# Windorah, Queensland 1 -- Red dunes



## moloch05 (Dec 2, 2008)

My son, Nicholas, and I have just returned from a quick trip out to Windorah, Queenlsand. Windorah is an isolated town in the channel country of the far southwestern corner of Queensland. This area is a long drive from Wollongong so we spent many hours in the car and traveled a little over 4500km in five days. We hoped to photograph many of the inland herps and possibly find a Fierce Snake (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) out on the Morney Plains west of the town.

Windorah is surrounded by red dunes. This year, the region has received lots of rain so the normally yellow spinifex (porcupine grass) was green and flowering.

































These dunes supported a great number of herps. One of the nicest were these Central Military Dragons (_Ctenophorus isolepis gularis_). Males of this race have a lovely lemon-yellow throat. These dragons were the most common on the sandy flats and often sheltered beneath the spinifex. On one occasion, I saw a male perch on top of a termite mound but usually, they were seen on the sand. 





















Females lacked the black and yellow facial markings.












Central Netted Dragons (_Ctenophorus nuchalis_) were also abundant on the red sands but I did not take any photos of these in this habitat. Males of this species often perched atop termite mounds but they were incredibly wary and I could never approach closely enough for photos.

Central Bearded Dragons (_Pogona vitticeps_) occurred in this habitat but they were more common where there were trees and brushy thickets. We found a baby sheltering in a spinifex clump at night and sometimes saw adults sunning from the tops of spinifex in the late afternoon. This adult was active on a hot night.











We saw a few Blue-lined Dragons (_Diporiphora winneckei_) in spinifex growing on the crests of the dunes.











Skinks were of course well represented. On this trip, I saw large numbers of _Ctenotus_ for the first time. I think that this was probably the result of cooler day temps when compared to prior visits. On this trip, two of our three mornings were in the low 30s and only once did the temps exceed 40. _Ctenotus_ were a real challenge to photograph and definitely a test of one’s patience. They usually were seen as they raced from one spinifex clump to another. Often, I could not see any markings at all.

One of the prettiest Ctenotus were these little _C. schomburgkii_ that seemed to live only on the upper slopes or crests of the dunes.

















We only found a single _Ctenotus saxatilis_. It was active on the crest of a dune.







I think that these are _Ctenotus herbetior_. These skinks were the most common on the sand flats although we did see a few on the crests of dunes as well. 











We found this _Ctenotus_ on the crest of a dune. I am not certain but think that it may be an Eastern Striped Skink (_C. robustus_), a widespread species found in a variety of habitats. _Ctenotus_ are frequently difficult to identify. If it is a _C. robustus_ then this sighting may represent a small range extension of the species. 







Several species of _Lerista_ skinks live near Windorah. I only found a single species, _Lerista emmottii_. It was a superb burrower and it only took a moment for it to vanish beneath the surface of the sand.












I saw a single _Menetia greyii_, a tiny skink that is one of Australia’s smallest lizards. It was active on a fallen branch but it escaped into cover before I could take a photo. 

Gould’s Monitors or Sand Goannas (_Varanus gouldii_) were common. This one crossed the road in front of us but then sat beneath a shrub and it allowed me to closely approach it for photos.






For some reason, we did not find many nocturnal reptiles at all on this trip. The weather was warm, conditions were moist with recent rain and there was a new moon so the lack of nocturnal reptiles was surprising. We found a single spiny-tailed gecko while we walked the dunes at night. I think that it was one of the newly described _Strophurus krisalys_ due to the two rows of tubercles on each side of the mid-line of the body.

















One of the highlights of this trip was this beautiful juvenile Jewelled Gecko (_Strophurus elderi_). Nicholas discovered it after searching clumps of spinifex for an hour or so. I had a hard time seeing it at first even when it was not too far into the clump … thank goodness for Nick’s sharp eyes! These little geckos are not easy at all to find but I doubt that they are rare.

















We only found a single Smooth Knob-tailed Gecko (_Nephrurus laevis laevis_). This female was very dark and quite different to those that I saw recently in Western Australia. 












We found several Variegated Geckos (_Gehyra variegata_) on the trunks of trees growing on the dunes but I did not take any photos. On prior trips, we also have recorded Prickly Geckos (Heteronotia binoei) and Beaked Geckos (_Rhynchoedura ornata_) on the dunes but we did not see any this year.


We only saw a single snake in the dune areas and this one was unfortunately a DOR. A truck passed us one night and then hit this beautiful, 2m Black-headed Python (_Aspidites melanocephalus_) ... a sad event.







Here are a few more interesting animals from the dunes.

