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..

Canis dingo

Canis dingo



Earlier this year researchers finally settled a long history of confusion, regarding the taxonomy of Australia's dingo. The species has been labelled with various scientific names to date, from its first of Canis antarcticus given in 1792 , to the more recently used Canis familiaris dingo which classified dingoes as a subspecies of the domestic dog.

But now...

"We can also conclusively say that the dingo is a distinctive Australian wild canid or member of the dog family in its own right, separate from dogs or wolves. The appropriate scientific classification is Canis dingo, as they appear not to be descended from wolves, are distinct from dogs and are not a subspecies.” - Dr Mathew Crowther, research leader.

Healthy dingo with a nice thick winter coat.

The important outcome of this research is that a benchmark description of what classifies a dingo has been created. This was done using remains of the purest of dingo samples,from various museum collections.

The ability to distinguish wild canid populations from dingo, dingo x dog, and dog, is a very important one. Policies in different parts of Australia support the conservation of dingoes, and the extermination of dingo/dog crosses due to their impact on livestock.



Long standing myths have been dispelled as a result of the research. Dingo persecutors have often hid behind the thought that pure dingoes are yellow/orange in colour, and therefore any variation to this is fair game. This research has proved that coat coloration is not a defining feature of the dingo, and that pure dingos can in fact be dark, tan, black and tan, white and even the sable coloration of a German Sheppard.

I am always surprised when I see hunting photos etc. of wild canids showing nothing but the benchmark features of a Dingo. If the same person was to display a photo of any other native there would be an outcry, and even subsequent prosecution (you would hope..)

If the argument is that they are not a native species, then how long is it before a species is recognized as one? 3000 to 5000 years is a long time for a species to fine tune and adapt to an environment. And surely enough time for the ecosystems in which they inhabit, to evolve to cope, and by now.. to rely.



Unfortunately I have no doubt Australia's dingoes will continue to be persecuted, as that is what we do with our apex predators in Australia - Great White Sharks, and Saltwater Crocodiles come straight to mind as examples. What would be North Queensland without Crocodiles? sounds over the top, but current policies are heading this way as population growth continues in the north.

Anyway, enough of that, this research is a positive for dingoes....



One of my favourite photos, and a lifetime memory. I was recording an aboriginal site during a 50 degree celcius day on an extremely remote waterhole lined with ancient Coolibah trees. This dingo walked right past me, almost dragging itself along like it had no energy to care. It continued to the centre of the drying up waterhole and slumped into the cool water.   



Cleaning up a dead beast. There were a total of eleven dingoes in the vicinity of this carcass, lying in the grass with full stomachs.

Six dingoes heading off over the gibber plains after leaving the carcass. 

'Wedgies'

One of the perks of my work is the very high occurrence of Wedge-tailed Eagle sightings. You don't have to travel to far in the Cooper Basin to see a 'Wedgie' or two. I have had a long standing fascination with these birds, and have even had the pleasure of working with them in captivity. As with all wildlife, it is in a natural state that I prefer to see Wedgies..

Out at work there is a pair that I have become very familiar with. Most days, at some stage I will head down to a back paddock where there is a pair that seem to spend the majority of their time roosting. The birds are nearly always found in one of three large old Bloodwood trees that are found in the area. The area is a fringe habitat changing from a red sandy low dune field to Gibber plain country. Two large eagle nests are present, barely a hundred metres apart.

The female is possibly younger than the male, looking at plumage and general appearance, she is also bigger, which is to be expected, and she is also comes across as the calmer more content of the two. Over the last few months she has become conditioned to my presence, and these days she is happy for me to approach her, take a seat for a while, then leave her again her without ever giving me too much notice.





 

The male, however, is far shyer and doesn't really take to being approached or having his photo taken. Not wanting to disturb him or the relations of the pair, I generally give him the swerve, not wanting him to go aerial every time I show up.  Normally he is found by scanning the horizon in a several hundred metre radius in all directions from the girl. He is very dark, much darker than the female, suggesting he is a of a more mature age. He has a large head and his talons seem to be big relative to his size. Even now I cant describe what it is, but there is something about him that makes him one of the most attractive Wedge-tailed Eagles I have ever come across.

 

A heavily cropped shot of the male.

Every so often I am required to drive to the town of Eromanga. Eromanga is the furthest Australian town to any sea. The road out of Eromanga is usually absolutely littered with road kill. Red Kangaroos and Emus are the most prolific victims. Cattle, Dingos, Feral Pigs, Sand Goannas, Brown Falcons and Wedge-tailed Eagles make up the rest. Wedgies are so prolific on this stretch of road that I have seen up to 12 eagles hanging around a single roo carcass. The Wedgies themselves often become a roadside carcass, being to slow and cumbersome to get out of the way of oncoming traffic after gorging themselves on a free meal.



One of many on this stretch of road. 

 

 

A nice looking pair near Eromanga
 

Australian Hobby Falcon

These birds are not interested in road kill, but were doing well out of the plentiful grasshoppers around since recent rain.

 

Back towards the Cooper, a Dingo slinks away from the road.

I stopped for a quick drive of this old beast.

A young Wedgie reclaims a meal from the Crows

 Back at the local paddock, I was sitting near the female for a fair period before something caught her eye and she jumped off the perch. After several powerful beats she glided low above the ground for several hundred metres before coming to rest again in a far away tree. I later found a rabbit warren directly under her flight path with fresh rabbit tracks briefly leaving the hole, before quickly turning back down the hole again.

 

 

 

The back paddock turns up a few other interesting encounters, Bourke's Parrots have been pretty common in the area since recent rain. One pair I have been keeping an eye on, are definitely at least showing interest in a nest hollow of a small Bloodwood tree.

 

  Bourke's Parrot. A small and delicate native parrot. 

Bourke's Parrot on sundown.

Bourke's Parrot showing interest in a potential nest hollow.

This image of a Central Bearded Dragon getting some morning sun, shows the habitat described earlier. 

Wedge-tailed Eagle pair coming together