Garden Guests

Giant Centipede

2012-02-14T07:22:00.001+10:00

There are predators, and then there are PREDATORS. This Giant Centipede is of the caps lock variety. In fact, it's the one little animal I check my boots for, every morning. It never really occurred to me to also check my pool ... but that's where this unfortunate fellow was ... gently swaying on the bottom and sadly, quite dead, but a little startling to say the least.

Anyway, It seemed too good an opportunity to miss, so after fishing him out, I took some snaps to share with you.

Ethmostigmus rubripes

Showing scale

These mighty little warriors pack quite the punch - with people reporting extreme pain lasting for days as a result of the centipedes bite.

This one, while large is certainly not the largest I have come across and they can reach lengths in Au of over 160mm in length. Interestingly all of the specimens I have seen, inc one in N.W QLD all have blue legs ... while most of the descriptions I have read regarding them state that the legs will be yellow/orange.

Maybe a sub-species? ...

Still, an extremely interesting find eh? ... now, where are my boots ....?

Psychics at Australia Zoo

2012-02-10T21:33:00.001+10:00

It's a sad state of affairs when Australia Zoo invites a Psychic to raise money. In fact, it's a travesty. Australia Zoo is an icon and should be lauded for it's proud traditions and history of conservation ... instead, it's become a circus - at least too me.

And that makes me a bit sad - which in turn makes me a bit angry. I have, and always have had, a deep and private respect for Bob Irwin Snr and his son, Steve.

I've always liked the idea that they went out and just DID. Before you needed a form, a degree or licence/permit. They rescued the animals that everyone else simply wanted dead. They went out and collected, studied and discovered the animals that today make the 'nature' networks millions. They deserve respect - instead they get 'psychic-mediums' ... At the very least Irwin deserves a psychic-large eh?.

My hero's have always been cowboys ... so say's the song. But in truth, my hero's have always been a little behind the times: Gerald Durrell, Steve Irwin, Dian Fossey - people who had gone out and actually put themselves on the line because they could see the reality of complacency.

They knew that people only care about 'wildlife' when it's destruction impacts those same people directly.

They were visionaries in a sense, but they got/get slated. Durrell is now a poster boy for racism and bigotry, Irwin has been labelled a reckless clown by his compatriots and Fossey was obviously a dyke who strayed too far from the kitchen.

Ridiculous.

Irwin reinforced something that by torchlight, under the covers as a child, Durrell had instilled in me. A passion for wildlife and a desire to understand more. If only my teachers had had such an impact.

I can relate to those people. I go out, I see, get wet/dirty stung and bitten - not for glory or publishing rights - it's the love of it - it's the interest. People like Dian helped me leave a sure thing [in financial terms], to move and live in a place where things are far less certain ...

I wish I could be on a trek with my heroes - instead, I take my own walks [and bruises], I'm just lucky to have what they left behind.

In this soft-serve, 'caution this sign has sharp edges world' - it seems to me that people are becoming negligent of their own safety because they have abdicated that responsibility to the 'state', or the property owner, or their employer ... ergo, they have someone else to blame, it's insanity.

If you swim in tidal creeks here in FNQ, I don't need a psychic to tell you that you're at serious risk of being eaten. And whose fault would that be?.

The governments? ... mine? ... tourism Australia?

Nope, it'd be yours.

Would you drink a 24 pack of middy's and go to sleep on the plains of the Serengeti? No, course not - why do it here?.

Crocs, snakes, Bats and all the other amazing animals WE choose to share our environment with deserve our protection, care and respect.

I for one, am sick of the whining, the politicalisation and media hysteria surrounding them.

So I have some solutions:

Horses are no longer to be kept in areas where the transmission of the lyssavirus is possible
At all beaches and water ways in the top end a waiver must be signed by those wishing to undertake any and all water-sport activity - indemnifying all others in the result of injury or death.
Tickets to Ireland, New Zealand and/or Newcastle, will be provided free for those Australian residents wishing to leave

So there you go - a bit of a rant, but one I stand by.

Oh, and if you really want to hear from Steve Irwin, simply support and encourage your own children in their interest in wildlife ... [even if it scares you just a bit] ... you'll have heard from him loud and clear ...

P.S - John ...John Edwards? can you hear me John? ... I know a lot of hurt and desperate people who would be willing to pay you good money to stand in my lounge and guess their names ...

Now is that a small intimate group at *$300.00 or is it the Friends Intimate Events at $500.00 ... come to think of it John, I don't know that many gullible people - so let's go with the Private Reading Group at *$600.00 and of course, it's understood that *prices are subject to change and also *prices are in U.S dollars

You just let me know eh John? - or leave a message with one of my dead relatives ...

Sigh...

Australia Zoo - wildlife research and palm readings ... neat eh?.

Those Beautiful Frogs

2012-02-10T07:00:00.000+10:00

I'm a firm believer in the idea that if you don't like frogs - there is something fundamentally wrong with you - not liking frogs is akin to not liking beer, or sunshine - in fact, if you don't like frogs you may very well have a serious illness and should seek assistance [if you don't like beer, I'm afraid you're beyond help ...]

Anyhoo - here's a few pics that perfectly illustrate my point:

The two at the top are of an Orange thighed Treefrog [Litoria xanthomera] - while the big handsome chap is a 'Common' Green Treefrog [Litoria caerulea] both species are regular visitors to our garden and we feel damned lucky to have them around.

Remember: Frogs are friends, not food! - you hear that you French B#$%%#$@#ds!

Ahem ... anyway, enjoy the pics... :)

Microbats

2012-01-25T16:33:00.000+10:00

Less of a Garden Guest and more of a home invader, this little Eastern Long Eared Microbat was waiting for us when we came in from a chat over the fence ... he was dancing around under our ceiling fans which lead to a rapid - if slightly ungainly, [ for I have the grace and athleticism of a Cane Toad climbing a wet PVC pipe..], scramble to switch the fans off and stop them spinning before the bat was injured or killed.

This done it was then simply a question of waiting for him to find his way out. No doubt sensing our complacency, he promptly decided to do the exact opposite and fluttered into the spare room. After first testing the blinds for their roost suitability he finally deposited himself on the vent of the air conditioner and with a blaeful stare and a little nose twitching, let it be known that he was less than impressed with his new lodgings. He settled down however, presumably waiting for things to improve.

Eastern Long-eared Bat [Nyctophilus bifax]

Thus a game of Bat and mouse ensued. You would think that removing one tiny bat from a room would be a simple matter - and so it was, all I needed to do was grab the camera and attempt to take some decent shots - as any one who has ever tried to photograph an animal knows, they have an uncanny ability to move just as the shutter is depressed ... bats, I have found, are no exception.

He was off - out the bedroom, straight past the open door leading to the outside and with gleeful abandon and a little cheeky chirp the bat did a graceful banking right turn straight into my office. While I was bringing up the rear, cursing my camera and asking when the door I had just ricochet off had been installed... the little fellow had decided my motorcycle jacket made an excellent helipad and was busy sidling into its folds.

Obviously something had to be done. I didn't want to try and grab it - not so much out of fear of being bitten, but rather my concern was that I might injure the bat, they seem so delicate and my experience with them is limited to say the least ...

I glanced round - and spied my snake bag - too heavy and unwieldy in that situation ... then eureka!

Butterfly net!

If you're interested in the little things that share your world you no doubt own a butterfly net. Moreover, you will have used it for everything from tadpoles to dragonflies - the term 'butterfly net', while expedient - is, in my opinion, a grievous short selling of what must be one of the most valuable tools in any naturalists arsenal.

So armed I began what turned into a lesson in Bat aerobatics. I couldn't believe how lithe and manoeuvrable he was - eventually though and perhaps through sheer luck I managed to sweep him up and bring him down on some cushions. Gently I de-tangled him and checked him over for any damage - he was, to my relief absolutely unhurt - if somewhat indignant and made a great show of baring his needle sharp teeth throughout the whole process.

His brown/reddish fur was soft and looked slightly unkempt, as if he'd hurried from a shower on the way to work carelessly throwing hair gel in all directions. His dark little eyes glittered with rage at being handled and his membranous wings had the consistency of the finest kid leather - this little mammal absolutely blew my mind ... sadly though but before it became even more stressed I hurried him out the door, Jo grabbed a pic and he was released - no doubt a little put out, but with no harm done.

Eastern Long-eared Bat

The Eastern Long-eared Bat is relatively common and isn't normally listed as endangered, it is though predated by bloody cats, so if you have a cat - keep it inside or sell it for something more useful - say a chocolate tea pot?

These bats are found throughout N.Qld and N.G and only weigh between 7-13 g. They are however important in that they probably eat many times their own body weight in insects every few nights.

Sadly, and thanks largely to the media, Bats get a fairly bad rap in Qld so it should be noted here that microbats pose absolutely no credible threat to the health of humans or their livestock - in-fact, it's the other way round - so if you happen to see a large moth slip by you on the deck some warm summer evening, take a closer look and you may just find you're lucky enough to be sharing space with some other truly remarkable creatures.

And finally, here's some neat little factoids you may not know:

Bat young are called 'pups'
Bats always turn left when exiting a cave [I don't know how anyone knows this - but hey..]
Bats have been around for over 35 million years
Bats are more closely related to humans and other primates than they are to rodents
Bats are very clean animals, and groom themselves almost constantly [when not eating or sleeping] to keep their fur soft and clean

To find out more - go to the Bat Facts page

Bats - simply brilliant eh?

Juv Bar Lipped Skink

2012-01-07T17:15:00.001+10:00

This little chap had a very narrow escape the other night when I found him running for his life across the porch - hotly pursued by a grim faced and indefatigable Cane Toad [who is now sharing some real-estate with a bag of frozen peas ...].

