moloch05
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As I mentioned in the first post, we drove an enormous distance in a few days. That, of course, meant many hours of sitting in the car. Naturally, in the dry areas, we saw a fair number of animals on the road. Watching for these or occasional quick stops helped us pass the time while we drove through a rather monotonous countryside.
The first herps that we encountered were Central Netted Dragons (Ctenophorus nuchalis) that sunned themselves on the road between Nyngan and Bourke (not far from Gundabooka NP). These lizards will often allow one to approach them closely when they are on the road, but they are much more wary when they are sunning on something natural such as the top of a termite mound or a fallen branch. They dig shallow burrows and once disturbed, invariably will run back to these and disappear from view.
Shinglebacks or Knob-tailed Lizards (Tiliqua rugosa) were a common sight in the cooler hours as they slid across the road. We did not see any once the temperature became hot. These lizards vary in colour from region to region and here in northern NSW, they were quite dark. One had a “blond” head:
This one was entirely dark and looked much like a walking pine cone:
While traveling north between Bourke, NSW, and Cunnamulla, QLD, my son spotted these Pink (a.k.a., Major Mitchell’s) Cockatoos that were resting in a mulga. Pink Cockatoos are fairly scarce beyond the southern mallee forests so we stopped to have a look. I think that these birds are one of the most nicely marked cockatoos. Their beauty is best revealed in flight when the salmon patches on their under wings and tail is visible.
… lots of noise as they flew to another tree.
We had quite an unusual experience while driving north from the tiny settlement of Toompine, Qld. We saw a sheet of tin not far from the road and, of course, we had to stop and have a look. As we stopped the car, we saw a camel standing about 100m away. I know that there many feral camels in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, but I have not heard of them in Queensland before. We did not pay much attention to it and we flipped the tin. A nice adult Ctenotus was sheltering beneath it so we were soon engrossed in photographing the skink. My son heard something and looked back to see the camel rapidly approaching us. It soon poked its head between us as if to see what were looking at, and then it drooled all over my son’s arm. The smell was atrocious so we fled to the car to avoid more gifts from the camel. It followed us and then stood with its nose just outside of my driver’s side window … like something out of Jurassic Park. Eventually, it moved away and I was able to take this photo. I suppose that it was a domesticated animal since it was so tame, but I don’t know where it lived.
This was the Ctenotus that we photographed. It lived on a fairly hard substrate in an open habitat. I believe that it is a Ctenotus leonhardii but am not certain. It was mobbed by ants while I photographed it but this did not seem to worry the lizard.
North of Eulo, QLD, there had been a big thunderstorm and there was water flowing across the road in places. These drainages were a good place to see Burn’s Dragons (Amphibolurus burnsi), a large dragon that looks intermediate in form between the central/western Long-nosed Dragon (A. longirostris) and the eastern Jacky Lizard (A. muricatus).
… north of Eulo, QLD
… between Goondiwindi, QLD, and Narribri, NSW
Sand Goannas or Gould’s Monitors (Varanus gouldii) are common lizards in the outback. We saw them a number of times as they crossed the road. I stopped to follow one and it ran down the roadside embankment and then pressed itself against the ground in an attempt to hide. It remained motionless and I was able to walk up to about a meter of it before it finally raced further into the woodland. It then stopped for a quick look back before continuing on its way.
… near Cunnamulla, QLD
… near Goondiwindi, QLD
One of the reasons that we drove so much is that we altered our return journey to have a quick look at the Brigalow habitat in south central QLD. Brigalow is a type of acacia (Acacia harpophylla) and it is the home to a few unusual species of reptiles including a rare race of the Woma (Aspidites ramsayi) and the beautiful Golden-tailed Gecko (Strophurus taenicauda). I have seen the gecko before and hoped to find one again. Unfortunately, I underestimated the time that would be required to reach this habitat from Windorah (12 hours) and the night was already cold by the time that we arrived. We only saw a single Tessellated Gecko (Diplodactylus tessellatus) on the road in the Brigalow habitat this year. Here are a few pics of the habitat where these interesting reptiles live:
This is a photo of what we wanted to find. It was from the same area but a couple of years ago:
We did encounter a couple of elapids on the way. One was this pretty little Dwyer’s Snake (Parasuta dwyeri).
We also found the similar Curl Snake (Suta suta).
A few frogs were out including this big Cyclorana novaehollandiae:
The next morning, I searched a little near our campsite and found a few herps. These included this Carlia folorium, a very drab member of the Rainbow Skink genus.
A new species to me was this Lerista muelleri. Finding a Lerista is always nice since they are such difficult skinks to encounter in the field.
I saw Eastern Blue-tongues (Tiliqua scincoides) a few times on our return trip in northern NSW. These lizards lacked the dark eye-patch that is typical of blue-tongue near Wollongong.
Central Bearded Dragons (Pogona vitticeps) were common, especially in dry woodland areas.
We found this Tree Skink (Egernia striolata) at a roadside rest one afternoon.
The final reptile on the trip (besides DOR Eastern Brown Snakes) was this Long-necked Turtle (Chelodina longicollis) that crossed the road near Mudgee, NSW.
