moloch05
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My wife and I spent a few days in the Atherton Tablelands. Unfortunately, it was cool with a steady drizzle for the first couple of days so it was definitely not good reptile weather. The tablelands are much cooler than the coast. Long ago, much of the tablelands was covered with rainforest but now, most of the forest exists as little islands on private land or in national parks.
These upland rainforests tend to have a denser canopy than forests along coast so it is dark along the trails.
... tree ferns were abundant:
... crown of a large rainforest tree:
There are several crater lakes in the tablelands and these form part of a national park. This is Lake Barrine.
Most of the enormous Bull Kauri Pines (Agathis microstachya) were cut long ago but there are still a few to be seen along the trails at the crater lakes.
I saw a couple of the spectacular Tree Waratahs (Alloxylon flammeum) in flower. These are members of family Proteaceae like other waratahs, bansksia, grevillea, ...
I walked along trails in the forests each night while we stayed in the highlands. I hoped to find the fabled Chameleon Gecko (Carphodactylus laevis) but once again I had no success. I did find a number of the beautiful Northern Leaf-tailed Geckos (Saltuarius cornutus). Sometimes, they here high up on trunks.
... sometimes near the base of the trunks. They almost always face head downwards so I suppose that they are ready to pounce if something edible walks by.
... original tail:
... one with a regenerated tail:
These wet, cool forests were the habitat of the unusual Prickly Skinks (Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae) These skinks apparantly spend most of their lives beneath soggy, rotting logs.
... a very dirty juvenile
This Saproscincus czechurai was a lifer to me. It is another tiny shade skink that looks much like S. tetradactylus of the lowlands, but unlike that species, it has five fingers. This skink is another one of the many that spends its life beneath leaf litter or other debris on the forest floor.
The damp nights brought out a few frogs. I believe that this is a Striped Marsh Frog (Limnodynastes peroni):
I am not certain about this but I think that it is Litoria inermis:
I suppose that this is another of the variably marked Litoria jungguy:
Here are a few other shots from the tablelands. This is Hastie's Swamp near the town of Atherton. It was a good place for Brolga and Sarus Cranes and of course large numbers of Magpie Geese.
Long-nosed Bandicoot. This marsupial was busy digging and it allowed me to get quite close. I finally squeaked a little and it sat up to see what was making the strange sounds.
... an unusual road hazard. I did not see any Lumholtz Tree Kangaroos on this visit but I have found them before.
... Atherton endemic, Grey-headed Robin.
Cauliflorous tree:
Blue-faced Honeyeater in action:
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
... juvenile White-cheeked Honeyeater feeding on nectar of a Grevillea:
This is the display site of a Tooth-billed Catbird. Catbirds are members of the bowerbird family. These are large, chunky birds with an incredibly loud voice. They clear the leaves from the forest floor, then redecorate with leaves that they like. The males then call and dance with hopes of attracting a female
Beautiful fungus:
Regards,
David
These upland rainforests tend to have a denser canopy than forests along coast so it is dark along the trails.
... tree ferns were abundant:
... crown of a large rainforest tree:
There are several crater lakes in the tablelands and these form part of a national park. This is Lake Barrine.
Most of the enormous Bull Kauri Pines (Agathis microstachya) were cut long ago but there are still a few to be seen along the trails at the crater lakes.
I saw a couple of the spectacular Tree Waratahs (Alloxylon flammeum) in flower. These are members of family Proteaceae like other waratahs, bansksia, grevillea, ...
I walked along trails in the forests each night while we stayed in the highlands. I hoped to find the fabled Chameleon Gecko (Carphodactylus laevis) but once again I had no success. I did find a number of the beautiful Northern Leaf-tailed Geckos (Saltuarius cornutus). Sometimes, they here high up on trunks.
... sometimes near the base of the trunks. They almost always face head downwards so I suppose that they are ready to pounce if something edible walks by.
... original tail:
... one with a regenerated tail:
These wet, cool forests were the habitat of the unusual Prickly Skinks (Gnypetoscincus queenslandiae) These skinks apparantly spend most of their lives beneath soggy, rotting logs.
... a very dirty juvenile
This Saproscincus czechurai was a lifer to me. It is another tiny shade skink that looks much like S. tetradactylus of the lowlands, but unlike that species, it has five fingers. This skink is another one of the many that spends its life beneath leaf litter or other debris on the forest floor.
The damp nights brought out a few frogs. I believe that this is a Striped Marsh Frog (Limnodynastes peroni):
I am not certain about this but I think that it is Litoria inermis:
I suppose that this is another of the variably marked Litoria jungguy:
Here are a few other shots from the tablelands. This is Hastie's Swamp near the town of Atherton. It was a good place for Brolga and Sarus Cranes and of course large numbers of Magpie Geese.
Long-nosed Bandicoot. This marsupial was busy digging and it allowed me to get quite close. I finally squeaked a little and it sat up to see what was making the strange sounds.
... an unusual road hazard. I did not see any Lumholtz Tree Kangaroos on this visit but I have found them before.
... Atherton endemic, Grey-headed Robin.
Cauliflorous tree:
Blue-faced Honeyeater in action:
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
... juvenile White-cheeked Honeyeater feeding on nectar of a Grevillea:
This is the display site of a Tooth-billed Catbird. Catbirds are members of the bowerbird family. These are large, chunky birds with an incredibly loud voice. They clear the leaves from the forest floor, then redecorate with leaves that they like. The males then call and dance with hopes of attracting a female
Beautiful fungus:
Regards,
David
