# Cape York



## viridis (Jan 10, 2012)

I have been doing a bit of herping over the last few months so I will share a few photos. I hope you enjoy them.

Palm Cockies are always a treat to see.






Quoll's are making a come back on the Cape after the Cane Toads gave them a hard time.





Scorpian's are common where ever there is heath country.





Northern Adder's are also found in the same habitat. These guys are becoming less and less frequently seen due to over grazing, burning off and Cane Toads.





Frill Neck Lizards can be seen everywhere on the Cape during the wet season however are almost unseen during the dry.





The common Burtons Legless Lizard is one of my favourite animals to find. I have seen them in almost every colour known to man!





Water Pythons are the most common python on the Cape.





Major Skinks can be found where ever the rainforest is.





White Bellied Sea Eagle's are very impressive and entertaining to watch. This bird was on a fresh water causeway eating Cherabin that were coming up in the flood waters.


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## JungleManSam (Jan 10, 2012)

nice photos! that death adders eye look too evil


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## Red-Ink (Jan 10, 2012)

Great pics mate... love the quoll


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## viridis (Jan 10, 2012)

Chondro's are my favourite python to find on the Cape. I have found countless animals yet everytime I see one they take your breath away.




















Nactus eboracensis are cool little geckos.





Two lined Dragon's are also very common.





Wood Frog's can be heard from ages away and are in very good numbers around stoney creek crossings.





These Black footed Tree Rats are quite big for a rat.





My favourite skink genus the Carlia's are every where.


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## JungleManSam (Jan 10, 2012)

viridis, how do you find the GTP's? do you have a spot up there where they can be found especially, or are you just lucky?


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## viridis (Jan 10, 2012)

Another adult Chondro





Eclectus Parrot's nest in the hollow of this tree. Fig Parrots also feed here.





I have seen upto 6 pairs of Eclectus nest in this tree.





Whistling Kites are very common on the Cape





Striated Heron





Reef Egret


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## Waterrat (Jan 10, 2012)

Nick, have you came across any spiny bandicoots at IR?


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## viridis (Jan 10, 2012)

Fungi galore in FNQ















Ant Plants





Gobies in a fresh water stream.





White Lip Tree Frogs are pretty cool. When walking at night they look like Chondros at first glance.





These guys are always lurking around





Spotted Python that looks like a Stimson's.





Another Spotted Python





File Snake.





Furina





Yellow Spotted Monitor





Southern Shovel nosed Snake


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## richoman_3 (Jan 10, 2012)

very nice !!!
love all the herps !
scorpion is urodacus macrurus, do you see any centipedes?


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## lithopian (Jan 10, 2012)

fantastic pics!!! Great sight seeing


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## viridis (Jan 10, 2012)

Palm Cockatoo's are simply breath taking animals to see in the wild. My record is 16 in a day.





Feral Pigs do a lot of damage to the environment. It is a shame that DERM do not take the issue more seriously





These common little Rainbow Bee Eaters are common during the cooler months.





Chestnut Bresteds are also common. These guys always come in with Red Browed Finches to seed that I put out in my bird feeder.










Cisticolas (spelling) are sometimes seen in rank grass near swamps.





Red Backed wrens are not overly common 





These Amphibolurus temporalis are spectacular coloured animals in my local area. 





The Spotted Pythons vary quite a bit in both colour and pattern as you can see





Red Wing Parrots are common





As are the great number of waders and shore birds.





Great Knots





Pied Oyster Catcher


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## JungleManSam (Jan 10, 2012)

i take care of the pig population in tully and georgetown when I go camping lol.


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## abnrmal91 (Jan 10, 2012)

Great pics thanks for sharing.


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## viridis (Jan 10, 2012)

Common Tree Snake









The locals really look after the place as you can see.





The Cape does not have a huge array of geckos however the few that are here are nice. Northern Velvet Gecko





Box Patterned Gecko





Very rare Bynoe's Gecko. Most members would not have seen one of these . 