This little fellow is new to us here, and I had no idea they were guests in our garden until the other night.

And he was TINY!, certainly no longer than 25-30mm T.L, so I wonder where his mum is eh?

Glaphyromorphus nigricaudis

Anyway, after placing him back outside in the morning [in a lovely damp and well secluded spot], we hope that the little guy grows to maturity and we'll see him again ...

A fortunate find ... for all concerned.

Giant Praying Mantis

2012-01-04T19:58:00.004+10:00

This beautiful and quite large Mantis blundered into our garden this afternoon, and truly these are some of the coolest insects I know of, so I was mighty pleased she did.

Highly evolved with an impressive array of weaponry, they make fearsome hunters and will tackle prey quite a lot larger than themselves, inc reptiles and frogs.

I suppose one of the more commonly known aspects of Mantis behaviour is the disquieting habit of the females who often attempt to bite off the head of the male during copulation ... gives a whole new meaning to going out on a dinner date eh?

Still romance, or the lack-thereof are just one small part of these insects amazing behaviours and the casual observer can be rewarded with just a little patience watching these Lions of the flower pots do their thing.

Anyway, enough of my prattling - here's some pics:

[for Firefox users middle click the mouse, for Google Chrome users, right click/open link in a new window, for IE users ... get a better browser...]

The last thing many small animals ever see

Close-up of the modified forelimbs used for grasping prey

And for something just a little different I found this amazing doco on the Mantis. Complete with footage of them catching and consuming snakes and even birds!

[be warned, for some people the footage may be a touch graphic, do try to keep in mind that this is simply the natural world and it is some extraordinary footage ...]

Enjoy.

Donovan's Tiger Moth

2012-01-03T14:26:00.000+10:00

One of the truly amazing things about the tropics is that there seems to be an almost endless supply of new forms and colours in what, to some, may seem otherwise unremarkable creatures.

I think Gerald Durrell summed it up best in his book 'Catch me a Colobus':

"The tropics have been designed like a flamboyant Hollywood epic to make you realise how tiny and insignificant you really are, and how complex and beautiful the world is that you live in"

To illustrate his point. Here's a pic of a moth that Jo took:

Aloa marginata

As always if I've got the identification wrong don't hesitate in letting me know.

Regardless, I think it's a beautiful animal and a brilliant photo. Moreover, I often wonder do people ever really pause long enough and admire these little creatures to fully comprehend their importance and fragility?.

Ah well, I won't preach [I much prefer to rant and rave].

So, if you're in your garden, take a good look around - you might just be amazed at what's sitting, flying, crawling, hopping, gliding, sliding or digging right on your door step.

It sure as hell beats watching the Tele eh?.

Olympus Tough TG-810 Review

2011-12-29T18:55:00.005+10:00

Inevitably when taking pics of animals [or anything else], the question of camera choice rears it's head. What type, what settings, how much too spend etc, ect ...

And sadly, I am no expert. BUT! I do like recording images of the animals I find and sharing the results [both the good, and the less than good with you].

So what do I use?

Well, up until recently I simply used a small, light, compact digi - the Olympus fe. And believe me, it did the job - for about a year. After which it was finally killed by some sand blown into the lens cover on a beach in Seisia while I was fishing.

The Fe is now sold for about $120.00 + the cost of a memory card. It's a good deal, and if you're not rough with it, it'll probably serve you well. Many of the pics on this blog were taken with that camera.

Now though I have it's bigger, more robust brother.

It's still a compact digi, not a digital SLR like Jo's uber flash and completely daunting camera - I tried to use Jo's camera once - turns out you need a masters from MIT to take the lens cap off ... so I carefully returned it to it's beautiful soft-touch, red trimmed carry bag and haven't gone near it since ...

The olympus tough 810 is one of the 'new' generation cameras geared towards the outdoorsy set. It's water-proof, freeze proof, crush proof and can withstand a fall of 2.0 metres ... which I hope I never have to verify by falling with it - the camera might be all right, but I'd be a bit buggered.

It's also 3D capable [no, I don't know why either], it can record high def film and has a list of settings that can even recognise your dogs/cats face [again, no idea why - but what the hell, maybe Olympus is concerned you wont recognise your own pet through the throng of cats and dogs that hang at your place...?].

Anyway, the very first thing I noticed was it's weight. Compared to your average compact digi - it's a behemoth ... but this serves to make the camera feel it is what it's supposed to be, as rugged and dependable as Bear Gryls jock strap.

And so far, all the claims of being able to withstand nothing short of a tank attack seem to be true. However, there are a couple of flaws that should be addressed.

The battery life is appalling. Even with the GPS off, the camera happily chews and snorts it's way through a full charge with alarming speed. Therefore you are continually having to decide whether 'that' shot should be taken, or will you wait in the hope of a better opportunity presenting itself?.

The buttons are incredibly small and fiddly - frustration is taken to new levels when using the 'joy' stick to navigate ... believe me, there is no joy to be had there.

And the lens position just happens to correspond to where the digits of my left hand like to hang [on many other compact digi camera's this would be where the flash is located].

It's made in China ... of course.

So those are my dislikes.

Now for some positives. It comes with 2GB of internal memory [which of course you can't use up because the battery will die first]. Errr, back to the positives.

It has a plethora of settings that can be changed intuitively if you've ever set up a digi cam before and it comes with a CD [not a painful PDF download], if you'd like to learn more about what the camera can do.

The huge three inch screen is clear and high def, so it's easy to see what it is you're shooting and the results thereafter.

I personally like the macro modes. With the finest/closest setting, rather than using the flash, the light shines like a torch and allows both you and the camera to view the object/animal before snapping the pic.

If you're looking to use it to take close up pics of animals [insects, small frogs etc], I would recommend cycling through the options and turning the AF [automatic focus] to 'spot'. Also ensure you use one of the 'macro' modes as well as turning the image stabilisation on ... especially if you've indulged over Xmas.

The settings even allow you with one or two - slightly fiddly clicks to take pictures underwater of varying scope - close ups on fish, landscape, action etc etc and panoramas are just as easy to achieve above ground.

It also has one touch recording for film with sound, it's easy and quick - so you too can sell that horrific traffic accident or night-club beating to channel nine ... which is nice.

For me this camera isn't perfect. It is though, solid and allows me to take it to the places I go - to click what I like without the fear of destroying it. The picture quality seems adequate - but so far, I'm not overly impressed and I am going to give it a bit of a work out tonight to see what can be seen with it.

At the end of the day - camera choice is surely dependant on need, budget and ability. As I have plenty of the first, and very little of the second or third the Olympus 810 is the camera I have chosen - let's hope we become friends eh?

I'll keep ya posted.

Test Shot - external light source/macro

Click to enlarge images:

Smacro natural light

To give you some idea of scale - the Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog [bottom] is around 25 - 30mm S.V length. All in all - the camera is growing on me and with an extra battery it may well prove to have been a good investment ...

Time will tell.

Not Asian Honey Bees

2011-12-29T16:08:00.001+10:00

The other night over a beer the neighbour was regaling us with tales of bee swarms - unsure as to whether these were Asian Honey Bees [who harbour dangerous mites that are detrimental to the European Honey Bees and therefore industry], he called the good people at bio-security.

They came and did a sweep of the area, unfortunately the bees had moved on - and no one was the wiser as to their species.

All that changed this morning. Out looking at the little frogs who are clamouring to attract mates I couldn't help noticing the persistent buzzing in the mock orange that is currently flowering.

Sure enough, it was bees - honey bees, and lots of 'em. But of what type, I couldn't be sure [the Australian honey bee doesn't look like the N.Z honey bee I had grown up with - at least too me]. So, erring on the side of caution, I rang bio-security and got the ever helpful Lisa, who suggested I take a pic and send it through:

This I did and happily I was assured that the bees in question were indeed European and therefore a real boon to the garden.

Lisa also gave a really helpful and succinct guide to identifying the problem bees:

You are definitely looking at our regular European Honeybee. See how the stripes on their abdomen get blacker toward the tip? In the Asian bee the stripes are much more sharply defined, narrower, and yellow/black right to the tip. Asian bees are also blacker in the thorax and not as hairy as the Euro bee. Asian bees are about 10mm long, Euros about 15mm, however some colonies of European bees can be smaller in size than usual. It can be tricky to tell the difference.

Interestingly, the photo's I took, do indeed make them look like regular honey bees, but strangely, to my naked eye the abdomen looked much, much darker than the picture shows ... perhaps it's time for that eye test?.

Anyway, the best part is that bees in my area have an extremely tough time of it due to the amount of pesticides sprayed on the surrounding cane farms, so to have them knocking about is - at least to me, a real positive.

So, a huge thanks to Lisa for her interest and amazingly fast response.

If you have any queries or concerns about Asian Honey Bees [or any other potentially invasive species of animal or plant], don't hesitate to call bio-security on 13 25 23

P.S ... they assure me it's rare that bio-security turn up in yellow hazard suits and quarantine whole communities in plastic tents, so don't let the scary Govt name put you off eh?

Wildlife of the Iron Range

2011-08-13T16:41:00.001+10:00

The Iron Range of North QLD is home to a plethora of unique and interesting animals. Recently I had the opportunity to be stomping around there and found the time to snap a few pics of just some the critters that call it home.

Rock Scorpion the ciggie filter indicates scale


Larger specimen

Interestingly these scorpions were docile and reluctant to use their 'sting'. Virtually harmless to people and rather reclusive, they are seldom seen except by those who go out of their way to catch a glimpse of them.

