Friller2009
Well-Known Member
Recently, I went on a holiday to Smiths Lake. Like any avid herper I couldn't wait to get out, but it rained quite a bit at night, so I only had one chance to herp.
I found many, many spiders so if you are afraid of spiders don't read through this thread.
After walking through rainforest in ankle deep mud for a while I managed to spot some eyeshine in the bushes. Looking closely I found a really fat huntsman spider on a fern.
Directly to the right of the first spider, was another huntsman.
Continuing along the trail, We came across a large puddle that had covered up majority of the path. Suggesting we turned our lights off, we heard the call of a Striped Marsh Frog (Limnodynastes peronii). Using the triangulation method I managed to find him hiding in a patch of reed at the edge of the puddle. It was quite hard to get to him, as the area he was in had no solid ground, and it turns out the puddle was deep.
While I was taking some photos of the Striped Marsh Frog, my dad turned around at just the right moment to see a Squirrel Glider glide directly above us! This is a very rare thing to see in that area so it was great to see one! (Sorry for the crappy photos, it was 50+ metres above us and the light was only barely showing the Glider)
After about 15 minutes of finding nothing I noticed a foam frog nest with eggs inside.
And then we found more and more huntsmans.
And for some reason I managed to spot this giant millipede
Then I spotted a water spider
As it was starting to rain, and we were a fair way away from the house we were staying at, we decided to head home.
I managed to find another huntsman, but this one was eating a cricket.
Continuing to head back I found a pair of Striped Marsh Frogs in amplexus!
And that was my Herping done for the night!
I found many, many spiders so if you are afraid of spiders don't read through this thread.
After walking through rainforest in ankle deep mud for a while I managed to spot some eyeshine in the bushes. Looking closely I found a really fat huntsman spider on a fern.
Directly to the right of the first spider, was another huntsman.
Continuing along the trail, We came across a large puddle that had covered up majority of the path. Suggesting we turned our lights off, we heard the call of a Striped Marsh Frog (Limnodynastes peronii). Using the triangulation method I managed to find him hiding in a patch of reed at the edge of the puddle. It was quite hard to get to him, as the area he was in had no solid ground, and it turns out the puddle was deep.
While I was taking some photos of the Striped Marsh Frog, my dad turned around at just the right moment to see a Squirrel Glider glide directly above us! This is a very rare thing to see in that area so it was great to see one! (Sorry for the crappy photos, it was 50+ metres above us and the light was only barely showing the Glider)
After about 15 minutes of finding nothing I noticed a foam frog nest with eggs inside.
And then we found more and more huntsmans.
And for some reason I managed to spot this giant millipede
Then I spotted a water spider
As it was starting to rain, and we were a fair way away from the house we were staying at, we decided to head home.
I managed to find another huntsman, but this one was eating a cricket.
Continuing to head back I found a pair of Striped Marsh Frogs in amplexus!
And that was my Herping done for the night!
