moloch05
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Last Spring, I visited Dharawal Nature Reserve on several locations. This reserve is only about a 20 minute drive from Wollongong. It is a great place for frogs, lizards and flowers. In this post, I will include photos of reptiles and flowers and in the next post, the incredible frogs that I found in the reserve.
I visited two parts of this park. One area was in the vicinity of Maddens Falls.
... there is a gap behind the waterfall and it is big enough to crawl into
I found a few Eastern Water Dragons (Physignathus lesueurii) in the vicinity of the falls.
... I found this one asleep in a shallow crevice one night when I was searching for frogs:
The most common reptile along the creeks was the Eastern Water Skink (Eulamprus quoyii).
... an "affectionate" pair. The rock was big but they appeared to want to be in contact.
Three-toed Skink (Saiphos equalis)
Red-throated Skink (Acritoscincus platynotum).
The second area that I visited was drier. I followed a road that passed along sandy ridgetops with outcrops of sandstone.
I saw different reptiles here. Among them was this Cryptoblepharus sp. Dharawal is the nearest place to Wollongong where I have seen this skink.
Copper-tailed Skinks (Ctenotus taeniolatus) were only seen in the dry, sandy areas on the ridgetops.
Mountain Heath Dragons (Rankinia diemensis) were found both here and along the track to Maddens Falls.
Jacky Lizards (Amphibolurus muricatus) were also widespread and occurred in both the riparian and drier habitats.
I found this basking Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis) early one morning. It appeared to be cold and ignored me for several minutes.
Scorpion Fly with its victim.
The spring flowers were spectacular. Here are a few of the species that I observed.
Spotted Sun Orchid (Thelymitra ixioides)
... their flowers would close in the late afternoon
a Finger Orchid
Members of the pea family were particularly abundant. Many of these were spectacular.
The Protea family (Proteaceae) was also well represented
A stunning Boronia
Others, such as this fan flower (Scaevola sp.):
Pink Wax Flower (Eriostemon australasius)
Hybanthus sp.
Ricinocarpus sp.
Fairies Aprons (Utricularia dichotoma) -- an insectivorous plant
Sundew
The best of the flower season spanned from the end of August to the end of October.
I visited two parts of this park. One area was in the vicinity of Maddens Falls.
... there is a gap behind the waterfall and it is big enough to crawl into
I found a few Eastern Water Dragons (Physignathus lesueurii) in the vicinity of the falls.
... I found this one asleep in a shallow crevice one night when I was searching for frogs:
The most common reptile along the creeks was the Eastern Water Skink (Eulamprus quoyii).
... an "affectionate" pair. The rock was big but they appeared to want to be in contact.
Three-toed Skink (Saiphos equalis)
Red-throated Skink (Acritoscincus platynotum).
The second area that I visited was drier. I followed a road that passed along sandy ridgetops with outcrops of sandstone.
I saw different reptiles here. Among them was this Cryptoblepharus sp. Dharawal is the nearest place to Wollongong where I have seen this skink.
Copper-tailed Skinks (Ctenotus taeniolatus) were only seen in the dry, sandy areas on the ridgetops.
Mountain Heath Dragons (Rankinia diemensis) were found both here and along the track to Maddens Falls.
Jacky Lizards (Amphibolurus muricatus) were also widespread and occurred in both the riparian and drier habitats.
I found this basking Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis) early one morning. It appeared to be cold and ignored me for several minutes.
Scorpion Fly with its victim.
The spring flowers were spectacular. Here are a few of the species that I observed.
Spotted Sun Orchid (Thelymitra ixioides)
... their flowers would close in the late afternoon
a Finger Orchid
Members of the pea family were particularly abundant. Many of these were spectacular.
The Protea family (Proteaceae) was also well represented
A stunning Boronia
Others, such as this fan flower (Scaevola sp.):
Pink Wax Flower (Eriostemon australasius)
Hybanthus sp.
Ricinocarpus sp.
Fairies Aprons (Utricularia dichotoma) -- an insectivorous plant
Sundew
The best of the flower season spanned from the end of August to the end of October.