Australian Tarantula

I came across quite a number of these guys and each seemed to have its own 'personality'. Some were extremely aggressive when disturbed, others positively laid back. There is a huge demand in the pet trade for these animals however, taking them from the wild is illegal ... so you know - don't.

Blue Tongued Skink

An icon of Australia - the Blue Tongue is a favourite for many herpers and this fellow was certainly the largest I have ever come across, he's obviously been doing well and wasn't shy about letting his displeasure at being photographed known. Great fun.

Burtons Legless Lizard

I'm a huge fan of these little guys. They're sometimes confused with snakes - however they are most definitely lizards and have a unique hinge on the top jaw that allows them to grasp and constrict their prey, which consists primarily of other lizards.


Slatey Grey

There's a snake in there somewhere

It's only recently been discovered that Slatey Grey's are in fact venomous - however, the venom is mild and has little to no effect on humans ... so ya can safely put the broom down and enjoy them. This guy seemed far more interested in hiding than on any attempt at envenomation ...

Nactus eboracensis

I found this little chap sharing a hiding place within centimetres of a Tarantula - ah the things nightmares are made of eh?.

Palm Cockatoo

One of the worlds largest flying parrots - and a huge draw card for 'twitchers' the world over who come to the range specifically to see them.

Large [10-11cm] and strikingly patterned Mantid

Green Tree Python

No discussion of the Iron Range would be complete without including the Green Tree Python. This extraordinarily beautiful animal is only found in small pockets of the I.R and PNG, evidence of a land bridge that once linked the two countries. They are coveted by herpers the world over and prices for captive breed specimens can range into the thousands - it should go without saying that they are protected, but I'll say it anyway.

Of course the Iron Range is slowly becoming more and more of an attraction to visitors and the roads and infrastructure are being overhauled at pace. Personally, I'm not a fan and soon it'll be just another footnote in lonely planet. But until then it's worth a look if you have the chance - you may want to skip the 'community' of Lockhart River however, unless packs of starving, mange ridden dogs and emaciated horses are your cup of tea. Or you desperately need fuel $1.82 per litre or an energy drink nearly $6.00 for a 250ml can ...

Lockhart is also a 'dry' community - although it seems some plants are doing well in spite of the drought ...

I'm pretty sure it's not native

lol, ya just never know what you'll find in the bush - anyway, like I said - it IS an amazing place with spectacular animals and scenery. Just remember the human element and enjoy ...

Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis) AKA Nighttiger

2011-07-02T20:53:00.002+10:00

Jo posted a pic she took of our resident Night Tiger hunting, but when looking through the hard drive I found a few pics that I'd taken as well and as they show quite a behavioural aspect - I thought I'd add them to the mix. Click on the pics to enlarge ...

The 'Night-Tiger' is a rear fanged colubrid - and whilst venomous, is for the most part regarded as 'harmless' to people. The bite from large adults may require treatment however and I have found these snakes to be extremely self - protective. Also a bite from any venomous snake should be treated with caution, esp in young people or those with pre-existing medical conditions...

So again, treat all snakes with respect and caution - but remember, they're not hunting you.

Night Tigers have become a pest species on some Pacific Islands, including Hawaii and especially Guam where they are a serious threat to native bird populations.

Interestingly, when I was in Cape York, this species of snake was the most common I found [with 16 in one night], and I tend to see them more often on or around the full moon.

Within a 100km radius of where we live this snake has some remarkable colour variations - and I have been lucky enough to see the 'Candy Kane' variety on occasion - thus, with a planned snake bothering expedition to their locale coming soon, I hope to be able to post some pics for you.

Spangled Drongo (Dicrurus bracteatus)

2011-06-22T17:56:00.005+10:00

Some new additions have been making their presence keenly felt in the garden these last couple of weeks, the aptly named Spangled Drongo. And for whatever reason I have become quite attached to them.

The bird pictured is a juvenile, as can be deduced by his brown [ahem ...] eye. Adults eyes are red, and very striking.

The name Drongo [according to the Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. pp. 223–224.] is a derivative from the indigenous language of Madagascar ... but what's even more fun, is that here - in good ol' Oz, it's also an insult ... 'what are ya doin' ya bloody Drongo!?'.

Spangled Drongo (Dicrurus bracteatus)

Anyway, these birds of whom we now regularly see both adults and young, are extremely acrobatic when hunting their insect prey. And are actually quite handsome - my pics, as always, don't do them justice - hopefully Jo will take some and then you'll see what I mean.

Resting Silhouette

They can apparently mimic all manner of sounds - but are not particularly tolerant of other bird species and will attempt to see off any winged interloper who can be reasonably bullied. Our resident 'willy wag tail' [coming soon] is having a hell of a time ...

But as I said, I like them. They have pluck, [no pun intended] and a cheeky intelligence that I find hard to resist.

Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)

2011-06-19T11:33:00.001+10:00

While I like this blog to be about the creatures we find in our own yard, I thought that I would include some pics and info on some of our larger reptilian neighbours also - as they really deserve a mention.

The Saltwater Croc is a controversial subject in North Australia, due to the fact that they're one of those rare animals who see people as prey. Having been around for over 250,000,000 years - to a Croc, we're just another type of monkey - and monkey's are food.

In the late 1960's the Salty had been all but wiped out by hunters and farmers until legislation was passed making it illegal to kill them in the wild. Now, the population has rebounded resulting in the unfortunate but inevitable clash between Humans and Crocodilians.

For my part, I strongly feel that Crocs are a valuable part of the ecosystem and if people choose to live in close proximity to them, common sense and a healthy dose of respect should be the order of the day. Of course, accidents will happen - but calling for the culling animals out of fear or for political gain is both short sighted and will not produce the desired result of making our water ways 'safe'.

Anyway, education is the key and if you're keen to see some Crocs up close and personal but don't want to be in the 'wild' with them, there are Crocodile parks such as Hartleys Crocodile Adventures that will give you the experience in complete comfort and safety.

For the slightly more adventurous there are a bunch of guided river cruises on the Daintree River [turn off to the river crossing and follow the signs] where you can see these animals along with snakes, birds etc in their own environment - which is always a thrill ...

Fortunately for me I get to go out on a boat and enjoy the sights on offer at my leisure - here's a couple of pics from our most recent trip:

Nicely camouflaged

Chillin in the Mangroves

I've added some wallpapers of these incredible reptiles in the side-bar - hope you enjoy them.

Common Tree Snake (Dendrelaphis punctulata)

2011-06-17T12:42:00.005+10:00

This was a bit of a treat, I found this guy patrolling one of the Elephant ear plants in the yard when I got home from work.

Common Tree Snake (Dendrelaphis punctulata)

Fast, alert and active these guys rate highly on my list of groovy snakes to be found in the garden. They are non-venomous and primarily eat frogs [if you look closely at the pic you can see lumps under the snakes skin as a result of parasites housed inside their amphibious prey].

They are also known as the Common 'Green' Tree Snake - however it has been suggested that due to colour variations within the species, this name is misleading. I agree with that sentiment as some of these guys are the most startling shade of BLUE! and I hope to get a pic of one of these as soon as I'm able.

Also, and sadly, many of these snakes are killed by those who erroneously refer to them as 'Yellow bellied black snakes' - such an animal doesn't exist ... but of course, ya just can't tell some people ...

It's been my experience that for the most part these snakes aren't particularly aggressive but will posture, inflate their throats and even mock strike if threatened. In saying that though, and as always, please, please, please - if you're not 100% sure of what kind of snake you're dealing with, leave it well alone.

Anyway, a nice inclusion to the blog and hopefully we'll see more of these in the garden.

Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus)

2011-06-16T17:04:00.003+10:00

Chameleons are without doubt my absolute favourite group of lizards. They're so incredibly improbable with oven mits for hands, a tongue as long as their body, eyes that swivel independently, a prehensile tail and of course - perhaps their most famous feature, the ability to change colour. But I didn't seriously expect to see one, least of all in England.

The story is that I met a chap who was the chef at the local pub we were staying at , in Southwold [The Kings Head]. Well, turns out he's a Herp fan and after chatting for a bit over a pint he casually mentioned that he breeds chameleons - the upshot being that he generously agreed to allow a couple of virtual strangers to trample through his house and admire his beautiful charges.

Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus)

The female [pictured] was quite the character and allowed herself to be handled and photographed like a star, the male however was a little more belligerent and had absolutely no desire to suffer such indignities, he did however deign to snatch maggots from his owners fingers with a lightening strike of his tongue.

Anyway, it was a huge buzz for me and playing with chameleon's is something I have always wanted to do, so big thanks to Aaron [sp?] for allowing us to do just that ...

Oh and if you're ever lucky enough to go to Southwold, stop in at the Kings Head - the foods hot, the beer is cold [if it's lagar mmmm, Kronenborg...], and the staff are warm and friendly.

A Hi from us to all the crew there.

European Adder (Vipera berus)

2011-06-16T10:28:00.004+10:00

Recently we were fortunate enough to be stomping around the U.K and of course we took the opportunity to seek out the local wildlife. During one expedition we came across this extremely handsome fellow near Southwold in Suffolk England.

The day was quite cold and the wind off the North sea was bracing to say the least so to come across a snake was something of a minor miracle, not least because on the whole reptiles are not very well represented in the U.K [three species of snake and around 3-4 species of lizard being the total amount].

In fact when we told people we were looking for snakes the most common response was that we were wasting our time. Indeed eh!?.

When we discovered the snake it was pressed to the side of a narrow walking track in the grass, no doubt seeking whatever warmth from the sun as could be had. Upon discovery, it became extremely pugnacious, flattened it's body, hissed and struck repeatedly - not a happy camper at all. However, I should add that this behaviour was no doubt a response to the fact that we had stopped and were obviously to close for the snakes comfort. I imagine had we simply walked by, the snake would have remained still and not made any attempt to defend itself.

