September

A few shots form the month of September..

With cool nights prevailing this month, reptiles could be found basking in the morning sun.



Including this Crack-dwelling Whipsnake (Demansia rimicola). Though not visible here the underside of these snakes is vibrant to say the least, particularly the tail which was an amazing bright yellow.

  

This was the first of this species I have come across, and the floodgates opened from there with another three appearing over the next few days.

This long but skinny Eastern Brown was doing its finest Inland Taipan impersonation, casually checking soil cracks in the floodplain.

I managed a few snaps of it with a basic point and shoot camera that I had handy.

Lizards also came to life with plenty of Bearded, and Earless dragons getting around

Earless Dragon

The compounding affects of road kill are always evident on the trip to Eromanga.

Many road kill kangaroos etc. are accompanied by a Wedge tailed Eagle (or even two as seen below)

It is not just young birds that don't get out of the way in time, as this very dark adult eagle showed.

However, there is obviously a high density population in this region, that thrive on the incredible amount of carrion strewn along this stretch of road. I have counted 14 Wedgies surrounding a single carcass on this road. At most times of the year travel after dark on this road is almost impossible due to the number of kangaroos. All it takes is one road train to pass through at night, and this area looks like a warzone.

I loved the look of this particularly blonde recently fledged bird.

After looking over thousands of Black-winged Stilts (which have now been changed to 'White-headed Stilt' by the International Ornithological Conference), and Red-necked Avocets.... I finally cracked a Banded Stilt....!

I walked over a small bank and there it was right in front of me, hanging out with a couple of Avocets. It was the only one I could make out over the large water expanse.

August

August was a pretty quiet month with the camera. It was still relatively cold, and at times the country out around work in far south west Queensland seemed almost baron and devoid of life. However if you look hard enough there is always something.

The horse paddock..

Nappa Merrie Station sunset with a Wedge-tailed Eagle nest in the Bloodwood tree pictured 

Fledgling Black-winged Stilt

I can always count on these guys being around. This morning, like many others they perched on top of a tank, waiting for rabbits to come out from underneath the surrounding shipping containers.

Glossy Blacks

On a September morning I headed down out the front for a surf. The surf had been quite good for a number of days I was keen to get some midweek waves with little to no one else out. I chucked the wetsuit on and started running towards the fun empty waves ahead with board under arm.

As I jogged through the last of the Casuarina trees, I heard the distinct harsh screech that I knew could only have come from a black bird with a red tail. Before I looked up I could already hear the beaks of birds clicking as they busily extracted seeds out of the casuarina cones. When I did look up, I was delighted to see that my ears hadn't deceived me, and I was now staring at a small family group of Glossy Black Cockatoos.  To say that I was happy is an understatement, I had seen Glossy Blacks before, but not locally, and these were no more than 2km from my front door. 

These birds are known for being quite relaxed when feeding, but it was still surprising to see them drop down and feed on branches 4 feet above people using the adjacent walking track. I decided it was too good of a chance to pass up, and that I had pretty much filled my wave quota over last couple of days anyway. I made the jog back to the car in a dry wetsuit and drove home to swap the freshly waxed board for my camera.



Mum having a feed. Prominent yellow patches distinguish adult females.

Dad collecting Casuarina seeds

I did cringe a couple of times when I turned to see a fun set roll through, but never regretted my decision to watch and photograph the Glossy's, which are listed as Vulnerable, feed happily.


The fun little empty peak I gave up.

 

July in Images

 A look back through the month of July..

This little Brown Falcon was puffed up in the morning sun trying to hold some warm in his feathers.

Occasionally dropping down to chase lizards.

Don't be fooled by this cute face.. this Donkey bites! But he is one hell of a character.

I finally got some photos of the Old Karmona cattle yards. Some serious man hours would have gone into all this hand milled timber.

This lone Beefwood on a vast Gibber Plain caught my eye one morning.

Some Zebra finches nested in a hole in the roof..

I enjoyed watching this big adult Wedgey stand its ground as a dingo strolled past it at less than a couple of meters when leaving a carcass.

The adult then promptly flew over to the carcass and kicked two younger birds off.

July saw the twitch of the year turn up in south-east Qld. Of all places in turned up in the north Brisbane suburb of North lakes. Although I would definitely not class myself as a 'twitcher', given the neighbouring location and the opportunity to see:
The first ever confirmed Yellow Bittern in Australia..

The bird was residing in a small parkland lagoon with an Australian Little Bittern. I had not seen a Little Bittern before so I was able to see two new species. This quickly became three, when fellow twitcher for a day Andy, and I spotted a Spotless Crake.  

July became a good month for firsts, which are becoming harder and harder to come across, for when I returned to work I discovered some Southern Whiteface's. These birds are tiny.

The most vibrant natural colour you will find in these parts, is on these guys.

Chestnut-rumped Thornbill with its distinctive off-white eye

Roadside cleaner..