native rat of the forest. Long-nosed Bandicoot and Northern Brown Bandicoot were common around the edges of the forest.
Northern Brown Bandicoot:
I think that this is a Red-necked Pademelon (Thylogale thetis). They were very shy and I had to take this shot from quite a distance. Usually, I only heard their thumping alarm as they sprinted into cover.
Lacey Creek was a good area to see one of the most spectacular Australian Butterflies, the Cairns Birdwing. Females are the largest butterfly in Australia with a wingspan of nearly 7". Males are smaller and more brightly coloured. This male had been killed by a car.
... a skipper:
... a snout beetle:
... an interesting fungus:
... an canopy orchid growing on a fallen branch.
I thought that my new camera rig was quite heavy compared to my old point-and-shoot ... but then I met Jerry Lemmo who used this incredible lens. Gerry is a professional wildlife photographer from New York(http://www.gerrylemmo.com/).
Regards,
David