As it was, after apparently deciding we weren't going to go away, the animal simply slipped into the long grass and almost magically disappeared.

To say we were stoked would be a grievous understatement and I still can't believe our good fortune.

Adder (Vipera berus)

The Adder is a true Viper, unlike Australia's 'Death Adder' which is actually an elapid [like the Taipan or Cobra]. It is also the United Kingdom's only native venomous snake - and a pretty damned cool one at that!.

All in all, an excellent day.

UPDATE:

A friend of ours, Aaron sent us an email recently which including this exert:

"I was out workin with my uncle a couple of weeks ago, straw bailing, and he got bit by an [English] adder! It was amazing how he just appeared from nowhere and struck my uncle in the stomach! Nothing serious just an ice pack to cure the bite, I did try and get a pic for you but he wasn't hanging around!"

Ya gotta love a guy that tries to photograph a snake that just bit a family member - brilliant!.

Cheers Aaron

Dinner Time

2011-02-24T09:33:00.000+10:00

This is something that you don't see every day. A Night Tiger helping himself to newly hatched Sun bird chicks from a nest in our garden. It was quite an amazing thing to watch, although devastating for mummy Sun bird. But hey, that's nature I guess!

Sitting...waiting....watching

2010-08-25T21:05:00.002+10:00

Brown Tree Snake [night tiger]

This gorgeous looking guy has taken up residence in our roof. On warm nights he cruises out onto the ledge above our car port and quietly waits for some food to come along. Obviously hungry tonight!

Froggie outings.

2010-01-24T15:55:00.003+10:00

The wet season brings out all types of frogs, and our garden on any given night has quite a collection. This is when I'm at my happiest, torch & camera in hand looking to see who's out and about. Here are a few examples of who is around at the moment.

This lovely fellow above is a young Green Tree Frog. He has been around for a while and I've spotted him on numerous occasions climbing out of his "home' ...the pool fence.

This is a Brown Striped Frog, more often than not I find him in our swimming pool in the morning and have to fish him out and send him on his merry way, before he gets sucked into the creepy crawly!

and this....is a female Stoney Creek Frog. She's out looking for suitable males to mate with, but unfortunately I've yet to see any in the garden this year. Normally, we have half a dozen or so hanging out by the pool waiting for her. (Maybe they're just running late this year..who knows?)

and the rain came down.....

2010-01-24T15:13:00.002+10:00

Finally it appears that our Wet Season has begun. A little later maybe than the last couple of years, but nevertheless it has arrived with it's usual gusto and threats of floods, storms and cyclones. Hurrah!

Actually the only excited ones are the frogs, who immediately turned out in their hundreds and thousands and began to call for mates.

These wonderful displays by the Northern Dwarf Tree frogs are coupled with loud choruses as they vie for the chance to couple with a female and as you can see below this fellow was rewarded for his efforts!

Northern Dwarf Treefrog

2010-01-10T18:22:00.002+10:00

Length 30mm. Slender, green or fawn with broad brown band running down back.

My favourite little tree frogs. Actually I say that about all the frogs I find, I really just love them all. But, these guys are so tiny that it makes them exceptionally cute!

So you've been seeing other frogs.....

2010-01-10T16:55:00.002+10:00

How about this? The male frog (on the right) does not look very amused at all does he? It appears he's lost his lady friend to another beau! Now that's just not cricket!!!!!

Orange Thighed TreeFrog

2010-01-10T16:49:00.001+10:00

These little frogs are common in the garden, but nevertheless I never tire from watching them, especially when it's raining and they sit in the shrubs and call. Together they can create quite loud choruses.

Length 60mm. Green with bright orange limbs & flanks, yellow belly & reddish eyes.

Green Whizzer Cicada

2010-01-10T16:37:00.003+10:00

Length 45-50mm. Head & thorax green with dark band across body at base of wings.

This beautiful specimen is a Cicada. I was amazed to finally find one in our garden, as you can generally hear them but seldom see them! These are the insects that make the high pitched buzzing noises, often in the heat of the day. Sometimes with the larger sizes the pitch is so high that it reaches the limits of pain that the human ear can tolerate. In fact, some Cicadas we can't hear at all because they are beyond our range of hearing. Quite amazing really.

Now, the other reason these insects fascinate me is because they spend most of their life cycle under ground in nymph form. Sometimes this can mean several years and there are even a certain species in the USA that spend up to 18 years under ground!!! Once they climb out of their home under the earth , then they only live a very short life, maybe a couple of weeks. Enough time to mate and some would say that's all that's required!

Pink Tongued Skink

2009-12-08T19:05:00.001+10:00

So there we were minding our own business watching something appropriately mind numbing on the idiot box, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted, what I at first in the gloom thought was an extremely large gecko clambering up the inside of the screen door - but no.

As I got a little closer I discovered this chap. A Pink Tongued Skink - who had, for reasons of his own decided that a good meal might be found atop our sliding door.

I was absolutely stoked! I had seen blue tongues down south, but never a pink tongue in the 'wild' - [hey, our place can get pretty wild, believe me...]

Anyway, after carefully plucking him from his precarious perch [with some hissing and half hearted snapping - just to add to the drama of it all], this extraordinarily beautiful little lizard settled down and begrudgingly accepted a grape, some honey covered [raw] mince and a gulp of water before he was released back into the garden in the morning.

I tell ya, this is one little guy that I sincerely hope makes our garden a regular stomping ground.

Beautiful Bugs

2009-11-30T16:04:00.000+10:00

For most people, I imagine the term beautiful bugs must sound like an oxymoron, but in this case it's spot on. I don't have the exact species i.d for these little guys, but at a guess I would place then in the shield bug category - of course I could be wrong.

Whatever their exact classification, I think they're brilliant and I am still constantly amazed at Gods extravagance in the garden.

Climbing the wall

2009-11-28T13:43:00.004+10:00

In this pic taken from the inside kitchen window of an Asian House Gecko hunting for insects on the glass you can clearly see the pads of it's feet that are made up of millions of tiny hair like structures.

These enable Geckos to gain purchase on surfaces that most other animals would find to smooth and slippery.

The Asian House Gecko is an introduced species to Australia and is common in and around buildings throughout QLD. They are easily recognisable by their loud 'chuck chuck chuck' calls and by the fact that they have a claw at the end of each toe.

While they may be introduced [and have probably contributed to the reduction in numbers of our native geckos through competition for food etc], they are still a bit of a laugh and they make a good alternative to bug sprays.

Carlia Longipipes:

2009-11-28T10:47:00.001+10:00

These little guys are really making their presence felt around the joint at the moment, with the males squabbling and charging around in full 'battledress' defending their turf and attempting to mate.

This one had managed to, quite literally, grab himself a female but was interrupted by another male and she escaped his amorous clutches.

In his frustration, he turned and bit his own hemi-peni!. A behaviour that I have never seen before and, one hopes, isn't the norm for the poor little buggers... doesn't bear thinking about really...

A snake in the freezer

2009-11-27T14:41:00.000+10:00

The neighbour called up the other night to ask if I would come and get a snake out of their house,seems this little keelback had decided to slip in through a tear in the screen door and make himself at home - not the best move as the neighbours really aren't all that keen on scaly visitors ...

Anyway, it all went well - the cheeky wee bugger had hidden himself inside the casing of a chest freezer so it was a matter of taking off the panelling and coaxing him out.

He was a little snappy [frightened], but once he was back outside and released he was no worse for wear and hopefully is gobbling up juvenile Cane Toads in good health.

All in all, a great night ~

In Their Garden

2009-11-26T18:04:00.001+10:00

It's always good to hear from like minded people and here is a blog from a chap and his family that deserves a bit of a mention:

BunyipCo is written by.. ah look, bugger it. Go and have a look, great pics, fascinating insights and a welcome addition to people I know who love the smaller, less 'lovable' critters out there:

Thanks for stopping by - Jo and I really appreciate it.

Basking

2009-11-08T17:02:00.001+10:00

A beautiful close up of one of our many friendly skinks we have in the garden. Paulie nicknamed them "flankers" because of the gorgeous red flanks the males exhibit during mating season. I could spend hours watching theses guys chasing each other round the shrubs and across our patio. They even run over your feet if you happen to be in the way! Not the shy retiring types at all!

Triller

2009-11-08T16:57:00.001+10:00

Well, I promised my dad more pics of birds on the site once I bought my new camera...and I try not to break my promises!

This handsome fella is a Varied Triller. What a wise looking bird he is! I've only ever seen him this one time in the garden and never since. Obviously he just popped in briefly to say hi!

As Happy As ...

2009-11-03T03:23:00.001+10:00

I love this pic - it looks staged I know, but hand on heart - that little fella made his own way to the watering can. Like most of the white lips we get around the place, this guy has some real personality and obviously isn't afraid of exploring new environments.

Have a look at this beautiful pic!. Jo also has this on her photography site - but I'm sure she won't mind having it here also. I love the detail and the fact that it's such an intimate peek into the life of a wild animal.

On almost any given day a careful sift through the garden will turn up at least one white lip dozing. I know, how lucky are we?.

Nesting

2009-11-01T17:24:00.002+10:00

This is a new visitor to our garden, the Brown Backed HoneyEater. A pair started scoping the joint a few weeks ago and now are busily building a nest right next to our pool.

They have caused quite a stir in the garden as they are clearly very territorial and have proceeded to bully and scare the Yellow Bellied Sun Birds away from their nest. Sadly, this has meant that although mummy sun bird did produce 2 babies, she has now abandoned the nest and the babies have perished. Mother nature can be a cruel lady at times.

