moloch05
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My wife and I spent the last 10 days at Mission Beach, Queensland. Mission Beach is a beautiful place and is one of our favourite family holiday destinations. I would highly recommend this area to those of you who visit the tropical north of Queensland. So far, it has escaped the massive resorts that have destroyed some of the other northern towns. It is a great spot for trips to the Great Barrier Reef, walks through the rainforest, day trips to the Atherton Tablelands or just lazing about the pool or the beach.
Mission Beach is located about a 1.5 hours south of Cairns or 2.5 hours north of Townsville. It is part of the region known as the wet tropics. November is the month when the wet season returns to the north but we experienced very little rain. This past year has been unusually dry with only 25mm of rain received during the winter months when 600mm would be expected. The lack of rainfall appears to have affected the reptile and frog numbers and I saw far fewer individuals than I have recorded in earlier years. Butterflies were also not as common or as diverse as I have seen before.
Here are a few photos of the area.
The beach of Mission Beach:
The view from the lookout at the top of Bicton Hill. From here, Dunk and the family group islands are clearly visible.
The rainforest is not overly tall due to the all too frequent cyclones that strike this area.
View along a creek through the rainforest.
Boyd's Forest Dragon (Hypsilurus boydii) -- I saw this dragon on two occasions. One night, I found a sleeping dragon on the side of a tree along the edge of the trail. The following day, I nearly stepped on what I think to be the same dragon as it sat on a rock in the trail. After a few photos, it inflated its dewlap and then bipedeled away into the forest. This was the first time that I have seen a Boyd's in the Mission Beach area. They seem to be more common up in the Atherton Tablelands.
Cassowary -- While I photographed the Boyd's Forest Dragon, I heard footsteps in the forest. The source remained out of sight, but when it was near, I heard its soft, rumbling call. It then walked off but remained unseen. I returned to the area about 45 minutes later and the source of the noise emerged onto the trail. It was this Cassowary. The bird was in adult plumage but was not overly large and had a fairly small casque. Mission Beach is a great place to see these birds but unfortunately, their numbers are in a decline. I am afraid that in the not too distant future, they will die out due to habitat fragmentation, too many cars and feral animals such as dogs and pigs.
"Macro" shots of the Cassowary. I did not have time to switch lenses.
This was a good indication of Cassowary activity. I think that dietary studies of Cassowaries would be easy. Many of the rainforest plants produce large fruits that appear to be targeted towards dispersal by Cassowaries.
Prickly Forest Skink (Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae) -- I was surprised to see one of these skinks at Mission Beach. They are abundant in the Atherton Tablelands but I have not seen one before near Mission Beach.
Carlia rubrigularis -- This species of skink was by far the most numerous reptile at Mission Beach. I did not see nearly as many this year as before but it still was common. These skinks were social and lived in the leaf little of the forest understorey.
White-lipped Tree Frog (Litoria infrafrenata) -- These are the largest of all tree frogs. They were fairly common along the edge of the rainforest.
Ornate Nursery Frog (Cophixalus sp., maybe C. ornatus) -- These little frogs were easy to hear but not so easy to observe. I usually found them calling from clusters of dead leaves that had collected at the base of branches a meter or two above the ground.
Dwarf Tree Frog (Litoria fallax) -- I saw a few of these on the road.
Litoria jungguy -- The males of this species were particularly photogenic. This was a common frog along creeks or rivers of the area. I usually found males perched on fronds of palms or on small rocks right in the creek bed.
I found a few species of native fish in the creeks.
1,2 -- Snake-headed Gudgeon
3 -- Jungle Perch and Rainbow Fish
4 -- Rainbow Fish
These dragonflies were common and brightly coloured.
The following two species of butterflies provide an example of Batesian Mimicry. Photos 1 and 2 are Black-and-White Aeroplane (Neptis praslini), a "tasty" member of family Nymphalidae. Photos 3 and 4 are of a Hamadryad (Tellervo zoilus), a "distasteful" member of family Ithomiidae. The butterflies are almost identical in pattern but in fly quite differently. The aeroplane flies with quick snaps of the wings followed by a flat-winged glide. The Hamadryad flies with fluttery wing beats more like a Cabbage Butterfly. Aeroplanes usually would land on the upper surface of a leaf whereas Hamadryads usually would land inverted beneath a leaf.
1. Evening Brown - a Nymphalid that is a good dead leaf mimic.
2. Australian Rustic
1. Blue-banded Eggfly, male.
2. Blue-banded Eggfly, female.
1. Australian Leaf Butterfly -- These are excellent mimics of dead leaves. Unfortunately, I was not able to take a photo of one of these butterflies when it was sitting in leaf litter.
1. Common Oakblue -- An interesting species whose larvae is cared for by Green Tree Ants.
2. Blue sp.
1. Young mantis
2. Plant Hopper (Homopteran)
3. Strange fly that would wave its white-tipped front legs.
Cricket
Spiders. Spider 4 below was killing a fire fly. Fire flies were common along Lacey Creek near Mission Beach. I saw one signalling rapidly and it did not seem to be moving. When I walked over to it, I found that it had been captured by this spider.
Flame Trees were flowering at Mission Beach and up in the Atherton Tablelands.
The following trees are members of Proteaceae. I believe that they are Macadamia.
