Skip to main content

September Wildlife Report

Strong Sunshine and Warmer Nights


Though I spent the early part of this month in the Tropics, coming back home to beautiful Brisbane hasn't required too much adjustment weather-wise. September has seen us experience a string of days where the thermometer has reached 32C with ease - well above the 25C long-term average.

Such strong sunshine is good weather for butterflies. I saw my first Fiery Copper
(Paralucia pyrodiscus) at Samford Conservation Park, and there are plenty of Lemon Migrants (Catopsilia pomona) tumbling through the Northern suburbs right now. However, none of this compares to the sighting of a male Richmond Birdwing (Ornithoptera richmondia) along the Maroochy River.

Richmond Birdwing, North Arm; Photo by Greg Roberts

 Spotted by Greg Roberts and detailed further in his excellent blog 'Sunshine Coast Birds', the sighting is significant because this spectacular beauty is declared a threatened species. One of the largest butterflies in Australia, the Birdwing has suffered greatly from the clearing of lowland rainforest, as well as from the prevalence of an exotic vine called the Dutchman's Pipe (Aristolochia species). Irresponsibly promoted as an easy-to-grow garden plant, this vine has spread into the wild and closely resembles the native food plant (Pararistolochia species) that the Birdwing lays its eggs on. Evidently, the butterfly can't tell the difference between the two vines and the caterpillars die when they feed on the introduced variety.


Ornate Burrowing Frog, North Lakes; Photo by Alex Collins
Warmer nights have seen the local frogs become more active, with this Ornate Burrowing Frog (Platyplectrum ornatus) spotted in the wetlands at North Lakes Environmental Park. Though it resembles the introduced Cane Toad (Rhinella marinus), the frog can be distinguished by the dark mottling along its lips and the lack of mottling on its belly. The presence of this creature in such a fast-growing suburb is testament to the hard work that the 'Mango Hill and North Lakes Environment Group' do in the area. Anyone wishing to help them with their worthy projects or wanting to stay updated on Pine Rivers wildlife happenings should check out and 'like' their well-maintained Facebook page, linked above.

Many different animals are currently undergoing breeding activity, and this can make September a time of great conflict. At a bus stop alongside a busy inner-city road, I recently watched a pair of large Eastern Water Skinks (Eulamprus quoyii) wrestle over a territorial dispute, completely oblivious to the peak-hour traffic and my close observation. More at peace was this related Martin's Skink (Eulamprus martini), playing hide and seek in Samford Conservation Park.

Martin's Skink, Ferny Hills


White-crowned Snake, Karawatha; Photo by Jon Pickvance
Such wariness serves these smaller creatures well when there are predators like this White-crowned Snake (Cacophis harriettae) around. Spotted by a local Wildlife Ecologist on a humid night in Karawatha Forest, this nocturnal reptile preys almost exclusively on skinks and their eggs. A size comparison against the gum leaves in the photo reveals how tiny this species is, but it has evolved a way of appearing larger. The white ring around the head is meant to resemble the mouth of a bigger snake, and this little guy strikes with that part of its body when confronted, rather than actually using its mouth. Nevertheless, it is still a venomous species and is deserving of your caution and respect.

All in all, it's been a great month for wildlife and I'm excited to see what October brings. Until then, enjoy Wild Brisbane!


Labels:

Comments

  1. Carole M.29 September 2013 at 21:48

    wonderful to see that beautiful butterfly Christian. I love the skink photo too but wouldn't have liked to be wandering the forest at night, especially to see the white-crowned snake out there

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Christian Perrin29 September 2013 at 21:55

      Thanks Carole, yes I will have to go out looking for that butterfly myself.

      Ever since my spotlighting adventure up North, I've really taken to nocturnal wildlife-spotting! Next month I am planning to write about the mammals of Samford Conservation Park - would love to spot a Glider, so we'll see.

      Delete
  2. Phil Slade30 September 2013 at 00:05

    That Richmond Birdwing looks an absolutely fabulous creature Christian. What a frightening story about its demise, like so many simila stories when man interferes with nature.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Christian Perrin30 September 2013 at 19:19

      The frustrating thing is that it could easily be reversed! The 'good' vine just needs to be planted by more councils really, and substituted in for the 'bad' vine in nurseries.

      Delete
  3. TexWisGirl30 September 2013 at 00:34

    (sorry about the cane toads!) love the skink shot! the birdwing is beautiful - sorry it is rare.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Christian Perrin30 September 2013 at 19:21

      Thanks! The skink was a very patient subject, just eyeing me from his little nook! :)

      Delete
  4. Em Parkinson3 October 2013 at 05:12

    I love that Skink head poking out of the hole - brilliant!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Suburb Guide: Lawnton

Fan-tailed cuckoos are most often seen on a low branch, keeping an eye-out for caterpillars below. Straddling the lush banks of the North Pine River, Lawnton is a suburb of Moreton Bay Regional Council steeped in history . Originally inhabited by the Turrbal people, the land would have been cloaked for many hundreds of thousands of years by a lowland rainforest ecosystem, featuring the hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) for which the river is named after. Unfortunately, the rich soils allowing the vegetation to thrive also made the place attractive to European settlers that wished to farm the land, leading to great conflict with the Indigenous inhabitants. This was eased temporarily by local pioneering figure Tom Petrie, who had lived with and forged a respectful relationship with the Turrbal people, including Dalaipi, leader of the North Pine tribe. By 1858, however, the Aboriginal people of the area were removed and sent to live in isolated reserves around South-east Queenslan
6 comments
Read more

Tadpoles of South-eastern Australia: A Guide With Keys

Book review Reed New Holland Publishing, 2002. It’s noon on a warm autumn day and I am driving south along Beaudesert Road towards the peripheral suburbs of Brisbane’s southside that remain largely a mystery to me. I have decided that not knowing the amphibian fauna inhabiting the suburb of Algester is a personal error that I simply must rectify. My favourite way to search for frogs is to go spotlighting on humid spring and summer nights, but I have left it a little late this year and doubt my chances at finding them now that the evenings have mercifully turned cooler. Instead, I am going to survey the local amphibian population in a way that is quite new to me, aided by a secret weapon sitting in the passenger seat next to me: Marion Anstis’s book, Tadpoles of South-eastern Australia: A Guide With Keys .
4 comments
Read more

Wild Plants of Ipswich

I've never really taken much notice of plants until recently, regarding them usually as just the thing that a bird perches on while you're watching it. This week I decided it was time to change that attitude by trying my hand at plant identification in Denmark Hill Conservation Park, located in the centre of Ipswich. The park is just 11.5 hectares in size, but preserves a patch of bushland that acts as an 'island refuge' in a sea of suburbia. I did my best to focus on the trees and not be too distracted by birds or the resident Koala   (Phascolarctos cinereus)  population, and came up with nine interesting trees and plants seen on the Water Tower Circuit.
12 comments
Read more