Feeding Time

2009-11-01T17:13:00.001+10:00

Yes, it most definitely is that time of year! Spring is in the air and the garden is a flurry of activity. Nest building, mating, flirting, fighting...it's all happening and it's a pleasure to watch.

For the third year in a row, a family of Welcome Swallows have nested on our porch. This year mum was proud to bring four hungry little babies into the world! As you can see from the pics, she has her work cut out.

It's That Time Of Year

2009-10-31T10:38:00.005+10:00

As you can see from the pic that Jo took last night. The animals around the place are responding to the onset of the 'wet' with wanton abandon and an obvious desire to quell some imperious urges.

The temperatures are starting to rise and with them the humidity so it won't be long before Jo and I are happily bumbling around the joint taking pics and generally bothering the wildlife.

And hopefully this season we will have more scaly visitors to share with you and perhaps even one or two surprises [I have my heart set on finding some scorpions].

So come back again if you have the time and remember to leave a comment, we love to hear from you.

A word of thanks

2009-10-23T21:53:00.000+10:00

A big thanks to the guys at the Rainforest Habitat Port Douglas who helped us out when our local (and only) pet store up and buggered off leaving me with no (local) supplier of food for my snakes.

Not only did they come to the rescue, they refused payment (we made a small donation instead) and in general bent over backwards for us.

So thanks very much to the team but especially the lovely person on the front counter who got us all sorted - there are chocolates on the way.

..and just when you thought there was no good will left in the world eh?.

Lerista zonulata

2009-08-30T14:40:00.004+10:00

Identification: 45mm. Limbs small, four fingers & toes. Bronze body, 4 rows of black dots on back.

Skinks come in all shapes and sizes. Some large and slow, some lithe and swift. Some have well developed legs, others have no limbs at all. We consider ourselves very lucky to have come across this fellow on our patio, as although this particular type of skink is widespread they are very secretive and seldom seen.
The Lerista zonulata has very small limbs and as a result moved more like a snake than any lizard that I have seen before. It's scales are very smooth and shiny.

Common Green Tree Frog

2009-08-30T14:26:00.003+10:00

Identification: Length 100mm. Robust. Green to olive brown.

This gorgeous green tree frog was also a visitor last night. He gave himself away with a loud "thunk" as he launched himself from the trees onto our pool fence!

White Lips

2009-08-30T14:16:00.004+10:00

Identification: Length 140mm. Green with white stripe on lower jaw.

Last night the garden was alive with frog activity, a sure sign that the nights are getting warmer and that summer is on the way.

I spotted 3 white lip tree frogs amongst others, the one above exhibiting beautiful salmon pink colours on his arms and legs which are normally predominant in breeding season.

Silver Camel Spider

2009-08-22T14:25:00.004+10:00

Identification: Full size 20 cent piece, leg diameter. Long bright silver abdomen, light green legs & dark green head.

This small but gorgeous looking spider has set up residence in our garden this week alongside a St Andrews Cross spider. These little fellows are not known to be venomous as no bites have ever been recorded.

Sunbird Saga

2009-08-22T13:25:00.018+10:00

As promised, over the last 2 weeks I have been keenly following the building of the sun bird nest our on our porch. I have managed to photograph the progress of the nest build on a day to day basis and I for one am tired just from watching! I hope you enjoy the pics just as much as I have enjoyed observing the mummy sun bird effortlessly creating this masterpiece!

Day 2 - Setting the foundations.

Day 3 - Busy, busy!

Mummy sun bird spends the entire day, from sun up to dusk building her home. She is rarely away from the nest for 5 minutes at a time. Now that's a busy lady!

Days 5 & 6 - Things are starting to take shape.

Once the foundations are complete the sun bird then starts to create a dome shape nest. The entire nest from top to bottom at completion will be 30 - 50cm in length.

Day 7 - A woman's work is never done!

Day 8 - Nearly finished & starting to really look like home.

Day 9 & 10 - Just a few finishing touches..

The sun bird uses feathers and other soft material to line the nest. In this case mum uses hair from our dog that she finds in the garden!

Day 14 - Ahhh..Just perfect.

Everything is finished and mum settles in. Now the real work begins.

Wheres dad?

Now just in case you're wondering where pops has been throughout this busy schedule? Well, he has spent most of his time sitting on our exercise machine (just by the nest) admiring himself in our lounge window. Its a tough life hey?

Snake Bite First Aid

2009-08-18T17:50:00.000+10:00

Compression Bandage

Snake Bite Do's and Don'ts

The following information is intended for snake bites received throughout Australia but should not be used as a guide for all snake bites 'worldwide' as specific snake venoms have different actions upon the human body and in some cases compressing the bite site will lead to more extensive trauma.

Snake Bite: Do Not

Do not attempt to capture or kill the snake
Do not wash or clean the bite site
Do not give patient painkillers/alcohol/caffeine or cigarettes
Allow patient to move around
Leave patient unless it is necessary to do so in order to get help

Snake Bite: Do

Keep patient calm
Bandage bite site with a compression bandage enclosing the whole limb to the groin or armpit using the same pressure as for a sprain
Splint the limb
Take note of the time of the bite [record if possible]
Try and remove jewellery
Be prepared to administer CPR
Seek immediate medical attention

It's worth noting that not all bites result in envenomation. However, if you are unsure it always pays to err on the side of caution. Better to be a little embarrassed than a lot dead.

The emergency number to call in Australia is :000.

Melomy

2009-08-09T15:06:00.002+10:00

Identification: Body Length 114mm, tail length 160mm. Colour variable but usually brown. Tail nearly naked.

This little fellow is a native rat. Common in our area because of his love for sugarcane and as we have just discovered, quite an active little climber. This one has taken to spending his evenings hanging out in our BBQ! A really good job we discovered him before lighting it!!!!

Yellow-bellied Sunbird

2009-08-09T14:46:00.004+10:00

Identification: Length 10-12cm. Upper side olive-green, underside bright yellow. Iridescent dark blue throat (male).

All has been very quiet in the garden for the last two months. The winter chill settled over Far North Queensland (if there is such a thing in the tropics!) and all creatures great and small have been keeping themselves well and truly hidden.
That is, until about a week ago, when the nights started getting warmer again and we have started seeing signs of life. A white lip frog here and there, a snake looking for a mate, bandicoots scavenging for food and as of yesterday a pair of sun birds started building their nest on our porch.

I never tire of this spectacle, watching a female sun bird building her nest is quite something. The tireless collecting and weaving of material, the constant supervision (and occasional comment) from the male and the intricate design that goes into the nest itself is quite amazing.

So, this year I've decided to try and document the process from it's humble beginnings of a piece of string dangling from my porch, to the final splendour of the completed nest. The pic above is the first photo, 24 hours into the build...and that's mum!

Save Steves Place - have you signed?

2009-06-16T01:17:00.007+10:00

There's still time for people to get involved and help retain a small but important area of natural and ecological importance. Come on guys, get behind it. Check out this link to learn more.

Your support counts and it's as easy as one two three - actually, no three, just one two - easy. So add your name to the petition. Give the wee guys in the bush a break surely we've done about as much damage to the environment as we need to? Do we really need another mine? Really?

And hey, by signing this your good deed for the day is done and you can relax - enjoy a cold one and feel good about yourself for a bit - nice huh? Oh go on ... you know you want too...

At the time of writing they have 184312 signatures which is just bloody brilliant - good work. But more would be better, so go on - nip on over and sign it.

don't make us beg...we will, but we'd prefer not to....

Oh and all credit to Jo Jo for the great pics and posts - really nice, I think it looks great.

Forest Kingfisher

2009-06-10T18:11:00.002+10:00

Identification: Length 18-23cm. Head dark blue, turquoise back, underside white

These beauties are very regular visitors to our garden. They come and bathe in our pool and hunt for food from our pool fence. Some days there have been as many as 4 sitting in a row and I always feel honoured to see them. I love kingfishers, always have and Far North Queensland is home to two of the most beautiful kinds: the Forest and the Buff Breasted Paradise Kingfisher.

Unfortunately there is a sad tale to go with this particular photo. I found this fellow yesterday taking shelter on one of our garden chairs and immediately realised that he must be sick as he let me approach him. After closer inspection he had no obvious signs of damage (his wings were OK and he had no puncture wounds) so on the advice of a wildlife carer I took him in to keep an eye on him.
I think maybe he had flown into one of our windows and suffered internal injuries, but whatever the story may have been; unfortunately he only survived for another hour.

Mating Geckos

2009-06-08T10:33:00.003+10:00

Identification: Probably Asian House Geckos. Length 60mm. Fawn to Grey with dark mottling. Small spines along edges of tail.

Geckos are a source of much entertainment on our porch at night. With their constant "cluck, clucking" noises and the scrabbling of their claws as they dash across the roof to catch moths, we spend hours watching them.
Often we also see them mating. These two above were observed the other night in the midst of their amorous clutches.

Common Green Tree Frog (2)

2009-06-08T10:23:00.003+10:00

Identification: 11cm. Robust. Green to brown or olive. Large glands behind head.

I mentioned in an earlier post that we have a new resident in our garden. This is him (above); a baby green tree frog. He seems to favour the telecom box as a good hidey hole and pops out for a good look around on most nights.

In contrast to the cute baby, this fellow above is an adult Green Tree Frog. Extremely robust and incredibly handsome! This pic was taken on our pool fence the other night, but we were thrilled to also find him sitting on one of the chairs at our outside table too. Obviously quite at ease in the company of humans!

