Wild BNE

Red-eyed tree frog, Springbrook. Last Sunday evening, I headed up into the Gold Coast hinterland to attend a frog-spotting walk organised by Ceris Ash of the Springbrook Wildlife Appreciation Group . Meeting at the Springbrook Community Hall at 7:15pm, I joined a lovely group of people led by Adam Maund, a local wildlife expert and talented photographer , who found a great selection of stunning frogs for us to admire.

From the Queensland/New South Wales border right up to Noosa, and out west to the Lockyer Valley, I had a great year exploring as much of South-east Queensland as I could manage! Some places stood above the rest, however, offering unique wildlife-viewing opportunities that I hope to take advantage of and share with you in 2017.

Land mullet, Springbrook. Last Friday, I spent the morning searching for reptiles at Springbrook National Park, with great success.

As a subtropical city, Brisbane has a rich and visible frog fauna, with forty-one native species (and one cursed toad) calling it home. Familiar to most people would be that friendly windowsill giant, the green treefrog (Litoria caerulea) , and anyone with a garden pond would also perhaps be acquainted with the striped marsh frog (Limnodynastes peronii) . Sharing our suburbs and green spaces, however, are a whole host of other fascinating amphibians that many South-east Queensland residents may never notice or know much about. It’s a fair assumption to make, for example, that Kippa-Ring locals wouldn’t ever suspect that on balmy spring nights, patches of nearby sandy soil suddenly erupt with ornate burrowing frogs (Platyplectrum ornatum) . Nor would dog-walkers along Bulimba Creek deduce that among the streambank rubble on which their puppy plays lives a little fellow called the stony-creek frog (Litoria wilcoxii) , who turns a bright lemon-yellow colour when he’s ready for some ...

Old wife (Enoplosus armatus) , Coolangatta. A surprisingly deep rock pool has formed at Snapper Rocks just in time for the school holidays, and is filled with a large variety of colourful fish.

I spent 2015 exploring every intriguing corner of South-east Queensland, from the NSW border, right up to the Noosa hinterland and west of the coastal ranges too. So imagine my surprise and hometown pride when some of the top-ranking natural places turned out to be just a short drive away through Brisbane's suburbs! I can't wait to get to know these wildlife hotspots better in 2016— maybe you'd like to join me? 1. Tamborine National Park (MacDonald Section), Eagle Heights. Piccabeen palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana)  groves are particularly stunning to walk through at Mount Tamborine. Tamborine Mountain has long been the getaway of choice for many South-east Queenslanders, and yet for some reason, I've always overlooked it as a wildlife destination. My mistake, because an early morning stroll along the 1.4km rainforest circuit track in the MacDonald section is like wandering through a wildlife metropolis, full of local specialties like the land mullet (Egerni...

Goodbye Sweltering Summer, Hello Wildlife! Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus), Bribie Island I think April might be my favourite month for wildlife watching. It was particularly productive last year  and I've met with similar success just now. I think as animals and birds come out of their spring and summer breeding seasons, their numbers are temporarily boosted and they relax and wander more, leading to increased viewing opportunities.

A Closer Look at a Gold Coast Predator. To live on Queensland's Gold Coast is to live in a place obsessed with fitness. On any given day of the year, at any time of day, the beaches, parks and public spaces are packed with people undertaking their chosen fitness pursuits: running, swimming, surfing, weight-lifting, kayaking, power-walking and more. At 84 years of age, even Gold Coast resident Bob Purcell made sure to live a healthy lifestyle. Previously a champion lawn-bowler in the Commonwealth Games, Bob had always led an active life and had for many years enjoyed a regular morning swim in Burleigh Lake. Connected to the sea by a network of canals, this estuarine lake is sheltered from the pounding surf of the nearby beach, and perhaps this is why it was his Bob's favoured swimming location. Or perhaps it was the convenience: the highly regarded retiree lived in one of the houses surrounding the lake, in the affluent suburb of Burleigh Waters. Regardless of the reason, whe...

The Blue Swarms of Summer Above: Blue Blubber swarm off Surfers Paradise. Photo by Grahame Long. Below: Blue Tiger, Ferny Hills. South-east Queensland has had a wet, warm and humid start to 2015, receiving twice the average amount of monthly rainfall for this time of year. A well-nourished landscape is currently allowing our wildlife to flourish; a casual walk in a National Park, suburban reserve or even your own garden will reveal huge numbers of insects, birds, reptiles and frogs.

Signs of Spring Slender Hovea (Hovea lorata) , Bellbowrie Though it may be introducing itself to us gently this year, spring has definitely arrived in Brisbane! Temperatures have been slightly cooler than average, but decent rains from some robust storms have allowed the landscape to enter the new season with vigour. 

Yellow Bittern Hysteria! Australian Little Bittern, North Lakes Earlier this month, a report went up on the  'Eremaea'  website: a Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) had been sighted at North Lakes. For those not yet initiated into the world of vagrant bird sightings, this is the feathered equivalent of a wild mongoose or monkey suddenly appearing in Brisbane of its own accord. Considered the first ever verified sighting of a live Yellow Bittern on the Australian mainland, this species usually has a home range across Asia, extending as far south as Indonesia. Little did we know, this little bird was set to tear the bird-watching community apart!

I'll let you in on a secret - up until October of this year, I couldn't actually drive a car. As a result, most of the locations featured in this blog and on the Facebook page are public-transport accessible, though next year will see more out-of-the-way places making an appearance! This blog has given my outdoor jaunts such a welcome sense of purpose this year - thank you so much to anyone who has read and enjoyed my writings. 1. Lake Samsonvale, Joyner. Outstanding for its natural beauty alone, Lake Samsonvale is a great place to visit at any time of the year. Bullocky's Rest is a popular location for family picnics and

Reedy Creek Lagoon, Varsity Lakes I like my coastlines wild and rugged, so the Gold Coast isn't always my first choice for a day at the beach. The stretch of shore between Surfers Paradise and Coolangatta has been extensively urbanised, with high-rise holiday units established right up to the frontal dunes. It is a fast-growing area with many new suburbs popping up each year, the most recent example being Varsity Lakes. Originally, my intention was to survey this location as a brief stop-off on the way to the beach, but I was so impressed at the quality of natural habitat that had been retained in the area that I ended up foregoing the swim.