moloch05
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In this post, I will include photos from the coastal areas of Mission Beach along with photos from a short day trip inland to Murray Falls State Park.
Mission Beach is a beautiful place with Dunk and the Family Islands a few km offshore. Although there is a great deal of development underway, so far Mission Beach has escaped the enormous resort complexes that destroyed Port Douglas.
Dunk Island
The Family Group of islands and Hinchinbrook Island (big island in distance)
The beach of Mission Beach. Stingers were absent in the winter so it was safe to swim.
I found three species of lizards in habitat like this:
These included Coastal Snake-eyed Skinks (Cryptoblepharus littoralis) that fed from just above the high-tide line down and around the tide pools.
Their range overlapped that of Wall Skinks (Cryptoblepharus virgatus) and both species were found on the coconut palms that lined the beach. Both can be seen in this photo:
The gecko Nactus chevreti was also found just above the high-tide line.
Once again, Red-throated Rainbow Skinks (Carlia rubrigularis) were numerous. These little skinks seem to be the most abundant reptile in the wet tropics of north Queensland. I found them from above the high-tide line through rainforest, wet eucalyptus woodland and up into the montane areas of the Atherton Tablelands.
A lifer to me were these Brown Bicarinate Rainbow Skinks (Carlia storri). I saw two on rocks one afternoon but never again could relocate these for better photos even though I visited the same area on four more occasions. I think that they must spend much of their lives beneath the leaf litter.
These Closed-litter Rainbow Skinks (Carlia longipes) were common around the cabin where we stayed. Males are brightly coloured during the breeding season. We must have been there too early and all of those encountered looked like these:
I saw this monitor near our cabin one afternoon. Both Gould's (Varanus gouldii) and Yellow-spotted Monitors (V. panoptes) are found here and I believe that they are hard to separate in this area. The monitor had an yellow, unbanded tip to the tail.
A fisherman told me that a week before my arrival, he found a Saltwater Crocodile eating a Green Turtle on this beach. He said that there were many marks in the sand and it appeared that there had been quite a struggle ... or perhaps the croc was just spinning to rip off chunks of the turtle. I saw many distant turtles but no crocs.
Mudskippers were common near the mangroves:
I also saw this huge wader/shorebird known as a Beach Stone Curlew. It is a cousin of the Double-striped Thick-knees that some of you may have seen in southern Mexico or Costa Rica. These birds eat crabs.
A Shining Starling colony. These are native, rainforest inhabiting birds that form huge, noisy colonies.
Australian Rustic:
I also went on a day trip to Murray Falls State Park. This park supports rainforest along a river but the surrounding slopes are drier and covered with grass and eucalyptus. The water in the river is freezing but it is a good place to snorkel with many native fish. I saw two species of rainbowfish here along with many grunters.
I saw both Eastern Water Skinks (Eulamprus quoyii) and these barred water skinks (E. tenuis or E. brachysoma) on rocks along the river.
Wall Skinks (Cryptoblepharus virgatus) were also frequent on rocks.
I saw a few Black-throated Rainbow Skinks (Carlia rostralis) up on the drier slopes.
An interesting, large scorpion:
Regards,
David
Mission Beach is a beautiful place with Dunk and the Family Islands a few km offshore. Although there is a great deal of development underway, so far Mission Beach has escaped the enormous resort complexes that destroyed Port Douglas.
Dunk Island
The Family Group of islands and Hinchinbrook Island (big island in distance)
The beach of Mission Beach. Stingers were absent in the winter so it was safe to swim.
I found three species of lizards in habitat like this:
These included Coastal Snake-eyed Skinks (Cryptoblepharus littoralis) that fed from just above the high-tide line down and around the tide pools.
Their range overlapped that of Wall Skinks (Cryptoblepharus virgatus) and both species were found on the coconut palms that lined the beach. Both can be seen in this photo:
The gecko Nactus chevreti was also found just above the high-tide line.
Once again, Red-throated Rainbow Skinks (Carlia rubrigularis) were numerous. These little skinks seem to be the most abundant reptile in the wet tropics of north Queensland. I found them from above the high-tide line through rainforest, wet eucalyptus woodland and up into the montane areas of the Atherton Tablelands.
A lifer to me were these Brown Bicarinate Rainbow Skinks (Carlia storri). I saw two on rocks one afternoon but never again could relocate these for better photos even though I visited the same area on four more occasions. I think that they must spend much of their lives beneath the leaf litter.
These Closed-litter Rainbow Skinks (Carlia longipes) were common around the cabin where we stayed. Males are brightly coloured during the breeding season. We must have been there too early and all of those encountered looked like these:
I saw this monitor near our cabin one afternoon. Both Gould's (Varanus gouldii) and Yellow-spotted Monitors (V. panoptes) are found here and I believe that they are hard to separate in this area. The monitor had an yellow, unbanded tip to the tail.
A fisherman told me that a week before my arrival, he found a Saltwater Crocodile eating a Green Turtle on this beach. He said that there were many marks in the sand and it appeared that there had been quite a struggle ... or perhaps the croc was just spinning to rip off chunks of the turtle. I saw many distant turtles but no crocs.
Mudskippers were common near the mangroves:
I also saw this huge wader/shorebird known as a Beach Stone Curlew. It is a cousin of the Double-striped Thick-knees that some of you may have seen in southern Mexico or Costa Rica. These birds eat crabs.
A Shining Starling colony. These are native, rainforest inhabiting birds that form huge, noisy colonies.
Australian Rustic:
I also went on a day trip to Murray Falls State Park. This park supports rainforest along a river but the surrounding slopes are drier and covered with grass and eucalyptus. The water in the river is freezing but it is a good place to snorkel with many native fish. I saw two species of rainbowfish here along with many grunters.
I saw both Eastern Water Skinks (Eulamprus quoyii) and these barred water skinks (E. tenuis or E. brachysoma) on rocks along the river.
Wall Skinks (Cryptoblepharus virgatus) were also frequent on rocks.
I saw a few Black-throated Rainbow Skinks (Carlia rostralis) up on the drier slopes.
An interesting, large scorpion:
Regards,
David
