# Wollongong -- late summer and autumn



## moloch05 (May 17, 2010)

Here are photos of various plants and animals from the Wollongong region. These photos were mostly taken from late summer to autumn. I have not been out all that much recently due to work commitments.

A shot of typical habitat near Wollongong. The coastal forest is damp with eucalyptus forest on the slopes and subtropical rainforest is some of the protected drainages.







Here are a few photos from the southern highlands. The climate here is much cooler than on the coast and this is the closest place to Wollongong where I have seen Highland Copperheads.











Three-toed Skink (_Saiphos equalis_):






Cunningham's Skink (_Egernia cunninghami_) -- common in some areas.






Eastern Water Skink (_Eulamprus quoyii_) -- common lizards in my area.










Mainland She-oak Skink (_Cyclodomorphus michaeli_) -- I see a few of these nice skinks every summer.










Broad-tailed Gecko (_Phyllurus platurus_) -- These lovely geckos are one of my favourites. They are common lizards near the 'Gong.


















Mustard-bellied Snake (_Drysdalia rhodogaster_) -- I had a good year with this species and found four. This was by far the largest of those encountered.











Highland Copperhead (_Austrelaps labialis_) -- This snake was in the southern highlands and about about a half hour's drive from where I live. I don't often see these responsive snakes. This one hurtled itself at my legs a moment after taking the photos.










Eastern Small-eyed Snake (_Cryptophis nigrescens_) -- the most common snake in my area. These little snakes remain active through the winter.










Marsh Snake (_Hemiaspis signata_) -- this one was on the road at dusk last week. The evening was cool and I was surprised to see one still active at this time of the year.







This is good butterfly habitat. Lantana grew along the margins of this open area. Butterflies would often sip nectar from the lantana flowers and then bask on the ferns.






Maclay's Swallowtail









Orchard Swallowtail and Meadow Argus









Australian Admiral









Painted Lady









Wonder Brown -- I don't have any good photos of the males. Females tend to sit along the trails but the orange males usually remained high in the canopy. This species exhibits a pronounced sexual dimorphism.













Sword-grass Brown -- beautiful butterflies that I see mostly near the top of the escarpment.


















Common Brown females









Common Brown males?









Common Ringlet









Blues









Skippers:























Ctenucha -- one of the day flying moths. These are highly variable in pattern.

















Coreid and a strange grasshopper









Pied Lacewing -- I only noticed these for the first time this year. I saw them on my garage about a month ago but have never yet seen them in a natural setting. 






Garden Mantis -- I like the lovely azure patch on the forelegs.






spider -- interesting "shaggy dog" face.














huntsman






_Darwinia fasicularis_






_Banksia ericifolia_













_Banksia marginata_









_Banksia serrata_









_Banksia spinulosa_










Waratah and Drumstick -- both members of Proteaceae as are the _Banksia_.









Mountain Devil and Flannel Flower









_Epacris longifolia_ and _Goodenia sp._?









_Pattersonia sp._ and Native Violet









Orchid and Wattle









Hyacinth Orchid:






_Styllidium sp._










King Parrot









Sugar Glider -- I hear this whenever I look for Broad-tailed Geckos but they are not so easy to see. This one was busy yapping and allowed me to walk beneath the tree where it was sitting.










Spotted Owl -- Often heard and sometimes seen in the Broad-tailed Gecko habitat.







Regards,
David


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## AUSGECKO (May 17, 2010)

As always, stunning photos mate.


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## mungus (May 17, 2010)

Geck82 said:


> As always, stunning photos mate.



Totally agree !!!
Always look forward to Davids field herping results.


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## porkosta (May 17, 2010)

Awesome photos. I've never been able to see that amount of animals in the wild. Looks like you found a good spot.


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## cockney red (May 17, 2010)

Thanx again...


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## moloch05 (May 17, 2010)

Thanks, all, for the feedback.

Regards,
David


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## thals (May 17, 2010)

All beautiful photos, always look forward to your threads David, just amazing!


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## Widdup (May 17, 2010)

Great photos, that owl at the end looks so evil!


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## AUSHERP (May 19, 2010)

awesome butterfly pics!


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## BARRAMUNDI (May 19, 2010)

Is the spotted owl the same as a Boobook (ninox novaseelandiae I think thats how you spell it)


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## jordo (May 20, 2010)

Great pics David


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## reptilerob (May 20, 2010)

Awesome photos. Interesting to note that highland copperhead having a go at you. Did you provoke it? I find them to be a very shy and relaxed snake. Usually they will flatten there necks out, and get cranky at the start when they get the initial fright, but after that they usually calm right down.
Theyre my favourite snake in this area, i love them.


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## moloch05 (May 20, 2010)

Thanks for the feedback.

Barramundi,
Boobook is another name for the Spotted Owl.

reptilerob,
I was very surprised when the Copperhead went airborne at me. I had only moved to a better position for the photos. The snake was not cornered or touched so its response was a surprise to me. 



Regards,
David


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## 1eric_cartman105 (Nov 10, 2011)

nice mate where abouts in woolongong did u find these i live in kangaroo valley


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## GeckPhotographer (Nov 10, 2011)

I realise this is very old. But seeing as I have not seen it, I'd like to say it's some great photography. I have to say you are lucky to see several Sheoaks a year. I've seen 2 in 17 years and they occur on my property.


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## NaughtyByNature (Nov 10, 2011)

Loved them all except the spiders lol...


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## danny81 (Nov 10, 2011)

GeckPhotographer said:


> I realise this is very old. But seeing as I have not seen it, I'd like to say it's some great photography. I have to say you are lucky to see several Sheoaks a year. I've seen 2 in 17 years and they occur on my property.


 i find a lot of these under rubbish/sheet iron on the eastern side of the lake sometimes 5 under the same piece of tin!


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## GeckPhotographer (Nov 10, 2011)

> i find a lot of these under rubbish/sheet iron on the eastern side of the lake sometimes 5 under the same piece of tin!



Wow that's pretty awesome, I don't go out to the East side of the lake much. This would be about the right time of the year for them wouldn't it?


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## The_Phantom (May 10, 2018)

Unfortunately, the photos are gone. I remember David was/is a great photographer and found an astounding number of species (and specimens).


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## Foozil (May 10, 2018)

Bummer about the photos. Really want to see them since I live so close! Especially the orchids


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## Bl69aze (May 10, 2018)

Foozil said:


> Bummer about the photos. Really want to see them since I live so close! Especially the orchids


All you do is click the “is this your photo” copy link address and go to that link


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## Foozil (May 10, 2018)

Bl69aze said:


> All you do is click the “is this your photo” copy link address and go to that link


Oh cool, thanks.


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## RoryBreaker (May 10, 2018)

Bl69aze said:


> All you do is click the “is this your photo” copy link address and go to that link



Or heres a link to upgrade chrome.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/...d-imag/ogipgokcopooepeipngiikdkpmcpkaon?hl=en

Once you have done that, when you use chrome from them on , all the photobucket embeded pics in ALL threads and in ALL forums return like there was never an issue. 

Happy days, enjoy.


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