Hello everyone,
Spring is always my favourite time of the the year but most of my time this year has unfortunately been consumed by work. I finally had a break a couple of weeks back. My original intent was to travel up to northern NSW to photograph butterflies. I wanted to search for Richmond Birdwings in the Mt. Warning area but the weather forecast was not good. I studied the weather charts and predictions before finally deciding to head out the channel country of south western Queensland. I am really pleased now about this decision since the inland had received so much rain. It was lush and green and the animals had responded accordingly. It really was a lovely sight.
Butterflies are normally scarce in the interior but this year they were abundant. I saw Chequered Swallowtails (Papilio demoleus), Orchard Swallowtails (Papilio aegeus), Small Grass Yellows (Eurema smilax), Spotted Jezabels (Delias aganippe), Caper Whites (Belenois java), Meadow Argus (Junonia villida), Lesser Wanderer (Danaus chrysippus), Two-spotted Line-blue (Nacaduba biocellata), Saltbush Blue (Theclinesthnes serpentata) and Common Grass-blue (Zizina labradus). I was able to photograph a few and will add these to this post. I will group the photos below by habitat.
Firstly, I will start with the red dunes, my favourite habitat in this part of the country. This year, the flanks of the dunes were mostly covered with grasses and annuals so that only the crests of many dunes were exposed. Spinifex is the dominant plant.
These fruits looked similar to watermelons but their skin was tough. Something enjoyed them and a number had been chewed open.
I think that this is a Two-spotted Line-blue (Nacaduba biocellata),
I am not certain but I think that the following are Common Grass-blues (Zizina labradus). They were the most common butterfly on the dunes but they rarely sat still for long.
I don't recognize this butterfly. It appears to be quite worn but there was very little obvious pattern.
I saw one of the blues land and lay eggs on this pea:
Again, I am not certain but I think this to be a Long-tailed Pea Blue (Lampides boeticus). The lower wing was tattered so I could not see whether it had a tail.
Chequered Swallowtails (Papilio demoleus) were common on the flanks of the dunes. I also found a couple where roadworks were underway. A truck had just sprayed the road and a swallowtails and blues stopped to puddle.
A colourful hemipteran:
Variegated Fairy Wren. These travel about in small flocks that usually remain within cover. I tried squeaking and this male briefly emerged. They are great looking little birds.
Flats like this were the home of many lizards as well as the Chequered Swallowtails.
One of my favourites was the Central Military Dragon (Ctenophorus isolepis). These are gravid females:
... and nicely marked males. These males in breeding colours have a yellow stripe on the face.
Central Netted Dragons (Ctenophorus nuchalis) were also common. Their behaviour is so strange. When they were basking on the road, I could usually step out of the car, lay down next to them and take as many photos as I want. If, however, they were basking on something natural such as a termite mound, they were almost impossible to approach.
Central Bearded Dragons (Pogona vitticeps) were particularly common this year. They are looked plump and had no doubt been eating some of the hordes of grasshoppers and locusts. These lizards change colour with their emotion. When displaying, they often became very pale above and their throat and chests were black. They would stand with their head held high and occasionally bob at other nearby dragons.
These small skinks were common on the crests of the dunes. Someone suggested in an earlier report that these are Wedge-snout Ctenotus (Ctenotus brooksi).
Leonhard's Ctenotus (Ctenotus leonhardii) -- common on the spinifex flats.
Sand Goanna (Varanus gouldii)
Yellow-spotted Monitor (Varanus panoptes): I always love to see these giant lizards. They are one of the biggest species in the world. On this trip, I unfortunately only encountered this single animal. It was foraging in tall grass along a flowing creek. Despite its large size, I lost it immediately when it stepped off the road so I could not take any better photos.
Night driving produced some lovely geckos. These Smooth Knob-tailed Geckos (Nephrurus laevis) are such cuties:
This Western Hooded Scaly-foot (Pygopus nigriceps) -- This was my first sighting of this pretty pygopodid in Queensland.
Northern Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus ciliaris). I saw many of these this year. They are similar to S. krisalys but are easy to separate if the mouth lining can be seen. S. ciliaris has an orange lining whereas that of S. krisalys is blue.
Snakes were surprisingly scarce. I saw three of these small elapids (e.g., cobra family) known as Ringed Brown Snakes (Pseudonaja modesta). The juvenile was quite colourful but the adults were drab.
Nice, fat kangaroos that were out foraging at dusk.
Animal life was abundant on the dunes. This was obvious the following morning when looking at all of the tracks in the sand.
