Gippsland, Victoria, Australia

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PhilipK
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Joined: May 31st, 2011, 12:42 pm
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Gippsland, Victoria, Australia

Post by PhilipK »

Hey guys,

at the moment I am spending my time in Gippsland in Victoria before I will leave to Western Australia where I will hopefully find some more reptiles than here.

Can you help me where I can find some reptiles in my area the best, like what they really like to hide, near rivers or whatelse. (I am on a beef farm so there is very much land around me)

I will upload pictures if I can find some animals.

Regards,
Phil
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Rags
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 12:30 pm
Location: U.K.

Re: Gippsland, Victoria, Australia

Post by Rags »

Watch out for the Giant worms!!!
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crocdoc
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 11:43 pm
Location: Australia

Re: Gippsland, Victoria, Australia

Post by crocdoc »

Gippsland has the largest lace monitors in Australia, Phil. Look for them foraging among the Eucalyptus trees, alongside rivers if you're in open farmland or in relatively open forest with good undercover like bracken fern. If you spend enough time walking around in eucalypt forests, eventually you'll see a lace monitor scurrying up a tree. Another thing to do is listen for birds making alarm calls and check out what they're screaming at, as it's almost always a monitor lizard or snake (although last week I ran into the bush to check out what the birds were screaming at and came across a whole mob of eastern grey kangaroos lying in the shade, all staring at me). Red-bellied blacksnakes can be seen out basking first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon, usually uphill from ponds. Look along the sides of tracks running near creeks or ponds. Check fence posts and fallen timber (or even wood piles near farm houses) for basking jacky dragons - often spotting dragons is a matter of developing a search image for the silhouetted outline of their heads sticking out above the timber. Male water dragons often advertise their territories by perching on high areas near a creek (the edge of a road running alongside, but uphill from, a creek, for example) and both males and females may be found in and among rocks/logs near the water itself. They're rarely alone, so if you find an adult female there's a good chance of a male being nearby. Water skinks are usually found around clumps of grass not far from water.

If you're patient, all of the above can be easily photographed in situ, without any manhandling.

I was just north of that area last week and saw a large number of lace monitors, Varanus varius, including this beast:
Image

...as well as half a dozen or so red-bellied blacksnakes, Pseudechis porphyriacus.
Image

Both of those individual animals were photographed within metres of the house at which I was staying, but I saw a lot more simply by wandering around.
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