Keelback (2)

2009-06-01T19:53:00.003+10:00

Identification: Moderately large eyes with round pupils, strongly keeled. Typically grey to brown or olive.

A very exciting day around the garden today! This was the third (yes third!) keelback that I spotted in our yard today. The first two (both juveniles) I spotted during the day, out enjoying the sunshine and cruising through the shrubs. I spent a while observing one of them but unfortunately he was to fast for me to capture on film. I was disappointed, but thoroughly enjoyed watching him nevertheless.

Then this evening I popped out to see if our new resident (baby green tree frog) had made an appearance and there was this little fellow hanging out by the pool fence. Admittedly he is probably one of the ones I saw earlier in the day..but I'm sticking to my count of three and at least this one was kind enough to sit still long enough for me to photograph him!

Eastern Dwarf Treefrog

2009-05-31T14:54:00.002+10:00

Identification: Length 25mm. Green or brown. White stripe from jaw to forearm, bronze stripe from nostril to eye.

Now how cute is he? This tiny fellow kindly posed for me the other night whilst hanging out in our shrubs. Unfortunately he forgot to wipe the cobweb off his nose first..ah well!
We see a lot of these dwarf tree frogs in our garden and even though the nights are quite a bit colder at the moment, these frogs are still out and about.

Ornate Burrowing Frog

2009-05-31T14:31:00.004+10:00

Identification: Length 45mm. Rotund, blunt nose and short legs. Variety of colours.

Burrowing frogs, as their name suggest burrow into the ground to sleep. The ornate burrowing frog, seen here is one of the few frogs that actually burrows backwards. I found both these handsome fellows in the garden at night foraging, this is the most common time to find them. These two are quite similar in appearance but the colours and markings on ornate burrowing frogs do differ quite a lot.

Vegetable Grasshopper

2009-05-07T21:56:00.004+10:00

Identification: Length 20 - 40mm. Green with pink hind wings and abdomen.

We have lots of these little grasshoppers all over our garden. You can generally find them in the grass or hopping around on low shrubs. These little critters cannot fly very well and are quite slow movers, so rely on their green colour to camouflage them from predators.

Stoney Creek Frog - Part 2

2009-05-07T21:37:00.007+10:00

Identification: Adults - Male 45mm, female to 65mm. Light grey to brown, back of thigh yellow & black.

This is the first of our Stoney Creek tadpoles to emerge as a frog this year. Every summer we are lucky enough to have these frogs breed in our garden.

Unfortunately for the spawn it is normally laid in our swimming pool which is not good news. So we rescue it and raise the tadpoles in containers. This in itself is a lot of fun. We feed them on lightly boiled lettuce and watch the tadpoles grow and eventually metamorphose into frogs.

This little chap took just over 3 months to complete the full transition and we still have approximately another 100 to go! Obviously once they are frogs, we release them back into the wild.

Stick Insect

2009-05-05T17:54:00.002+10:00

Identification: Length 10cm up to 52cm. Looks like a stick.

Masters of camouflage, I'm still amazed every time I see a stick insect. They blend into their wooded environments to hide from predators and if you're actively looking for them they are very hard to spot.
Luckily for us we regularly get stick insects flying onto our porch when they are attracted to the lights and here they are much easier to photograph.

There are 150 different types of stick insect to be found in Australia, the largest being a Titan Stick Insect which measures up to a whopping 52cm in length!!!

Carlia longipes (Skink)

2009-05-05T03:38:00.002+10:00

Identification: Length to 65mm, smooth scales. Males with obvious red flanks in breeding season

I'm yet to meet a lizard I didn't like and these guys are no exception. They are plentiful in our garden and are quite tame. They can be extremely precocious and think nothing of wandering inside the house to see what might be happening in there.

I should also add that these guys are the reptile 'Laurel and Hardy's' of the garden. They fight and squabble, chasing each other for hours with lots of head bobbing and tail twitching. If you're feeling blue - watching them is a great way of feeling a little better.

We've also noticed that they are excellent scavengers - breakfasting on any unfortunate insect that may have died in the night from blundering into our lights. Fantastic little animals.

Giant Centipede

2009-05-04T19:36:00.003+10:00

Identification: Length 7.5 to 13.5cm. Legs: one pair per segment of body. Colours from brown to yellow.

This magnificent specimen was found on our patio one night last week. Centipedes are nocturnal and unlike millipedes have modified front legs which form large venomous fangs. If one of these babys bites you, you'll most certainly know about it! A bite will cause severe pain which can last for several days.

This is an example of a smaller large centipede, this one being approx 7cm in length. Hopefully, we will soon have some pics of the LARGE large centipede and he is quite a league of his own.

Hedge Grasshopper

2009-05-04T19:22:00.004+10:00

Identification: Length 85mm. Usually khaki coloured but variations do occur. Large hind legs.

These fantastic insects can grow to be quite large and this grasshopper is one of the largest ones that we have seen.

Most grasshoppers are herbivores and feed on shrubs, which is where we regularly spot them in our garden; both during the day and at night.

Orange Palm Dart Butterfly

2009-05-04T14:57:00.004+10:00

Identification: Orange and Black. Wingspan 42mm (male) 46mm (female). Wing profile triangualar when resting.

This lovely little butterfly is a Skipper butterfly; so called because of their quick darting flying habits. These butterflies are found all along the East coast of Australia and are common visitors to our garden.

Brown Tree Snake

2009-04-27T11:51:00.004+10:00

Identification: Length to 2m. Head large, distinct from neck. Large protruding eyes. Brown above, belly cream to orange.

Also known as a Night Tiger, these snakes are not potentially dangerous but will deliver a nasty bite (larger snakes) and are weakly venomous. This is our second (known) visit from a Night Tiger to our garden. We found this juvenile hunting for frogs on our pool fence the other night. A beautiful snake, who was very obliging when letting us photograph him, before he disappeared back into the trees by our pool.

Dainty or Graceful Treefrog

2009-04-27T11:01:00.014+10:00

Identification: Length 45mm. Bright green, orange eyes, yellow belly. Toes fully webbed, fingers three quarters webbed.

These beautiful little frogs live all around our yard. During mating season their calls are almost deafening and they often appear on our porch or our windows at night. During the day they tuck themselves in and sleep on the plants around the garden.

The picture below shows one little fellow that turned up on our table, during a storm and sat quite happily on the top of a pair of binoculars, while we continued chatting.

Mole Cricket

2009-04-27T10:45:00.002+10:00

Identification: Length 33mm. Wings short. Hind longs not enlarged for jumping. Front legs modified for digging.

These crickets are my favourite, they are curious creatures that dig burrows in the ground and feed on plant roots. They use their burrow entrance as a sound chamber to amplifiy their calls, which I often hear at dusk buzzing at my feet as I walk around the garden.

Northern Field Cricket

2009-04-27T10:21:00.003+10:00

Identification: Length 30mm. Black. Wings drawn out to a long point behind.

Once it gets dark and the outside lights go on at our house, hundreds of insects fly onto our porch. These range from beetles to earwigs, fireflies to crickets. This Northern Field Cricket is a regular visitor and depending on the time of year and how warm it is, some nights it's almost like a plague has hit our house!
The males of these crickets chirp repeatedly around dusk, a sound which always makes me think of warm, tropical nights.

Marbled Frog

2009-04-26T10:41:00.004+10:00

Identification: 55mm. Grey to olive back marbled with dark blotches. Prominent yellow line of skin running from each eye to the top of each arm.

This gorgeous little fellow is another regular guest to our garden. Yet we seldom see him as he is a very solitary frog who likes to remain hidden in the undergrowth. Unfortunately for these frogs though, they often find themselves trapped in our swimming pool after taking a dip. I found this one this morning when I was doing my regular check of the pool for any unlucky stragglers!

White-lip part2

2009-04-24T19:23:00.008+10:00

White-Lipped Tree Frog
(Litoria infrafrenata)
Photo By Crash

Tonight after walking the dog we came home to find two white lips patrolling the perimeter. This large handsome fellow is one of our regulars. Click the link if you'd like to see more White-lipped Tree Frogs.

We also had an indoor visitor: our old lady of the pond the female Stony Creek Frog. Unfortunately, there just wasn't time to take a photo of her tonight as it was all we could do to get her out from under the bed! But next time we promise.

Orchard Swallowtail

2009-04-23T21:24:00.003+10:00

Identification: Wingspan 110mm. Black with white band across forewing. Large central pale patch on hindwing. Female larger than male.

This striking butterfly is not a regular visitor to our garden, but has made a few fleeting visits. These butterflies tend to be found where citrus plants occur as their larva feed on citrus.

Case Moth

2009-04-23T20:35:00.003+10:00

Identification: Length up to 150mm.

Case Moths are absolutely fascinating creatures. They can be found dangling from trees, roofs and walls all over the place. These caterpillars build a cone shaped house around them made of silk and attach leaf litter and sand grains to strengthen it. These caterpillars can live in and carry around these 'houses' for 1 to 2 years and seemingly only the males have wings and ever leave the confines of their portable home. Also known as Bag Moths.

Australian Cockroach

2009-04-23T20:16:00.004+10:00

Identification: Length 40mm. Reddish-brown, yellow and brown thorax.

Garden Guests wouldn't be complete without introducing the Cockroach. Despite it's name, this particular cockroach is not native to Australia but yet is a common sight in gardens and houses all over the country. Cockroaches are noctural creatures who feed on food scraps and are generally seen as a household pest. There are other types of native cockroach that are not pests and live in Australias extensive bushland.