Spring is always my favourite time of the the year but most of my time this year has unfortunately been consumed by work. I finally had a break a couple of weeks back. My original intent was to travel up to northern NSW to photograph butterflies. I wanted to search for Richmond Birdwings in the Mt. Warning area but the weather forecast was not good. I studied the weather charts and predictions before finally deciding to head out the channel country of south western Queensland. I am really pleased now about this decision since the inland had received so much rain. It was lush and green and the animals had responded accordingly. It really was a lovely sight.
Butterflies are normally scarce in the interior but this year they were abundant. I saw Chequered Swallowtails (Papilio demoleus), Orchard Swallowtails (Papilio aegeus), Small Grass Yellows (Eurema smilax), Spotted Jezabels (Delias aganippe), Caper Whites (Belenois java), Meadow Argus (Junonia villida), Lesser Wanderer (Danaus chrysippus), Two-spotted Line-blue (Nacaduba biocellata), Saltbush Blue (Theclinesthnes serpentata) and Common Grass-blue (Zizina labradus). I was able to photograph a few and will add these to this post. I will group the photos below by habitat.
Firstly, I will start with the red dunes, my favourite habitat in this part of the country. This year, the flanks of the dunes were mostly covered with grasses and annuals so that only the crests of many dunes were exposed. Spinifex is the dominant plant.
These fruits looked similar to watermelons but their skin was tough. Something enjoyed them and a number had been chewed open.
I think that this is a Two-spotted Line-blue (Nacaduba biocellata),
I am not certain but I think that the following are Common Grass-blues (Zizina labradus). They were the most common butterfly on the dunes but they rarely sat still for long.
I don't recognize this butterfly. It appears to be quite worn but there was very little obvious pattern.
I saw one of the blues land and lay eggs on this pea:
Again, I am not certain but I think this to be a Long-tailed Pea Blue (Lampides boeticus). The lower wing was tattered so I could not see whether it had a tail.
Chequered Swallowtails (Papilio demoleus) were common on the flanks of the dunes. I also found a couple where roadworks were underway. A truck had just sprayed the road and a swallowtails and blues stopped to puddle.
A colourful hemipteran:
Variegated Fairy Wren. These travel about in small flocks that usually remain within cover. I tried squeaking and this male briefly emerged. They are great looking little birds.
Flats like this were the home of many lizards as well as the Chequered Swallowtails.
One of my favourites was the Central Military Dragon (Ctenophorus isolepis). These are gravid females:
... and nicely marked males. These males in breeding colours have a yellow stripe on the face.
Central Netted Dragons (Ctenophorus nuchalis) were also common. Their behaviour is so strange. When they were basking on the road, I could usually step out of the car, lay down next to them and take as many photos as I want. If, however, they were basking on something natural such as a termite mound, they were almost impossible to approach.
Central Bearded Dragons (Pogona vitticeps) were particularly common this year. They are looked plump and had no doubt been eating some of the hordes of grasshoppers and locusts. These lizards change colour with their emotion. When displaying, they often became very pale above and their throat and chests were black. They would stand with their head held high and occasionally bob at other nearby dragons.
These small skinks were common on the crests of the dunes. Someone suggested in an earlier report that these are Wedge-snout Ctenotus (Ctenotus brooksi).
Leonhard's Ctenotus (Ctenotus leonhardii) -- common on the spinifex flats.
Sand Goanna (Varanus gouldii)
Yellow-spotted Monitor (Varanus panoptes): I always love to see these giant lizards. They are one of the biggest species in the world. On this trip, I unfortunately only encountered this single animal. It was foraging in tall grass along a flowing creek. Despite its large size, I lost it immediately when it stepped off the road so I could not take any better photos.
Night driving produced some lovely geckos. These Smooth Knob-tailed Geckos (Nephrurus laevis) are such cuties:
This Western Hooded Scaly-foot (Pygopus nigriceps) -- This was my first sighting of this pretty pygopodid in Queensland.
Northern Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus ciliaris). I saw many of these this year. They are similar to S. krisalys but are easy to separate if the mouth lining can be seen. S. ciliaris has an orange lining whereas that of S. krisalys is blue.
Snakes were surprisingly scarce. I saw three of these small elapids (e.g., cobra family) known as Ringed Brown Snakes (Pseudonaja modesta). The juvenile was quite colourful but the adults were drab.
Nice, fat kangaroos that were out foraging at dusk.
Animal life was abundant on the dunes. This was obvious the following morning when looking at all of the tracks in the sand.
