# Local GTF resident



## shano (Dec 16, 2014)

Just thought I would share a couple of pic's of a green tree frog I just took. He (or she) frequents quite often and is usually sitting on the same window sill. He is pretty big and has been around for I would guess a couple of years. 
Any experienced herpers care to comment on what looks to be a few battle scars maybe...? And opinion on male/female? 

I have on occasions seen two together but most times only the one...


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## Dr-Zoidberg (Dec 16, 2014)

Yeah it has a few battle scars, couldn't tell you what from though. The ones around its mouth are most likely from prey it's tried to over power. The scars on its body could be from attacks or a fall through bushes after misjudging a jump. It'll be hanging around that window for the easy pickings of insects and geckos attracted to the light.


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## shano (Dec 16, 2014)

So they eat those Asian gecko's do they? Plenty of those around here too!

Also have a resident green tree snake around the 900mm mark, see him a couple of times a week. I have often wondered if he would attempt to take the frog as I honestly don't think he could get his mouth around it...


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## Dr-Zoidberg (Dec 16, 2014)

Green tree frogs love the old asian house geckos. You'd be surprised at how big of a frog common tree snakes can eat. I reckon it'd have a go.

It goes both ways though, there was a photo of a green tree frog eating a common tree snake in the local paper when I was in maryborough a couple of years back.


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## Pythoninfinite (Dec 17, 2014)

Great to see these beautiful frogs around the house. Our compost bin is overrun with woodies (it's a great way to breed them through the warmer months) and the local GTFs line up on the top edge every night, and jump in when they have one in their sights. There are three in particular who are very regular visitors, and one is huge, bigger than my hand. We also have a tub half-filled with water, use to soak pot-plants, and they regularly soak in that when they start moving in the evening. I don't know where each of them spends the day, but it's at least 20m from the compost bin, so they know their way around quite large territories, and are very regular in their movements.

Just a hint about breeding woodies in your compost - I don't have a lid on the bin, and I don't disturb it by mixing or turning over at all. All I do is add a few cm of dry leaves every couple of weeks to cover the kitchen scraps and to give the woodies some cover. When I want to harvest some, I just grab some handfuls of leaves and drop them into a bucket, woodies and all. They'll breed into plague proportions during the summer - then you'll have to keep the kookas out!

Needless to say, this has been going for a couple of years now and I am reluctant to disturb the thing to get any compost - it's too valuable as a cockroach source.

Jamie


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## Dr-Zoidberg (Dec 17, 2014)

Pythoninfinite said:


> Great to see these beautiful frogs around the house. Our compost bin is overrun with woodies (it's a great way to breed them through the warmer months) and the local GTFs line up on the top edge every night, and jump in when they have one in their sights. There are three in particular who are very regular visitors, and one is huge, bigger than my hand. We also have a tub half-filled with water, use to soak pot-plants, and they regularly soak in that when they start moving in the evening. I don't know where each of them spends the day, but it's at least 20m from the compost bin, so they know their way around quite large territories, and are very regular in their movements.
> 
> Just a hint about breeding woodies in your compost - I don't have a lid on the bin, and I don't disturb it by mixing or turning over at all. All I do is add a few cm of dry leaves every couple of weeks to cover the kitchen scraps and to give the woodies some cover. When I want to harvest some, I just grab some handfuls of leaves and drop them into a bucket, woodies and all. They'll breed into plague proportions during the summer - then you'll have to keep the kookas out!
> 
> ...



Thats a great idea for breeding woodies, who'd have thought it. Looks like I'm of to bunnings for a compost bin.  plenty of kookaburras that hang around my yard, (my fault for sharing my border collies roo mince with them) I might cover it with some chicken wire. The woodies would also constantly have a full belly of veggie scraps to pass on to whatever they're fed to.

cheers.


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## Pythoninfinite (Dec 17, 2014)

Dr-Zoidberg said:


> Thats a great idea for breeding woodies, who'd have thought it. Looks like I'm of to bunnings for a compost bin.  plenty of kookaburras that hang around my yard, (my fault for sharing my border collies roo mince with them) I might cover it with some chicken wire. The woodies would also constantly have a full belly of veggie scraps to pass on to whatever they're fed to.
> 
> cheers.



