Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

moloch05

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2006
Messages
772
Reaction score
8
After two nights at Shark Bay, my wife and headed south. We drove about 7 hours down to Nambung NP for a night (pics in Perth post) and then another 7 hours south to Margaret River. The wine buffs out there will immediately recognize the name of this town. It is in the heart of the wine-growing region of WA and it is surrounded by dozens of vineyards. Margaret River is quite a trendy place with lots of nice shops and restaurants.

Here are a few habitat pics:
habitat3.jpg


habitat4.jpg



Mouth of the Margaret River:
habitat5.jpg



Margaret River and forest near the cabin where we stayed. There was an excellent trail along the river that passed through eucalyptus woodland and heath.
habitat2.jpg



At Margaret River, I forsake herping for a couple of days and did the touristy things with my wife. Margaret River is a great place for a non-herping partner with its many vineyards, a chocolate factory, a cheese factory, an olive oil farm, venison products, lavender farm ... This is my wife and I in her preferred habitat:
habitat6.jpg


habitat7.jpg


habitat8.jpg



I did get out a little and found some interesting animals. The most exciting to me was this Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus). Tigers in the west are dark unlike those from the Wollongong area. The first time that I saw this snake, it was sunning on the bottom step of a walkway behind a house. It shot into cover and I was not able to take a photo. The next morning, it had moved to nearby rocks along the river. Again, it saw me before I spotted it and it raced into a crevice. I sat and waited. After about 5 minutes, it emerged and then allowed me to closely approach it as long as I moved slowly. The snake shifted positions often and seemed to try and sun different parts of its body. It kept its hood fanned but I think that this was part of its thermoregulatory behaviour rather than alarm.
tigerSnake1.jpg


tigerSnake5.jpg


tigerSnake4.jpg


tigerSnake2.jpg



I found a number of skinks along the river. This Lowland Earless Skink (Hemiergis peronii tridactyla) was a new species to me. The three toes on its right foot are visible in the first photo.
hemiergis1.jpg


hemiergis3.jpg



Southwestern Crevice Skinks (Egernia napoleonis) were fairly common. I usually saw them sunning on fallen logs.
skink_napolean2.jpg


skink_napolean.jpg


skink_napolean3.jpg



This Western Glossy Swamp Skink (Egernia luctosa) was another lifer. I only saw this single lizard on one occasion. According to the field guide, this is a water-adapted Egernia that will leap into water and swim to cover.
skink_swamp1.jpg


skink_swamp3.jpg



I saw several Red-legged Ctenotus (Ctenotus labillardieri). For Ctenotus skinks, they seemed quite lethargic. Most are nervous and constantly on the move ... a little like whiptails in North America.
skink_ctenotus2a.jpg


skink_ctenotus1.jpg



Frogs were numerous by call. I heard Motorbike Tree Frogs (Litoria moorei), Slender Tree Frogs (Litoria adelaidensis) and these small Crinia. I am not certain but think that this was a Quaking Froglet (Crinia georgiana). There are a number of very similar Crinia and Geocrinia froglets in the southwest.
frog1.jpg


frog3.jpg




FLOWERS
The spring flowers along the river were superb. One of may favourites was this Purple Enamel Orchid (Elythranthera brunonis). I had seen photos of the enamel orchids before but these were the first that I have observed. Their petals were incredible and seemed almost synthetic due to the gloss.
Elythrantherabrunosis3.jpg


Elythrantherabrunosis2.jpg



Cowslip Orchids (Caladenia flava) were common.
flower_orchid2a.jpg



Sun Orchids (Thelymitra sp.) were also common. They are called sun orchids since they open their petals during the day but close them overnight.
Thelymitracrinita1.jpg


Thelymitramacrophylla.jpg



Various flowering peas were abundant and some were quite stunning.

I think that this is a Running Postman (Kennedia prostrate):
flower_pea1.jpg



Coral Vine (Kennedia coccinea)
Kennediacoccinea.jpg



Gastrolobium sp., I think:
flower_pea2.jpg



Another pea:
flower_pea4.jpg



Patersonia umbrosa On the east coast, I only see these with purple petals.
flower_iris1.jpg



Fringe Lily (Thysanotus sp.)
flower_frilledlilly.jpg



Blind Grass (Stypanda sp.)
flower_6.jpg



Fan Flower (Scaevola sp.) and Dampiera sp.
Dampieralinearis.jpg



Another of what I think to be a Dampiera sp.
Leschenaultiabiloba1.jpg



Rose Banjine (Pimelea rosea). These were abundant and beautiful along the coast walks.
flower_pinkPimela1.jpg



Boronia sp.
flower_wax1.jpg



Oak Leaf Grevillea (Grevillea quercifolia)
flower_grevillea1a.jpg



Conostylis sp., a relative of the Kangaroo Paws.
flower_5b.jpg


flower_5a.jpg



Cowlicks (Stylidium schoenides), A trigger plant with huge flowers.
flower_1.jpg



Hooded Lily (Johnsonia sp.)
flower_4.jpg



Winged Stackhousia
TripterococcusbrunonisWingedStackho.jpg



Regards,
David
 
Awesome photos once again David.
Love the Western Glossy Swamp Skink, The tiger and the Red-legged Ctenotus.
 
That tiger is truely a wonder to behold. Thank you for sharing the pictures.
 
Love the pics, especially the flowers.... I so love the Fringe Lily & the Rose Banjine, just stunning
 
Very nice photos. I have a cuzz at Margarets. I'll get there one day. Surf, herp, wine for the mrs and dive for lobster. Ooh yeah!
 
great pics mate love the tiger, i love tigers from WA. I think you'll find that they aren't n. scutatus instead one of the black tiger snakes. n. ater is what comes to mind but I believe there are a few different types of black tiger snakes.
 
Thanks, everyone, for the comments.

KaaTom, Do you grow Rose Banjine? They added so much colour to the coastal walks.

m.punja, the Tiger Snake classification is rather confusing. At the moment, the WA Museum includes the Tiger in N. scutatus but I have seen other views about these as well.

shane, Did you try the chili wine? It was nice but definitely had a bite.

cemet, I would be worried about diving there. I think that these might be about:
http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=21603


Regards,
David
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top