# Melbourne Grasslands



## saratoga (Oct 19, 2008)

Before it got too warm today I went for a bit of a stroll around some grasslands in Melbourne......makes a nice change from along the river. I had hoped that by targeting some grasslands I might be able to photograph a Brown Snake.....but what did I spot first up...... this nice Tiger Snake basking.....pretty wary...he flattened out a little and took off into some rocks before I could get any closer for a photo.







I also came across a couple of Bluetongues....one dissapeared into some rocks...this one was quite content to lay right out in the open.






And this one had been laying out in he open far too long!!






Then I found what I came for....if you look carefully in the grass you can see a Brown Snake loosely coiled. 






As it wasn't too hot, I managed to catch him as he tried to move to cover, and moved him a few metres away to try and get some photos. He was quite cooperative. It's been a very long time since I've come across a Common Brown Snake for a photo opportunity so I was glad he was fairly cooperative.




































Probably best to do this with a friend in future....am looking forward to my partner coming back to give me a hand. Trying to concentrate through the lens it can be very hard to judge how close the snake is which can be quite scary!!

Anyhow I'm happy with the photos but still lots of room for improvement...just hope I don't have to wait so long until I see another Brown Snake. Will have to try the more open grassy country a bit more often!

And finally a shot of some native Kangaroo grass.


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## dougie210 (Oct 19, 2008)

haha way better pics than i could get that close to a ven! Nice Lovely can't wait until i can get some one to go herping with!No one in my area, goes herping, there is shane but he doesn't want to, i always have to wait for people from perth
!!


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## thesilverbeast (Oct 19, 2008)

Nice shots, what area of melbourne is that?


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## itbites (Oct 19, 2008)

LOVE them last few pics! Not too keen on them...but what a gorgeous brown!


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## ryanharvey1993 (Oct 19, 2008)

wow excellent pics, looks like you found a fair bit, it is so close to the road aswell! I never seem to be able to find brown snakes, looked everywhere. have seen one at the beach once that was around 2m, was massive and crazy!


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## bigi (Oct 19, 2008)

superb close up shots, i love them, I would take a guess and say the location is northen or western suburbs, say deer park up to taylors hill area, plenty of long grass and rocks


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## mattyandnat (Oct 19, 2008)

Hey where abouts in Melbourne was that? i live on the mornington peninsula and im fairly new to herping don't know where to look lol.


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## thesilverbeast (Oct 19, 2008)

bigi said:


> superb close up shots, i love them, I would take a guess and say the location is northen or western suburbs, say deer park up to taylors hill area, plenty of long grass and rocks



I'm hoping western cos' that's where I live!


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## andyscott (Oct 19, 2008)

Great effort, Very nice pics.


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## redbellybite (Oct 19, 2008)

lmao GOOD PICS well done ....that brown was in a typical S pose which means you were being watched by him lol... might be a good idea to take someone along like you said ,as you know they can come flying at you and you can never really tell whats going on in its scatterd little head ......


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## pythons73 (Oct 19, 2008)

Awesome pictures,just as redbellybite said,take some1 incase you do get tagged,better to have some1 with you,its great to see reptiles in the wild,again great pictures.....


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## saratoga (Oct 19, 2008)

Thanks for the comments

This was the first Common Brown I think I have ever photographed. I'm ashamed to say I very rarely see them......more to do with where I go looking more than anything else. Apart from a big fella run over just in front of me north of Melbourne, this is the first Common Brown I've seen and caught in more than 20 years and yet I'm now seeing Tigers by the truckloads.

The area was just off the western ring road. They can't be too common there....one bloke I spoke to walking his dog said he had been going there every weekend for 27 years and had never seen one...although his mates had seen a couple.

I haven't had any experience in the grassland areas and really wanted to turn up a Brown so I was very happy. Although I wondered, when 5 minutes after starting I saw the Tiger. An hour later I snuck back to the spot where the Tiger dissappeared...hoping to find him out again and get a better look this time.....to my surprise in almost the same spot was the Brown snake which I came within a foot of treading on. Think the cooler weather helped here....also slowed the snake down abit which helped with some of the closeups! I caught another glimpse of a snake nearby later which I'd say was the same Tiger.

I agree they are not the type of snake you want to photograph by yourself. My wife comes back on the weekend so she will have to help me with the next one(not 20 years away I hope!). She has yet to experience a Brown snake so that will be interesting. Having someone else there would also help to distract the snake so I could get more side on shots.

Ryan.....you never find Brown snakes either!! but you do find Diamonds. I grew up in Sydney.....always out herping....and yet never found a Diamond Python in the bush. Removed a few from peoples backyards and was right next to people many times when they just happened to be the ones to look into the crevice or under the next rock...but never me. Interestingly I had a friend who had found lots of Diamonds but never a Yellow Faced Whip snake...no matter how hard he tried...think he went 10 years or more without getting one.......but I used to find them almost everytime I went out!! Herping is like that!! some skill but a great deal of luck!

If anyone knows any areas here in Melbourne where there are good numbers of Browns please pm me. Would love to do some observations, photos and try some video.

cheers

Greg


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## zimbo (Oct 19, 2008)

very good pics i wish i could find snakes that easly


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## iceman (Oct 19, 2008)

love the pic's of the brown, great camera work on your behalf.