Another Burtons Legless Lizard





Another rare species - Brown Tree Snake





Pale Headed snakes can be found at the souther end of the Cape





Northern Death Adder


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## Perko (Jan 10, 2012)

Great pics Nick, those Chondro's are stunning!


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## viridis (Jan 10, 2012)

I really like small skinks if you have not noticed. - Striped Snake Eyed Skink.










Notice the distinct lack of people? This is the way I like to visit the beach





Another Northern Velvet Gecko on the sandstone.





Lesser Sand Plovers are very timid and are tricky to photograph up close.





An unusualy marked Common Blue Tongue for this area.





Mertens Water Monitor









These endemic Black Mountain Boulder Frogs are pretty cool. This is a female with her bright orangey yellow colouration. The males are a drab brown





I have seen hundreds of Ring Tailed Geckos but this was a whopper over 300mm total length.





The endemic Black Mountain Gecko





Just like the rest of the Queensland - Keelbacks are in plauges





Another Northern Adder





Carlia





Carlia longipies





One of the coolest skinks Australia has to offer - Emoia longicauda





Glaphyromorphus nigricaudus





Two Lined Dragon





Furina tristis





This Gehyra is a massive specimen and was known about yet undescribed at the time.





A pretty Delia butterfly





This was my first ever Chondro that I saw in the wild about 30 trips ago! Still my most memorable





A funky coloured Litoria





A Longichorn (spelling) Beetle





Cape York Mulgas are bloody hard to find nowadays


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## waruikazi (Jan 10, 2012)

That's a niiiiiice mulga. How big?


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## viridis (Jan 10, 2012)

A bit of colour at muddy waterhole on Artemis Station





Palm Cockie





A rainforest scorpion for Richoman!





A nice light coloured Scrub Python.





A hatchling Ring Tailed Gecko waiting in ambush





A Chondro wondering who's down there?





Another endemic Nactus





The same Mulga as before.





A nice Blonde Maculosa.


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## mungus (Jan 10, 2012)

this has to be 1 of the best threads i've read for ages !!


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## meatman (Jan 10, 2012)

Some great photos Nick. I like the palm cocatoos and all of the different types of geckos. It is good to see quolls making a comeback up there.


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## viridis (Jan 11, 2012)

Waterrat said:


> Nick, have you came across any spiny bandicoots at IR?



Not that I know of M, but I wouldn't know one if I tripped over it mate! 



richoman_3 said:


> very nice !!!
> love all the herps !
> scorpion is urodacus macrurus, do you see any centipedes?



Yeah I see a few Richoman, I will take a few pics for you next time.



CraigP said:


> Great pics Nick, those Chondro's are stunning!



They sure are Craig. Everyone asks why I don't keep Aussie Greens but when I can see them every weekend why bother 



waruikazi said:


> That's a niiiiiice mulga. How big?



Not real big like the ones I used to find when I lived in the Kimberley but still very solid for it's size. Prob around 6 foot that one Gordo.



mungus said:


> this has to be 1 of the best threads i've read for ages !!



I should start one with the pigs that I have been getting for you Mungus!



meatman said:


> Some great photos Nick. I like the palm cocatoos and all of the different types of geckos. It is good to see quolls making a comeback up there.



They are still rarely seen in some places however I have a few spots where we can see them every time you go there. I think that there is someone from JCU researching them as there are signs up at all of the roadhouses asking to report sightings. I should really report them lol


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## lgotje (Jan 11, 2012)

Amazing nick d chondros are my fave


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## Waterrat (Jan 11, 2012)

viridis said:


> Not that I know of M, but I wouldn't know one if I tripped over it mate!



Oh, you would - they look quite different. I saw them couple of times but they took off into the thickest wait-a-while clumps before I got my camera out. A friend of mine saw a mother with baby drinking from a puddle just on the side of the road. Very special treat. They are PNG immigrants, just like chondros and other species at IR. Keep your eyes open for them.


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## Sarah (Jan 11, 2012)

awesome thread ,really enjoyed looking at all your photos from your trip !