1. This vine had strange, potato sized fruits.
2. New stems growing from the base of a forest ginger.
1. A delicate fungus.
2. Phosphorescent fungus. These fungus glowed green on the forest floor, quite an incredible sight.
1,2 -- Cycads were numerous in the rainforest. They were particularly numerous on hillsides such as Bicton Hill.
3 Barringtonia calyptra
Mission Beach is located about a 1.5 hours south of Cairns or 2.5 hours north of Townsville. It is part of the region known as the wet tropics. November is the month when the wet season returns to the north but we experienced very little rain. This past year has been unusually dry with only 25mm of rain received during the winter months when 600mm would be expected. The lack of rainfall appears to have affected the reptile and frog numbers and I saw far fewer individuals than I have recorded in earlier years. Butterflies were also not as common or as diverse as I have seen before.
Here are a few photos of the area.
The beach of Mission Beach:
The view from the lookout at the top of Bicton Hill. From here, Dunk and the family group islands are clearly visible.
The rainforest is not overly tall due to the all too frequent cyclones that strike this area.
View along a creek through the rainforest.
Boyd's Forest Dragon (Hypsilurus boydii) -- I saw this dragon on two occasions. One night, I found a sleeping dragon on the side of a tree along the edge of the trail. The following day, I nearly stepped on what I think to be the same dragon as it sat on a rock in the trail. After a few photos, it inflated its dewlap and then bipedeled away into the forest. This was the first time that I have seen a Boyd's in the Mission Beach area. They seem to be more common up in the Atherton Tablelands.
Cassowary -- While I photographed the Boyd's Forest Dragon, I heard footsteps in the forest. The source remained out of sight, but when it was near, I heard its soft, rumbling call. It then walked off but remained unseen. I returned to the area about 45 minutes later and the source of the noise emerged onto the trail. It was this Cassowary. The bird was in adult plumage but was not overly large and had a fairly small casque. Mission Beach is a great place to see these birds but unfortunately, their numbers are in a decline. I am afraid that in the not too distant future, they will die out due to habitat fragmentation, too many cars and feral animals such as dogs and pigs.
"Macro" shots of the Cassowary. I did not have time to switch lenses.
This was a good indication of Cassowary activity. I think that dietary studies of Cassowaries would be easy. Many of the rainforest plants produce large fruits that appear to be targeted towards dispersal by Cassowaries.
Prickly Forest Skink (Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae) -- I was surprised to see one of these skinks at Mission Beach. They are abundant in the Atherton Tablelands but I have not seen one before near Mission Beach.
Carlia rubrigularis -- This species of skink was by far the most numerous reptile at Mission Beach. I did not see nearly as many this year as before but it still was common. These skinks were social and lived in the leaf little of the forest understorey.
White-lipped Tree Frog (Litoria infrafrenata) -- These are the largest of all tree frogs. They were fairly common along the edge of the rainforest.
Ornate Nursery Frog (Cophixalus sp., maybe C. ornatus) -- These little frogs were easy to hear but not so easy to observe. I usually found them calling from clusters of dead leaves that had collected at the base of branches a meter or two above the ground.
Dwarf Tree Frog (Litoria fallax) -- I saw a few of these on the road.
Litoria jungguy -- The males of this species were particularly photogenic. This was a common frog along creeks or rivers of the area. I usually found males perched on fronds of palms or on small rocks right in the creek bed.
I found a few species of native fish in the creeks.
1,2 -- Snake-headed Gudgeon
3 -- Jungle Perch and Rainbow Fish
4 -- Rainbow Fish
These dragonflies were common and brightly coloured.
The following two species of butterflies provide an example of Batesian Mimicry. Photos 1 and 2 are Black-and-White Aeroplane (Neptis praslini), a "tasty" member of family Nymphalidae. Photos 3 and 4 are of a Hamadryad (Tellervo zoilus), a "distasteful" member of family Ithomiidae. The butterflies are almost identical in pattern but in fly quite differently. The aeroplane flies with quick snaps of the wings followed by a flat-winged glide. The Hamadryad flies with fluttery wing beats more like a Cabbage Butterfly. Aeroplanes usually would land on the upper surface of a leaf whereas Hamadryads usually would land inverted beneath a leaf.
1. Evening Brown - a Nymphalid that is a good dead leaf mimic.
2. Australian Rustic
1. Blue-banded Eggfly, male.
2. Blue-banded Eggfly, female.
1. Australian Leaf Butterfly -- These are excellent mimics of dead leaves. Unfortunately, I was not able to take a photo of one of these butterflies when it was sitting in leaf litter.
1. Common Oakblue -- An interesting species whose larvae is cared for by Green Tree Ants.
2. Blue sp.
1. Young mantis
2. Plant Hopper (Homopteran)
3. Strange fly that would wave its white-tipped front legs.
Cricket
Spiders. Spider 4 below was killing a fire fly. Fire flies were common along Lacey Creek near Mission Beach. I saw one signalling rapidly and it did not seem to be moving. When I walked over to it, I found that it had been captured by this spider.
Flame Trees were flowering at Mission Beach and up in the Atherton Tablelands.
The following trees are members of Proteaceae. I believe that they are Macadamia.
1. This vine had strange, potato sized fruits.
2. New stems growing from the base of a forest ginger.
1. A delicate fungus.
2. Phosphorescent fungus. These fungus glowed green on the forest floor, quite an incredible sight.
1,2 -- Cycads were numerous in the rainforest. They were particularly numerous on hillsides such as Bicton Hill.
3 Barringtonia calyptra