Babylon (Spotted Python)

2009-04-21T13:33:00.004+10:00

Identification: Length 1.05m. Dark blotches, creamy belly iridescent rainbow sheen when in sunlight. Non venomous

This is our resident pet snake. She is still a juvenile but growing quickly and is quite the cuddler when she is being handled - although it's a good idea not to get between her and a mouse she is otherwise very well behaved and even timid at times.

Spotted Pythons are native to Australia and make excellent pets - but please remember to purchase any reptiles through a reputable licensed breeder or pet shop as it is illegal in Australia to take reptiles from the wild.

Kube

2009-04-21T13:12:00.005+10:00

Identification: large 50+ kilogrammes Wrinkly nose floppy ears huge paws.

This is one of our full time residents 'Kube'. He's about as good a mate as you're ever likely to find and seems to put up with the rest of our guests with amazing tolerance. However, there are a few birds who harass the poor fellow by squawking at him. Kube generally makes me wish I was half the person he thinks I am. And I suspect he's also smarter than me.

First Aid

2009-04-21T12:15:00.007+10:00

Most of the creatures you will encounter in your garden are harmless and even beneficial. But some can pack quite a punch. Below is a quick guide to appropriate first aid treatment in the event that it is needed.

Snake bite:

Do Not:

Wash or 'suck' the wound
Attempt to kill or capture the snake
Give the victim alcohol or cigarettes

Do:

Apply a pressure bandage to the bite site at about the same pressure as for a sprain. Wrap the bandage from the bite all the way up and down the limb
Apply a splint to the effected limb
Keep patient still and calm
Record the time of the bite
Monitor breathing and heart rate
Call emergency services immediately or get to the nearest hospital/clinic

Spider bites

In the case of a funnel web spider the above treatment is recommended but it is NOT recommended if the person has been bitten by a red back spider. If you suspect a child has been bitten by a spider seek medical advice immediately.

Centipedes/Scorpions

Usually bites or stings by these creatures are not life threatening however, they can be extremely painful and distressing. Using ice and light pain relieving medication is advised. However in the case of children, people with pre-existing medical conditions or the elderly, careful observation is recommended.

Cane Toads

Cane Toads are not 'venomous' but they are poisonous and the poison they secrete (bufo toxin) can be extremely debilitating and even life threatening. Usually dogs are most at risk.

The symptoms to look out for are: Excessive salivating, dizziness and lack of co-ordination, bright red gums, vomiting, increased heart rate and/or convulsions. In some cases death may result.

If you believe your dog has been poisoned run water from a hose over it's mouth and gums being careful not to let the water run down the throat (have the dogs head lowered toward the ground). Rub the gums and lips in order to clear the poison away. As soon as you are able, get the animal to a vet.

The number to dial in Australia in a medical emergency is: 000

Here is a link with more emergency services information

Dragonflies

2009-04-21T11:24:00.005+10:00

Identification: many species Australia wide. Most readily distinguishable from Damselflies by wings remaining open at rest. Photo of Orthetrum villosovittatum.

Summer just wouldn't be summer without a few dragonflies hovering around snatching prey on the wing in dramatic displays of aerial skill. Amazing insects - the entomological equivalent of an Apache gunship.

Long Nosed Bandicoot

2009-04-21T11:03:00.004+10:00

Identification: Body length 400mm-Tail length 140 mm. Nocturnal. Omnivorous

Some of my favourite visitors although many people don't like them as they have the rather destructive habit of digging into the lawn. But for all that there is nothing quite so amusing as watching one blunder and 'crash' through the undergrowth. And really, it's only grass.

Please note we don't normally make a habit of feeding our guests; this photo is an exception, not the rule.

Native Mouse (?)

2009-04-21T10:46:00.004+10:00

Identification: We cannot positively I.D this little guy but we don't think he is an introduced European mouse and may be a lakeland downs mouse. If you happen to know what he please let us know.

We get a few of these guests in winter. And they can be quite destructive. Nocturnal and with a considerable appetite for plants and seeds we have seen them strip small areas of garden over the course a few weeks. Still, plants grow back and they're interesting to watch zipping around the bushes.

Laughing Kookaburra

2009-04-21T10:36:00.004+10:00

Identification: 40-47cm. Unmistakable 'chuckling/laughter' call hence the name. Massive disproportionate bill. Brown bar through eye.

This Iconic Australian bird is the largest 'kingfisher' in the world. However, they are just as likely to hunt snakes or lizards than 'fish' and will happily scavenge meat. We have them as regular guests, cracking themselves up most nights around the place.

Whitelipped Tree Frog

2009-04-20T21:16:00.010+10:00

Identification: Large to 140mm. White stripe on lower jaw may have white splotched or striped pattern on thighs.

This handsome fellow is Australia's largest frog and the worlds largest known tree frog. We have many resident White-lipped frogs and with their extremely loud and robust croaking they let it be known they are around. Very often we see them during the day sleeping in the depths of our shrubbery or behind broad leaf plants. But they'll have a snooze anywhere that takes their fancy such as parked boats or drainpipes.

ZZZZZzzzzzz .....

Stoney Creek Frogs

2009-04-20T16:20:00.006+10:00

Identification: Male 45mm, Female 65mm. Brown, back of thigh yellow with black spots.

These frogs are up there with my favourite frogs. Stoney Creeks are attracted to our garden because of the water and have bred in our pond for the last 2 years. The wonderful thing about these frogs is that the male (who is much smaller than the female), turns bright yellow when breeding.

Male in breeding colours.

This year we had 6 hopeful males hanging out at our pond waiting to breed with the 1 female who eventually turned up (see top pic).

Male in non-breeding colours

Christmas Beetle

2009-04-20T16:14:00.003+10:00

Identification: Length 25mm. Green and yellow.

These brightly coloured beetles really do remind you of christmas baubles. They are a fantastic sight to see and visit our porch often at night when they are attracted to the lights.

Ulysses Butterfly

2009-04-20T15:56:00.002+10:00

Identification: Wingspan 105mm. Top of wings bright blue, hindwings have long tail.

This most stunning butterfly is a regular visitor to the flowers in our garden. Their blue colour is enough to take your breath away and they are a regional icon.

Giant Water Bug

2009-04-20T15:47:00.003+10:00

Identification: Length 70mm. Dark brown with pincer-like front legs. Short tail siphon.

This cool looking bug is the largest sucking insect in Australia. They use their tail siphon to breathe through like a snorkel while catching prey such as tadpoles with their large pincers. We found this fellow in our swimming pool.

Cane Toad

2009-04-20T14:05:00.000+10:00

Identification: Large robust (up to 20cm). Poison Glands behind eye. Mottled grey/white underbelly. Leathery skin. Poisonous secretions

The Cane toad was introduced to North QLD Australia in 1935 in a failed effort to control the cane beetle. It has since spread as far south as Sydney (see image below) and is considered a major threat to native species due to it's toxicity and ability to exploit almost any environment. These animals will consume anything that they can squeeze into their mouths including pet food and even faeces.

Image by Crash

The humane method of culling toads is to place them in a lined container inside a freezer for 24 hrs. Being ectothermic the Toads body temperature will drop to an unsustainable level with a minimum of suffering to the animal. Other methods such as clubbing the animals etc simply means that native animals that find and ingest the carcass will probably die. Not to mention, that deliberate animal cruelty in any form for any reason is deplorable and weak.

Keelback (Freshwater snake) juvenile

2009-04-20T13:47:00.000+10:00

Identification: (Adult) length 75cm strongly keeled scales. Brown to Bright yellow sometimes flecked or banded in juveniles mid body scales 15-17 Anal divided Non-venomous.

We found these freshly hatched snakes when sadly one had drowned in our pool filter. Four others were discovered close by underneath some rocks. Keelbacks are valuable to the ecosystem as they are one of the few native species in Australia able to consume the noxious Cane Toad. Although even these snakes will die if they attempt to eat large toads.

Common Green Tree Frog

2009-04-19T20:16:00.000+10:00

Identification: Length 100mm. Robust with moderately long legs, Green to olive brown, white belly. Fingers webbed at base, toes three quarter webbed.

As their name suggests these frogs are seen often and in all kinds of habitats. They have become quite accustomed to living alongside humans and are often found in houses, gardens and letterboxes. We have many regular green tree frog visitors to our garden. One who lives in our drainpipe, the other in the rocks at the end of our swimming pool. This fellow though is a juvenile and a new guest to our yard. I found him the other night sitting on the wing mirror of our car!

St Andrews Cross Spider

2009-04-19T20:02:00.001+10:00

Identification: Full size 50c piece. Flat and ornately coloured. Silver head and banded legs.

I love this spider partly beacuse it is so easy on the eye, but also because of the beautiful web it makes. It's name comes partially from the 4 bars of thicker web it weaves, forming a cross. It is also a favourite food of Friarbirds.

Rhinoceros Beetle

2009-04-19T19:24:00.001+10:00

Identification: Length 40mm. Black, forked horns on head and thorax (male) used for combat with other males. Females matt texture, no horn.

This has to be the ultimate dude of beetles! Not only does he look awesome but when disturbed these beetles hiss loudly by expressing air from between their head and thorax.

Helmeted Friarbird

2009-04-19T19:09:00.001+10:00

Identification: Length 30-37cm. Pale brown, dark grey bill with low, long knob above (adult). Red eyes.

My all time favourite bird. Very distinctive both in it's appearance and by it's call. It can be heard often in the trees around our garden at dusk and dawn calling something that resembles "what now, what now?" Quite a character.