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## moloch05 (Oct 19, 2008)

Very nice, Greg. It was good that you were able to get photos of the threat display. I rarely see those near Wollongong as well. They seem to be more common in Royal. I think that one of the problems is that they are fast and alert. I suspect that they detect me before I see them and then shoot into cover without me even observing them.

Regards,
David


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## saratoga (Oct 19, 2008)

I dont think there is much that slips past you David....you seem to have a great knack for creeping up on herps and getting photos.

Although having said that, this paper makes for an interesting read

http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cach...+pdf+shine+telemetry&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=au

there are also a couple more floating around on the study


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## fraser888 (Oct 19, 2008)

I want to go herping sometime. anyone got any tips such as time, terrain, weather, etc?


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## bigi (Oct 19, 2008)

geez i wasnt far off saying northern or western suburbs, thats exactly where the ring road goes, common saratoga let the cat out of the bag for these people, lol


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## fraser888 (Oct 19, 2008)

bump?


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## moloch05 (Oct 20, 2008)

Hello fraser,

I have only passed through the Newcastle area on a number of occasions but it seems to me that there is lots of good habitat in the area. I would probably try along a creek bed somewhere that is surrounded by bush. Usually, the early mornings are better for reptiles since they often bask and are more sluggish than later in the day.

For night drives, I usually have the best success on moonless or near moonless nights ... of course, warm nights. 

A place that I always wanted to explore up your way would be Gloucester. The rainforest looked good. I have not seen reports from that area but would suspect Stephen's Banded and maybe Rough-scaled Snakes might live in the area. 

We are lucky here in Australia with so many reptiles about. It is just a matter of reading up on the species of interest to see what sort of habitat they like and then do a little exploring to find likely areas. I think that there are herps in just about all of the natural habitats although some are very selective about where they live.

If you can find a place where someone has dumped tin/boards etc., you should have good success.

Regards,
David


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## redbellybite (Oct 20, 2008)

that last pic is magic even though its a little light in print the suggestion on that snakes face is classic... its like if it could talk saratoga its saying to you "Come on punk make my day!!!" love it


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## moosenoose (Oct 20, 2008)

Great pics Saratoga! I just love this time of year!


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## saratoga (Oct 20, 2008)

Hi Fraser

David has given you some good advice above.

I would just add that you need to be quiet and observant. Walk much much slower than you normally would and scan around well in front of you. You can see reptiles any time of the day but I agree with David that early mornings are better....animals will often be lying outside their hides(logs, crevices, tussocks etc) soaking up some sun. Once they warm up they are much more likely to dissappear if they sense you coming, often before you even see them.

I regularly use a pair of binoculars to scan good looking areas in front of me....but it is still very easy to overlook things. I get a great buzz out of looking somewhere and finding things just with the binoculars. If you decide to buy a pair sometime...make sure that you get ones that will focus closely...mine will focus on something only 1.7m away so great for watching things.

Don't go blundering through the thickest bush or longest grass looking for things....anything that's there you will only scare away. Try and follow a track or natural openings.....reptiles will often use these as well as they offer access to the sunlight. Mixed or patchy environments are also very good......where bush meets farmland, where a rock outcrop meets a river etc.

After a while you will get a feel for the "right sorts of places" but then reptiles can and do turn up just about anywhere to surprise you!

Also never go herping without a pressure bandage in your pocket, and if you are looking under cover(rocks, logs etc) always put them back exactly how you found them.

good luck and we expect to see some posts of your trips!

cheers

Greg


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## tooninoz (Oct 20, 2008)

Hi Saratoga, thanks for all the pics and info - great stuff. The link to the paper is excellent too; utterly fascinating reading and would help people like Fraser. I guess that most of what they have discovered from their research with Browns would also apply to many other reptiles to some degree?
Good work


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## BenReyn (Oct 20, 2008)

That Browny pic's a ripper!


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## m.punja (Oct 20, 2008)

well done greg! Still got to head out wtih you some day. I found a few little dragons and a bluey out on a herp over the weekend. If you want to get some lizard shots I know a few good locations as I've told you before. great shots yet again. 

Cheers, 
Mark


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## xycom (Oct 20, 2008)

Awsome photos...

There's a few browns around the west of Melbourne, out past Melton.


Per


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## nathando2010 (Jan 3, 2012)

This place looks so familiar! just cant get it off my tongue!


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## Enlil (Jan 13, 2012)

I've seen a place like this in somerton, the place is closed off and noisy. A block in a concreet jungle.


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## Adsell (Jan 13, 2012)

Greg, that place is probably one of the most reliable to see Browns.
I walk out into the middle of the reserve away from the lake and flying area.
Used to be a good spot for Delma impair but the last one i saw was about 8 years ago and it was a dried, mummified specimen.
Ads


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## Wrightpython (Jan 13, 2012)

mattyandnat said:


> Hey where abouts in Melbourne was that? i live on the mornington peninsula and im fairly new to herping don't know where to look lol.



everywhere on the mornington peninsula youll find snakes, ive caught copperheads tigers browns everything is there herp paradise


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