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## viridis (Jan 11, 2012)

Thanks for the info M, we should do a trip there early next year. I had planned to meet John in there at the start of this month but the Wenlock was 7 meters over. It has already dropped to passable levels but John is out of there. Plans never work out in the wet lol. We did see two Fawn Breasted Bower Birds in there when Rexy was up in November though which was pretty special. I have only seen one Red Bellied Pitta in over 30 trips though and did not manage to get a photograph.

I could def use some photography pointersfrom you too


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## NicG (Jan 11, 2012)

Thanks for taking the time to share. Do you ever see any Northern Tree Snakes? And if so, what colour varietals?


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## viridis (Jan 11, 2012)

Yes, I see a few. On the last trip I did down near McIlwraith I found one approx 500mm long with an adult Rana in it's mouth. The Rana was so big it could barely lift it's head up. It eventualy made its way up out of the creek and into a thick stand of native bamboo.


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## blade1 (Jan 11, 2012)

great pics Nick ,those chondro are awsome


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## Waterrat (Jan 11, 2012)

NicG said:


> Thanks for taking the time to share. Do you ever see any Northern Tree Snakes? And if so, what colour varietals?



This one is from Iron Range photographed on the banks of Claudie River.


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## NicG (Jan 11, 2012)

viridis said:


> Yes, I see a few. On the last trip I did down near McIlwraith I found one approx 500mm long with an adult Rana in it's mouth. The Rana was so big it could barely lift it's head up. It eventualy made its way up out of the creek and into a thick stand of native bamboo.



I don't suppose you have a photo of that ... or any others of NTSs ...?



Waterrat said:


> This one is from Iron Range photographed on the banks of Claudie River.



According to the taglines on photos I've seen, there are definitely Northern Tree Snakes in Iron Range National Park, but at first glance - based on girth and head shape - I'd say that's a blue-phase Common Tree Snake.


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## Waterrat (Jan 11, 2012)

NicG said:


> According to the taglines on photos I've seen, there are definitely Northern Tree Snakes in Iron Range National Park, but at first glance - based on girth and head shape - I'd say that's a blue-phase Common Tree Snake.



Of course it is. I am sorry, I didn't read your post properly.


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## Renenet (Jan 11, 2012)

JungleManSam said:


> nice photos! that death adders eye look too evil



Death adders always look like evil blue tongues to me.

Nice shots, Viridis. I saw a documentary on Palm Cockatoos once. I love their call. It sounds like they're saying "hello".

How hard is it to spot chondros? Your photos give the impression that there's one hanging about in every tree!


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## mungus (Jan 11, 2012)

Pigs !!!!
Please don't tease me..........lol


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## jordanmulder (Jan 12, 2012)

I'm stunned by all the animals you have managed to find!! You realy inspired me to pick up on some more herping lol!!


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## moloch05 (Jan 13, 2012)

Fantastic photos, Nick. I remember some of those animals. I would love to get up there again sometime since the Cape is such a special place.

Say hello to Holly.

Regards,
David


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## HerpFreak (Feb 10, 2012)

Great thread, I especially liked the maccies. Do all of them look like that up there?


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## goyathlay2 (Feb 10, 2012)

They are awesome photos thanks for sharing


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## Treknotechelaps (Feb 17, 2012)

What a great collection of photos of a variety of different animals. Love the Emoia skinks too, pity we don't have more Emoia species in Australia.
Am interested to see the undescribed Gehyra being described as a new species, there a lot of ones in Oz currently without a name.


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## SteveNT (Feb 17, 2012)

possibly innapropriate. just read the OP. Magic! Burtons LL are one of my favourite encounters anytime anywhere.


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## Darlyn (Feb 17, 2012)

Utterly superb, thanks.


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## Pseudo (Feb 18, 2012)

Good stuff Nick, would love to get some adders next time I'm up the Cape, at least we got greens! Can't wait to get there at a time when reptiles are more active, was an effort in July!


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## JasonL (Feb 18, 2012)

Awesome.. love the Ol Man Palm Cockies


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