Tropical Queensland, Wet Tropics pt 2

[moloch05]

I am finally home from my 4 week holiday to Tasmania and then tropical Queensland. I posted one series of photos of the Mission Beach area a couple of weeks ago (). This post will include photos from some of the coastal habitats. Mission Beach is such a beautiful place!

Coastal Habitats

This area is below Bicton Hill. The little skink, Cryptoblepharus litoralis, was abundant on rocks around the tide pools as well as below the trees along the edge of the beach. They seem to be restricted to this zone and do not penetrate further into the forest.



Pandanus and Coconut Palms line most of the beaches. The fruits of the Pandanus were ripening and I saw these in Cassowary droppings.






Mangroves were frequent in muddy areas. Some of these were flowering. Mudskippers were common where there was mud and mangroves. Unfortunately, a tiny biting fly was also common and I had many itchy blisters after walking through this area.




I love this place and never tire of the view. Dunk Island is the large island and it is surrounded by the family group of islands including Bedarra, the location of an exclusive resort. The pointy island that is visible in the distance is Hinchenbrook Island, a wilderness area with plenty of crocs. There is a good trek around the island and it is also popular for sea kayaking adventures.



This Green Tree Snake (Dendrelaphis punctulatus) was found one morning while I walked along a track at South Mission Beach. They are really photogenic snakes.





Coastal Snake-eyed Skink (Cryptoblepharus litoralis) -- abundant along the beach.



Elegant Snake-eyed Skink (Cryptoblepharus pulcher) -- these were common on palms near our cabin.



Asian House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) -- an abundant exotic.




1, 2 -- Jewel Scarab -- a gorgeous beetle that was fond of palm flowers. These beetles would show up in the morning and each branch of flowers would host a beetle. Later in the day, they would fly off and not be seen until the next day. I suppose that they were after pollen.
3 -- scarab
4 -- Rhinocerus Beetle, a huge scarab. This is a male with the enlarged horn on its head. Females lacked these.
5 -- Long-horned Beetle (Cerambycid)
6 -- Stag Beetle
7 -- ?, it would land and hold itself with its front legs only. I have seen scorpion flies do this but I am not certain of the family of this insect.
8 -- Robber Fly








Red-tailed Black Cockatoo -- this year, these were common along the beach. There were many trees with large seed pods that attracted these big parrots. The call of Red-tailed Blacks is more like that of a crane such as a Brolga or Sandhill rather than other cockatoos such as Sulfer-crested.
1 -- male
2 -- females
3 -- affectionate pair. I really liked the way that the pair would nibble at each other's feathers. They appeared to be a happy couple.
4 -- females
5 -- male feeding on fallen seed pod
6 -- female






1, 2 -- Pied Imperial Pigeon -- We don't have Cotingas here in Australia but these white and black pigeons always bring back memories of Snowy Cotingas in Costa Rica. Their white and black plumage is a beautiful sight when flocks fly over the deep green of the rainforest. These pigeons are here primarily in the summer. Most return to Torres Strait and New Guinea for the austral winter.
3 -- Black Butcherbird -- these birds have a superb voice. To me, it sounds a little like the rich notes from a pipe organ. They are easy to hear but are shy and usually remain hidden within the rainforest.




1 -- Masked Lapwing
2 -- Red-capped Plover



1, 2 -- Bush Thick-knee with young. These nested near our cabin.
3 -- White-bellied Sea Eagle - a common, large eagle that is found along the coast and rivers.




Regards,
David

 

[Kris]

Some bloody nice photos there David. Good stuff.

Kris.

 

[thals]

What stunning amazing pics mate, top work as usual! Loved em all especially the gts and beetle shots, well done and thanks for sharing 8)

 

[ShnakeyGirl]

Curlews!!! I fell in love with them when I recently went North with my partner, nice to see some youngins!

 

[DonnB]

1, 2 -- Bush Thick-knee with young. These nested near our cabin.

Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius, obsolete name Burhinus magnirostris). Also called the bush thick knee or Willaroo

 

[blackduck]

WOW looks like you had a fantastic holiday with the bonus of quite a few remarkable photos
Thanks for sharing

 

[moloch05]

Thanks, everyone, for the comments.

Regards,
David

 

[tooninoz]

Thanks for the pics David.
That tiny fly is no doubt the midge. They love the mud/mangroves, and are the most annoying creature I've encountered. Resistant to commercial sprays too it seems...

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

Great pics David, nothing like being in the presence of sea eagles,
i could watch them for hours and i do sometimes.
The Pied Imperial Pigeon looks great against the pandanus(?) fruit.
I must put Mission Beach on my list of places to go this coming year.
Cheers

 

[Bearded_Lady]

Those curlew babies are gorgeous! They remind me of cartoon birds. You never disappoint with your pictures!

 

[moloch05]

Thanks, again.

tooninoz, the midges were certainly maddening. I could never see them but ended up with blisters around my waist and ankles.

Baz,
The Pied Imperials are really beautiful. They had no trouble with the palm fruits at all:

Bearded_Lady,
Here is another pic of the young. They are cuties!

Regards,
David

 

[gecko-mad]

great pics as always

 

[Acrochordus]

Very good captures, really enjoyed looking at the birds, especially the Bush Stone- Curlew, we have a breeding pair that comes to are school each year, they just hatched two babies the other day.
Thanks Tim.