Crimson Chats are nomads that follow the rain. They were abundant this year due to the good season.






Ring-necked Parrots often stopped by our camp.







This beetle looked much like a seed from a tree. I think that it is one of the darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae).






A weevil on a leaf of a _Grevillea_.






This small grasshopper blended well with the red sand.






We found a few scorpions while we walked at night. Some were yellow like this animal:






… and others were black:







We saw a few flowers.

Grevillea:






A native hibiscus:






... others:

















Regards,
David


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## Schlumpe (Dec 2, 2008)

Great shots.

Do mind me asking what camera are you using?


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## inthegrass (Dec 2, 2008)

as usual, it is a pleasure to see you post pics and info from your roadtrips.
cheers


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## Colin (Dec 2, 2008)

awesome pics as always moloch  mate your threads are always of exceptional standard and pics are sensational. 
I really like the habitat shots too.. it gives you a feel for the environment the reptiles were located in. great stuff and thanks for sharing. .


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## herpkeeper (Dec 2, 2008)

Moloch, top pics as always !


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## JasonL (Dec 2, 2008)

Geez man, you lead the life..... I bet you took your time with the elderi.... Great pics as per usual.......


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## mistymtn (Dec 2, 2008)

Stunning shots as always. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers


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## warren63 (Dec 2, 2008)

Thanks great pics


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## Renagade (Dec 2, 2008)

great pics, looks like you and your son had a top time.
check out all that red sand!


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## the.badger (Dec 2, 2008)

Wow, second pic of the jewel gecko is amazing!


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## Shannon (Dec 2, 2008)

Thanks so much David, this post was an absolute pleasure to read and more so - view! The photos are stunning and you found some gorgeous reptiles. Well worth that long trip. Thanks for sharing.


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## Luke1 (Dec 3, 2008)

fantastic photos david!!!! your trips always amaz me! well done!

Luke


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## sezza (Dec 3, 2008)

amazing shots! Thanks so much for sharing!


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## Brigsy (Dec 3, 2008)

Awsome pics, would love to do a trip like that!!!!


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## Col J (Dec 3, 2008)

Great pics as usual, David. Just love that channel country. Shame about the BHP.

Col J.


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## AUSGECKO (Dec 3, 2008)

Awesome pics David!! Thanks for sharing


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## iceman (Dec 3, 2008)

great pic's moloch, would love to get out there one day myself.


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## Wild~Touch (Dec 3, 2008)

Thanks for sharing  you've made my day
Cheers
Sandee


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## porkosta (Dec 3, 2008)

Great photos. Thanks for sharing


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## xScarlettex (Dec 3, 2008)

wow! fantastic photos! sad about the BHP tho =(


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## Ranch Hand (Dec 3, 2008)

Great photos as usual, good looking BHP what a shame.


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## ryanharvey1993 (Dec 3, 2008)

love the N. levis levis and the S. elderi. take me next time:lol: but as usual outstanding pics, get better and better with every thread


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## eipper (Dec 4, 2008)

Hey Dave,

Nice pics mate stunning little elderi....its hard to explain how pretty they are till you see them in the flesh!!

The Ctenotus above the Lerista is C. regius

Cheers,
Scott


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## moloch05 (Dec 4, 2008)

Thanks everyone for their kind words. I am glad that the post was enjoyed.

Thanks, Scott, for correcting the Ctenotus id. I find them to be a difficult genus. 

Schlumpe, I use a Canon 40D and mostly, a 90mm Tamron macro.

Here are a few more pics:

N. laevis -- one of the darkest that I have ever seen.







Another shot of the Jewelled:






Flowering spinifex. 






More habitat shots:
















Rainbow Bee-eater






Nicholas searching for dragons:







Regards,
David


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## moloch05 (Dec 4, 2008)

This _Ctenotus _has me confused as well. Does anyone know whether it a young _Ctenotus saxatilis_ or yet another species?







Thanks,
David


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## omg_a_gecko (Dec 6, 2008)

Very nice shots!, the seed like beetle is also known as a pie-dish beetle


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## eipper (Dec 7, 2008)

Dave,

Possibly...got any other pics?

Details re microhabitat

Cheers,
Scott


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## cracksinthepitch (Dec 7, 2008)

Please go herping more often as your photos are sensational.


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## moloch05 (Dec 7, 2008)

Thanks for the beetle info, omg.

Scott,
The skink was foraging around a fallen tree at the base of this dune:






Thanks, cracsinthepitch. I love to get out as much as possible (as much as my wife will let me!).


Regards,
David


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## krusty (Dec 9, 2008)

cool pics once again,that was one realy nice BHP.


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