Australia trip Part 2

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ClosetHerper
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Australia trip Part 2

Post by ClosetHerper »

Part 1 can be seen here: http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vie ... =2&t=19112

Part 3 can be seen here: http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vie ... =2&t=19215

This will be the second of 3 posts covering our recent trip to Australia. See first post for travel details. Again, while most of these critters are probably "ho hum" for native Australians, they are fascinating for any first time visitor.

The next creature we saw, and one of the most impressive of the trip, might as well be a reptile:

Southern cassowary
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At up to 6 feet tall and 150 pounds, they are the third tallest and second heaviest bird in the world. They are found in the tropical forest of northeastern Queensland.

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This "bower" is constructed by the male Great Bowerbird, along with a collection of shells and bones, to attract a mate
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We spent a night on the Atherton Tablelands, which coincided with one of the first significant rains of "the wet". It started a frog orgy.

Orange-thighed tree frog
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My wife and I then flew from Cairns to Darwin for just 3 days. While I told my wife that it would be neat to see Kakadu and Litchfield NP's, see some native rock art, and some cool birds, all I really wanted to do was find a frilled lizard.
Within an hour of getting off the plane and getting our rental car, in a groomed city park no less, we found one. I need to credit this find to my wife's sharp eyes, although she began to dismiss it as a paper bag... until it got up and ran on its hind legs to a tree!

Frilled lizard
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With my main target out of the way, we were able to enjoy the next two days driving around the "Top End".

Comb-crested jacana
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Dingo!
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Rock art featuring a goanna at Nourlangie in Kakadu NP.
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Leichhardt's Grasshopper
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This sign was my favorite
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We then found an even larger and more beautiful individual. These are my favorite images of the entire trip

Frilled lizard
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Back on the east coast we had these frogs calling from behind one of our camp sites near Airlie Beach. If I have it identified correctly, this is a little south of its mapped range according to one online source.

Giant Tree Frog or White-lipped Tree Frog
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This python was found at night on a road in southern Queensland

Carpet python
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I finally had to say "no" to photographing lapwings as we saw them everywhere we went from the top to the bottom of Australia. Still a pretty neat shorebird!

Masked lapwing tugging on worm
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And I forgot to include this image in the first post. I did not see this snake but several of the others I was traveling with either stepped on or almost stepped on this snake while on a night hike in Carnarvon Gorge. They described it as very pissed, and or aggressive. It is a relatively poor point and shoot image. Any thoughts on ID?

Brown tree snake (Thanks for the ID help!)
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Soopaman
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Re: Australia trip Part 2

Post by Soopaman »

Those frilled lizards are probably the coolest ones in the world (and I'm not much for lizards)!

Awesome shots of that dude on the burned tree remains, I really like those photos.
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VanAR
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Re: Australia trip Part 2

Post by VanAR »

Cool stuff- love the frillies! Your snake at the end is a brown treesnake
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Nick Evans
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Re: Australia trip Part 2

Post by Nick Evans »

Great photos! Love the Frilled Lizard and Cassowary!
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Ribbit
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Re: Australia trip Part 2

Post by Ribbit »

When I was in the area a few a few years ago, we saw an "improved" version of that sign:

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John
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ClosetHerper
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Re: Australia trip Part 2

Post by ClosetHerper »

Ribbit wrote:When I was in the area a few a few years ago, we saw an "improved" version of that sign:

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John
I had seen that pic on your web site. In fact, I found your site very informative and it partially influenced me to head to Darwin to see the frillie. Thanks for maintaining such an informative web site.
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Ribbit
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Re: Australia trip Part 2

Post by Ribbit »

That's good to hear. I loved seeing some of the familiar Australian sights in your posts, and with such wonderful photographs!

John
J-Miz
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Re: Australia trip Part 2

Post by J-Miz »

Part 3, Part 3, Part 3!
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Field Herper
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Re: Australia trip Part 2

Post by Field Herper »

Great shots Milo. I especially like the Frilly (as we call them).

This is a Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis).

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That defensive posture is characteristic of the species. The irregular brown banding, broad head and thin neck are also distinctive features.
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moloch
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Re: Australia trip Part 2

Post by moloch »

Nice shots of the Cassowary. Was this at Mission Beach or up in the tablelands? They are incredible birds. Their head and neck is so colourful but the certainly can disappear in an instance when off the trail.
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