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..

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.