# A few mid-Sept herps from the 'Gong



## moloch05 (Sep 20, 2009)

Here are a few photos of the herps and flowers from this past week.

Broad-tailed Gecko (_Phyllurus platurus_) -- I made a trip up to see “my” leaf-tails that live in a rocky area near Wollongong. The night was mild and I found a number of these geckos.

The gecko in the following photo arched the tail and then moved it from side to side as I photographed it. This gecko has its original tail.







... regenerated tail:

















_Anepischtos maccoyi_ – a common skink that lives in cool, damp areas within the wet eucalyptus forest.






Eastern Water Skink (_Eulamprus quoyii_) – a common and beautiful skink.













Golden-crowned Snake (_Cacophis squamulosus_) – This snake was large for the species and quite heavily built. While I photographed it, I became aware of blood on its face. This is the second time now that I have seen blood appear on a golden-crowned while I photographed the snake. I am beginning to wonder whether they burst blood vessels when stressed. The snake moved freely and otherwise did not show any signs of injury as one would expect if it had been clipped by a car. 












I went out again today (Sunday) for a couple of hours and found another Mustard-bellied Snake (_Drysdalia rhodogaster_). It seems really odd to find two a week apart after several years of searching. They are great little snakes and pose nicely for photos. Their tongue flicks are pronounced but I just could not seem to catch it. Here are pics of today's snake.

































I also found a Marsh Snake (_Hemiaspis signata_):












This big Common Blue-tongued Skink (_Tiliqua scincoides_) was out and about. 






... a blue-tongue "growl":








... possibly a relative of the Flat Spider:






... Wolf Spider?












... tiny species of Crane Fly:







Duck Orchid (_Caleana major_) -- I only know of one small colony of this bizarre but beautiful orchid.






_Epacris sp._ -- these Australian heaths are lovely plants and common in sandy or rocky areas.












a multi-branched Sundew -- these perennials are just now develping their new leaves. A couple of insects have already been caught in the second photo below.
















Match-heads (_Comesperma ericinum_) -- a pretty plant of family Polygalaceae.






Dusky Coral Pea (_Kennedia rubicunda_) – a colourful twining vine that is numerous near the top of the escarpment west of Wollongong.







Hibbertia







...other








1 -- pea, 2 -- _Pattersonia sp_., 3 -- pea
456 -- Streaked Rock Orchid (_Dockrillia striolata_) 
7 -- _Epacris obtusifolia_, 8 -- _Dracophyllum secundum_, 9 -- _Epacris sp._
10 -- bud of _Caleana major_, 11 -- _Caleana major_, 12 -- _Prostanthera sieberi_ 











































Here are more photos of my favourite flower for the area, a Waratah:






















... and one of its pollinators, a small wasp:






... a pretty _Dampiera_:






Regards,
David


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## gecko-mad (Sep 20, 2009)

Awesome and amazing, i like the forth pic of the mustard belly


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## ryanharvey1993 (Sep 20, 2009)

amazing pictures, those waratahs are stunning. nice lot of snakes you saw, I havnt been seeing much variety at all. was this mustard bellied snake the same size?is there any chance that maybe it was the same one?


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## girdheinz (Sep 20, 2009)

Spectacular photos


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## Bearded_Lady (Sep 20, 2009)

Wow that duck orchid is amazing! Looks exactly like a duck midflight. Fantastic pics as usual.


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## FAY (Sep 20, 2009)

Thanks once again David for the fantastic pics.


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## dickyknee (Sep 20, 2009)

Nice work as usual David .


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## bigi (Sep 20, 2009)

your pics are outstanding, getting better and better, some you would think have been setup in a studio the light and colours are so good, have you got a pic of evry aussie herp know


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## anntay (Sep 20, 2009)

great pics


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## marty (Sep 20, 2009)

stunning work
what camera do you use


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## herpkeeper (Sep 20, 2009)

as always David, excellent 

cheers HK.


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## Just_Joshin (Sep 20, 2009)

He shoots with a Canon 40D and uses a tamron 90mm macro or 18-250 zoom


marty said:


> stunning work
> what camera do you use


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## serpenttongue (Sep 20, 2009)

Interesting theory about the blood on Golden Crowns. I've never seen this before with wild specimens i've observed.


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## thals (Sep 20, 2009)

Stunning shots as always David. I never tire of seeing your work, thanks for sharing mate


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## moloch05 (Sep 20, 2009)

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback.

Ryan,
I think that the two mustard-bellies are different animals. Here are closeups of the two. Notice that the dark brown spotting behind the eye is not the same. Also, the dark spots on the lips vary as well. The snakes were found about 100m apart.

... last week:





... today:






Thanks, bigi. I have begun to use a flash diffuser which certainly improves the shots of shiny herps. I have many photos but am only about a third of the way there. Australia is so big and there are many species that are hard to find and with tiny distributions.


Marty, Just-Joshin was spot-on. 



Regards,
David


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## James..94 (Sep 20, 2009)

Well done stunning pics


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## ryanharvey1993 (Sep 20, 2009)

yes I can see a difference in the pattern on the head, that is strange that for so long they havnt been there and niw they are, probably a reason for it. would love to know. when you are taking these shots. do you lay down or crouch? I try that but I can never get shots like I am looking up at the animal like yours of the snake


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## Acrochordus (Sep 20, 2009)

Top stuff David, excellent photo's agian, very interesting about the Golden Crowns never observed that from all them i have seen.
Thanks Tim.


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## moloch05 (Sep 20, 2009)

Thanks again, everyone.

Sounds like the blood on the golden-crown is a very unusual sight. It would be interesting to know what caused this ... hopefully, they had not been hit by a car.


Ryan,
I prefer shots that are taken at about the same level as the reptiles. So, I lay flat and stretch out to shoot. I really need to find something to put on my knees and elbows since laying down like that can be uncomfortable if on rocks.


Regards,
David


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## rex888 (Sep 20, 2009)

great pics


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## Sock Puppet (Sep 21, 2009)

Awesome pics as usual. I was up at West Head (Kuringai) on the weekend, the waratahs are going crazy up there too. No herps (lots of snake tracks, a suspected bluey track, & a monitor track), apart from what I think was a Cunningham's but too quick to get a pic of. So I resorted to taking lots of wildflower pics, they are amazing at the moment, everything is flowering. Got close to some black cockatoos though, they were relaxed with us in their presence, more concerned about tucking into the casuarina pods.


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## Just_Joshin (Sep 21, 2009)

Trady knee pads

http://www.sydneytools.com.au/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=3156&cat=Knee+Pads


moloch05 said:


> Thanks again, everyone.
> 
> Sounds like the blood on the golden-crown is a very unusual sight. It would be interesting to know what caused this ... hopefully, they had not been hit by a car.
> 
> ...


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## moloch05 (Sep 22, 2009)

Thanks, all, and thanks for the link, Josh.

Tonsky,
What sort of black cockatoos did you see? Were they Glossy Black or Yellow-tailed?

Regards,
David


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## Sock Puppet (Sep 23, 2009)

moloch05 said:


> Tonsky,
> What sort of black cockatoos did you see? Were they Glossy Black or Yellow-tailed?


 
They were Yellow Tailed Blacks. Such a beautiful & graceful animal, especially in flight. 
I'll put a post up tonight if I get a chance, with some of my pics.


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