Yeah, because the woodies get a varied diet, they're very nutritious. I just use one of those round bins with a lid that sits on top, but I don't use the lid. Put a few inches of dry leaves in the bottom, add your kitchen scraps and keep them covered with a layer of dry (non-toxic - I usually use gumleaves) leaves. Add your woodies and off you go! A bit slow in winter, but I don't use many then anyway. It's in the sun by the way & the heat doesn't seem to worry them - indeed, it may speed up the cycle. Open to the rain as well. I always have far more than I can use for my Boyd's.

Good luck!

J


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## Dr-Zoidberg (Dec 17, 2014)

"Yeah, because the woodies get a varied diet, they're very nutritious. I just use one of those round bins with a lid that sits on top, but I don't use the lid. Put a few inches of dry leaves in the bottom, add your kitchen scraps and keep them covered with a layer of dry (non-toxic - I usually use gumleaves) leaves. Add your woodies and off you go! A bit slow in winter, but I don't use many then anyway. It's in the sun by the way & the heat doesn't seem to worry them - indeed, it may speed up the cycle. Open to the rain as well. I always have far more than I can use for my Boyd's.


Good luck!


J"


I guess the heat from the sun would be quite similar to the heat produced under a decomposing log. I should have plenty to spare aswell, only have a frill neck and a friends geckos aswell as my partners beardies to feed. I'm constantly topping up the current woodie tub I'm breeding in, and have problems with mouldy food and moisture from the humidity up here (attracts so many flies and fruit flies).

cheers.


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## Pythoninfinite (Dec 17, 2014)

I'm a bit north of Port Macquarie, so maybe not as humid as you guys, but if it's open to the weather and well ventilated, you shouldn't have any trouble with mould & stuff. It sometimes gets raided by Brushtails if there's a bit of stuff they like - carrot peelings etc, but generally it's a consistently reliable supply of good-quality insects. So I guess it's a local social hub - frogs, kookaburras, the occasional Sacred Kingfisher (they nest in a gum with a termite mound in it, every year) and possums!

Jamie


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## Dr-Zoidberg (Dec 17, 2014)

Pythoninfinite said:


> I'm a bit north of Port Macquarie, so maybe not as humid as you guys, but if it's open to the weather and well ventilated, you shouldn't have any trouble with mould & stuff. It sometimes gets raided by Brushtails if there's a bit of stuff they like - carrot peelings etc, but generally it's a consistently reliable supply of good-quality insects. So I guess it's a local social hub - frogs, kookaburras, the occasional Sacred Kingfisher (they nest in a gum with a termite mound in it, every year) and possums!
> 
> Jamie



Your lucky to have so many creatures visiting your yard, I'm quite envious  we have kingfishers that nest in the magnetite piles at work, it's sad to know how many are killed there after there nests cave in when our drivers load there trucks.


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## Bushman (Dec 17, 2014)

That looks like a well fed mature female, as its throat is white; whereas breeding age males tend to have yellowish/darker throats and have dark (nuptial) pads on their thumbs. Their habit of tucking their arms in (especially during the day) makes this latter feature hard to ascertain.

By the way, that's a great idea for a feeder colony Jamie. 8)


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## shano (Dec 17, 2014)

+1 on the great woodies breeding idea! Would be a great sight to see the commune of locals gathered there having a feed. 
Yeah im amazed the snake hasn't taken the frog yet, maybe they eye each other off and make diversions!

Dr Z the same happens here in brissie with nesting birds in the soil mounds at work, although instead of kingfishers they are spotted pardalotes. I seen a pardalote flying into a hole in the side of a mount of topsoil I was loading out, so while the truck was gone I used my shovel to open up the hole and moved the nest out into the bush. 2 little babies that were all feathered up and only a day or so from leaving the nest anyway so im confidant they would have survived.


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## Pythoninfinite (Dec 17, 2014)

I should say it wasn't smart thinking on my part to begin with - the roaches colonised the compost bin themselves, I think from escapees from my roach tubs in the shed. I've just encouraged them once I knew it was working long-term. I'll see if I can get a photo or two of the night-time visitors - last night actually there was a little Small-eyed Snake hanging around as well, about 30cm long. Aggro little things...