The trip was lots of fun although a bit numbing due to the drive. Windorah is certainly an exciting area for those who don’t mind a long drive.
Regards,
David
The first herps that we encountered were Central Netted Dragons (Ctenophorus nuchalis) that sunned themselves on the road between Nyngan and Bourke (not far from Gundabooka NP). These lizards will often allow one to approach them closely when they are on the road, but they are much more wary when they are sunning on something natural such as the top of a termite mound or a fallen branch. They dig shallow burrows and once disturbed, invariably will run back to these and disappear from view.
Shinglebacks or Knob-tailed Lizards (Tiliqua rugosa) were a common sight in the cooler hours as they slid across the road. We did not see any once the temperature became hot. These lizards vary in colour from region to region and here in northern NSW, they were quite dark. One had a “blond” head:
This one was entirely dark and looked much like a walking pine cone:
While traveling north between Bourke, NSW, and Cunnamulla, QLD, my son spotted these Pink (a.k.a., Major Mitchell’s) Cockatoos that were resting in a mulga. Pink Cockatoos are fairly scarce beyond the southern mallee forests so we stopped to have a look. I think that these birds are one of the most nicely marked cockatoos. Their beauty is best revealed in flight when the salmon patches on their under wings and tail is visible.
… lots of noise as they flew to another tree.
We had quite an unusual experience while driving north from the tiny settlement of Toompine, Qld. We saw a sheet of tin not far from the road and, of course, we had to stop and have a look. As we stopped the car, we saw a camel standing about 100m away. I know that there many feral camels in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, but I have not heard of them in Queensland before. We did not pay much attention to it and we flipped the tin. A nice adult Ctenotus was sheltering beneath it so we were soon engrossed in photographing the skink. My son heard something and looked back to see the camel rapidly approaching us. It soon poked its head between us as if to see what were looking at, and then it drooled all over my son’s arm. The smell was atrocious so we fled to the car to avoid more gifts from the camel. It followed us and then stood with its nose just outside of my driver’s side window … like something out of Jurassic Park. Eventually, it moved away and I was able to take this photo. I suppose that it was a domesticated animal since it was so tame, but I don’t know where it lived.
This was the Ctenotus that we photographed. It lived on a fairly hard substrate in an open habitat. I believe that it is a Ctenotus leonhardii but am not certain. It was mobbed by ants while I photographed it but this did not seem to worry the lizard.
North of Eulo, QLD, there had been a big thunderstorm and there was water flowing across the road in places. These drainages were a good place to see Burn’s Dragons (Amphibolurus burnsi), a large dragon that looks intermediate in form between the central/western Long-nosed Dragon (A. longirostris) and the eastern Jacky Lizard (A. muricatus).
… north of Eulo, QLD
… between Goondiwindi, QLD, and Narribri, NSW
Sand Goannas or Gould’s Monitors (Varanus gouldii) are common lizards in the outback. We saw them a number of times as they crossed the road. I stopped to follow one and it ran down the roadside embankment and then pressed itself against the ground in an attempt to hide. It remained motionless and I was able to walk up to about a meter of it before it finally raced further into the woodland. It then stopped for a quick look back before continuing on its way.
… near Cunnamulla, QLD
… near Goondiwindi, QLD
One of the reasons that we drove so much is that we altered our return journey to have a quick look at the Brigalow habitat in south central QLD. Brigalow is a type of acacia (Acacia harpophylla) and it is the home to a few unusual species of reptiles including a rare race of the Woma (Aspidites ramsayi) and the beautiful Golden-tailed Gecko (Strophurus taenicauda). I have seen the gecko before and hoped to find one again. Unfortunately, I underestimated the time that would be required to reach this habitat from Windorah (12 hours) and the night was already cold by the time that we arrived. We only saw a single Tessellated Gecko (Diplodactylus tessellatus) on the road in the Brigalow habitat this year. Here are a few pics of the habitat where these interesting reptiles live:
This is a photo of what we wanted to find. It was from the same area but a couple of years ago:
We did encounter a couple of elapids on the way. One was this pretty little Dwyer’s Snake (Parasuta dwyeri).
We also found the similar Curl Snake (Suta suta).
A few frogs were out including this big Cyclorana novaehollandiae:
The next morning, I searched a little near our campsite and found a few herps. These included this Carlia folorium, a very drab member of the Rainbow Skink genus.
A new species to me was this Lerista muelleri. Finding a Lerista is always nice since they are such difficult skinks to encounter in the field.
I saw Eastern Blue-tongues (Tiliqua scincoides) a few times on our return trip in northern NSW. These lizards lacked the dark eye-patch that is typical of blue-tongue near Wollongong.
Central Bearded Dragons (Pogona vitticeps) were common, especially in dry woodland areas.
We found this Tree Skink (Egernia striolata) at a roadside rest one afternoon.
The final reptile on the trip (besides DOR Eastern Brown Snakes) was this Long-necked Turtle (Chelodina longicollis) that crossed the road near Mudgee, NSW.
The trip was lots of fun although a bit numbing due to the drive. Windorah is certainly an exciting area for those who don’t mind a long drive.
Regards,
David