Jamie


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## Dr-Zoidberg (Dec 17, 2014)

shano said:


> +1 on the great woodies breeding idea! Would be a great sight to see the commune of locals gathered there having a feed.
> Yeah im amazed the snake hasn't taken the frog yet, maybe they eye each other off and make diversions!
> 
> Dr Z the same happens here in brissie with nesting birds in the soil mounds at work, although instead of kingfishers they are spotted pardalotes. I seen a pardalote flying into a hole in the side of a mount of topsoil I was loading out, so while the truck was gone I used my shovel to open up the hole and moved the nest out into the bush. 2 little babies that were all feathered up and only a day or so from leaving the nest anyway so im confidant they would have survived.



There was only the one species of kingfisher nesting until this year now there's two. Some must be surviving as they wouldn't return the following year (speculation, I don't study birds) I wish there was a way for me to save them but such is life.

- - - Updated - - -



Pythoninfinite said:


> I should say it wasn't smart thinking on my part to begin with - the roaches colonised the compost bin themselves, I think from escapees from my roach tubs in the shed. I've just encouraged them once I knew it was working long-term. I'll see if I can get a photo or two of the night-time visitors - last night actually there was a little Small-eyed Snake hanging around as well, about 30cm long. Aggro little things...
> 
> Jamie


 you just keep rubbing it in don't you! Haha.. I'm fond of small eyed snakes, I was fooled by one once. Thought I'd found a juvie red belly, until I picked it up and realised I was incorrect. It was residing under a piece of carpet we wiped our feet on before getting in the pool as kids.


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## shano (Dec 17, 2014)

Most times all we can do is let nature run it's course...

The little pardalotes are so fast with their potential nest site investigating they literally fly into the trenches and hold onto the sides of the trench checking it out while i'm only a few metres ahead in trenching. While sitting down for smoko you can watch them have a dig into the wall checking it out....


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## Dr-Zoidberg (Dec 17, 2014)

The kingfishers seem to fight over nest sights here, I've put it down to being to lazy to build there own nest. I often see a bird fly in only to be chased out by the pair residing inside. I've tried to id the two species but have had no luck so far. The male and female take turns in digging the burrow while he other keeps watch for invading birds. The burrows are fairly intricate and turn to one side and then straight up, where there's a wide cavity that holds the nest.


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## Pythoninfinite (Dec 18, 2014)

Dr-Zoidberg said:


> The kingfishers seem to fight over nest sights here, I've put it down to being to lazy to build there own nest. I often see a bird fly in only to be chased out by the pair residing inside. I've tried to id the two species but have had no luck so far. The male and female take turns in digging the burrow while he other keeps watch for invading birds. The burrows are fairly intricate and turn to one side and then straight up, where there's a wide cavity that holds the nest.



One of the species is bound to be Sacred Kfs, the other I wouldn't know.

Jamie


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## Dr-Zoidberg (Dec 18, 2014)

Pythoninfinite said:


> One of the species is bound to be Sacred Kfs, the other I wouldn't know.
> 
> Jamie



One sp is a medium sized kingfisher, there yellowish green and have a funny call, kind of like a rattling sports whistle. The other sp is sparrow sized with a white chest, yellow face and wings with a thick black bar from the beak across the eye to the back of the head.

cheers.


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## jedi_339 (Dec 24, 2014)

Dr-Zoidberg said:


> One sp is a medium sized kingfisher, there yellowish green and have a funny call, kind of like a rattling sports whistle. The other sp is sparrow sized with a white chest, yellow face and wings with a thick black bar from the beak across the eye to the back of the head.
> 
> cheers.



I'd suspect a sacred kingfisher, but seeing as you are in Gladstone perhaps a buff breasted paradise kingfisher? Or perhaps something other than a kingfisher like a rainbow bee eater?


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## Dr-Zoidberg (Dec 24, 2014)

jedi_339 said:


> I'd suspect a sacred kingfisher, but seeing as you are in Gladstone perhaps a buff breasted paradise kingfisher? Or perhaps something other than a kingfisher like a rainbow bee eater?



I think your right with them being bee eaters, I looked at some images and they're very similar, cheers


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