Water Python

2009-04-19T18:11:00.000+10:00

Identification: Length up to 3m. Dark green to olive - rarely brown or even grey. Belly cream to bright yellow. Mid body scales 41-57 Anal scale single. Non venomous

This beautiful snake was spotted cruising behind our pool, no doubt hunting for the frogs that gather there. As you can see he was a very gentle and placid fellow allowing himself to be photographed before being released. His scales have the most amazing hue giving rise to the Aboriginal name for the snake: Almudj The Rainbow Serpent. According to Aboriginal creationism beliefs it was the Rainbow serpent that created the Australian continent in the Dreamtime.

Image showing the scales that gave the snake legendary status here in Australia - even more remarkable in the flesh

Asian House Gecko

2009-04-19T17:50:00.001+10:00

Identification: SVL 60mm. Fawn to grey with darker mottling. Small spines along edge of cylindrical tail.

Gecko's fighting are a pretty common sight. However, we have never seen this situation before. During the fight one of the geckos fell and the other gecko grabbed hold of it and held it. There they stayed, one dangling precariously from our roof for the next 10 minutes or so, until finally the dangling gecko manged to regain control and climb back onto the roof!

Giant Mantid

2009-04-19T17:11:00.001+10:00

Identification: Length 85mm. Green, wings leaf-like. Inner surfaces of the front legs pink.

We found this Giant Mantid the other night on our porch. It was obviously attracted to the lights we had on and it was resting on our couch. We have seen many Mantids in our yard before but never one this large and he was beautiful. Unfortunately this photo doesn't really do him or his size justice. A few words of warning though; if you ever find one of these yourself and you handle it, watch out for those front legs they can inflict quite a painful wound!

Know your visitors

2009-04-19T14:57:00.002+10:00

One of the minor challenges of living in the 'tropics' is that some of the animals that share your environment can a be a touch dangerous. However, most aren't and it's a good idea to know the difference.

One excellent online reference is the QLD museum. Here you can explore a variety of images esp in regard to spiders and snakes. Probably the two most feared 'guests' people encounter. You can also email the museum with a picture and ask their experts to help with identification - however, this should be a last resort as no doubt they get many requests. So try to work it out yourself.

In regard to snakes a good rule of thumb is that if you don't know what it is. Don't touch. And be aware that over 80% of snake bites occur when people are trying to capture or kill the animal. If you don't want snakes as visitors it's a good idea to keep the yard tidy and the lawns short. Old wood, sheets of tin etc will encourage prey and provide cover for snakes so keep that in mind next time you're off to the tip.

As images are added we will also add a short description of the animal and a guide to how to identify it so stay tuned.

About

2009-04-19T13:21:00.001+10:00

Welcome to our new blog! Myself and partner have just had the most exciting week for wildlife in our garden, that we decided that it was about time we shared our experiences.

Crash and I share a home in Far North Queensland. Over the last couple of years we have been fortunate to see some amazing sights in our backyard. From the tiniest firefly to the wildest dingo, and just when we think we've seen the coolest thing and that it can't get any better....something else even more exciting comes along.

Both Crash and myself love wildlife, he has a passion for herpetology, I'm a big frog fan. But between us we just basically love animals.

So, we hope that you enjoy sharing with us some of the fantastic guests that we are lucky enough to have visit our garden.

Tigers In The Trees

2009-04-14T19:37:00.001+10:00

night tiger

There has been much excitement here tonight with the discovery of a perfect juvenile Brown tree snake or 'Night Tiger' hunting on our pool fence.

These snakes are fairly common in the area and are immediately recognisable by their bulbous eyes and arrow shaped head. They are a member of the colubrid family and are generally considered 'harmless' though they are venomous.

Like every other Night Tiger I have come across this one was nervous and aggressive - However, they really are beautiful animals and it's a real privilege to have one in our garden.

After allowing his photograph to be taken by Jo he silently slipped off into the trees that border the pool and disappeared. Hopefully this wont be the last time we'll see him.

Cane Toads Found in Sydney

2009-02-11T16:28:00.000+10:00

In Feb of this year (2009), eight Cane Toads were discovered to have made their way as far south as Sydney. This is a worrying development, more so due to the lack of a perceived threat being displayed by officials.

In our experience for every toad that is found there are probably another four or five that were missed. And these animals don't need much of a foothold to really get established. Once they are - it's almost impossible to eradicate them (but we're trying eh?). The theory has been that due to their need for warmth to operate (ecto-thermism) the cold winters down south would preclude their ability to survive there.

I don't subscribe to this theory. All reptiles and amphibians are ecto-thermic and yet they are well established throughout the Australian continent. I see no reason why the Cane Toad would not hibernate as they do. Only to re-emerge and continue their devastation. More research on this needs to be done.

Image showing the spread of the Toad since it's introduction to Australia in 1935.

If more isn't done the Cane Toad will become so entrenched in our national parks and other heritage areas that they will be impossible to eradicate.

This will be nothing short of an ecological disaster.

What animals are at risk?

2009-02-09T15:17:00.000+10:00

Since the introduction of the Cane Toad to Australia more and more native animal populations are being reduced. The reasons are two fold.

A. The toad itself is not a viable food source (they take but don't give)
B. It competes with other animals for food and habitat

Even the mighty Salt Water Crocodile is not immune. They have been found dead after ingesting toads. Fresh Water Turtles, Quolls, Bats, Snakes, Frogs, Birds, Monitors and other lizards are all under attack from the Toad. Not to mention the countless insects that are consumed by these indefatigable beasts (some of which are no doubt still waiting to be discovered). And of course your pets are also at risk.

The Cane Toad really is the Arnold Schwarzenegger of the amphibian world. They are brave and robust - willing to attack and consume anything that will fit in their mouths. What I find really interesting is that they do not seem to prey on each other. No surprise you say, considering they are poisonous. However, Cane Toads tend to eat first and ask questions much later, just how do they differentiate between say a small frog and a juvenile Toad?

Like many things with the Toad - lot's of questions, few answers.

Does culling toads make a difference?

2009-02-08T20:27:00.000+10:00

YES! Studies have shown that a concerted effort in culling Cane Toads can dramatically reduce their numbers over time. In our experience it doesn't take very long before native animals begin to re-establish themselves in areas where before they had been severely marginalised.

If we can totally wipe out species like the Moa of New Zealand or the Tasmanian Tiger of Australia it stands to reason that we can at least make a sizeable dent in the Toad population. All we need is the motivation - the whole reason for this site is to help provide that!.

Cane Toad Myths

2009-02-08T19:06:00.000+10:00

If you want to know how much of an impact Cane Toads are having a really good indicator is the fact that within a century they have spawned (no pun intended) a host of myths and legends. Here are a couple of common ones:

Cane Toads can "spit venom".

This is a fallacy. The glands on a Toads back have no connection to the toads mouth, although it's a good idea not to squeeze them.

Licking a Cane Toad can get you "high".

Licking a Cane toad will not get you "high". It will get you hospitalised or even your very own under ground retirement pad complete with brass inlays and a stone garden feature.

Cane Toads Can't Swim.

This again is untrue, Cane Toads are excellent swimmers and have no problem crossing large body's of water or hanging out in your pool.

If you've got any others please let us know!!!

How to Catch Toads

2009-02-08T17:42:00.000+10:00

Probably the simplest method is to walk around with a torch - Cane Toads are notorious for their propensity to live happily along side people and will take full advantage of outside lights attracting insects. Not mention having a nibble at any pet food they happen to find!.

Take a mesh bag with you and simply pick them up - you can use a net if you'd rather not touch them, but remember that the net will become fouled with bufo toxin and shouldn't be used for anything else.

In a couple of hours one evening, I collected 127 Cane toads on my property here in TNQ. Yep, there really are that many!.

Catching Cane Toads does not require a lot of effort. In fact it can even be fun as you never know what other interesting and unique wildlife you may come across ...

Keeping your pets safe

2009-02-08T17:16:00.000+10:00

Due to their poison Cane Toads pose a real threat to peoples pets. The symptoms to look out for are virtually the same as for those in humans: Excessive salivating, dizziness and lack of co-ordination, bright red gums, vomiting, increased heart rate and/or convulsions. In some cases death may result.

If you believe your dog has been poisoned run a hose over it's mouth and gums being careful not to let the water run down the throat (have the dogs head lowered toward the ground). Rub the gums and lips in order to clear the poison away. As soon as you are able, get the animal to a vet.

Toad Biology

2009-02-08T16:26:00.000+10:00

The Cane Toad has two poison glands located behind the eyes. These glands secrete a noxious substance known as bufo toxin. This is one of the reasons that it's highly recommended to wash your hands after handling a cane toad.

Symptoms of Cane Toad poisoning include: rapid heart beat, vomiting, excessive salivation, convulsions, paralysis and can even result in death.

Australia has no native Toads, although there are frogs that at first glance may look a little toad like* so it pays to know your frogs. Still, on close examination it is impossible to mistake an adult Cane Toad for anything else. They have rough skin and no webbing between the front toes. They are also larger than any native frog achieving a maximum length of around 20cm. Although they are usually smaller than this.

Cane Toads mate in temporary or permanent pools of water and will lay their eggs in a string towards or at the bottom of the pool. Their mating call is quite distinct and has been compared to the sound of a small petrol engine but is a medium pitched warble heard in the evenings. Their tadpoles are black in colour and have thickset bodies with short tails. Young Toads are greyish and have rusty colouration on the tips of their "warts". Their underside is a mottled grey.

*Marsh Frogs
*Tableland Toadlet
*Eastern Snapping Frog

We will be adding pictures of these frogs soon.

How did they get here?

2009-02-08T15:57:00.000+10:00

The Cane Toad was introduced to QLD in 1935 to control the Cane Beetle (which is a bit like introducing my Uncle Rastus to the bar to control the flow of rum). And much to everyone's embarrassment the Cane Toad wasn't much of a climber and the beetle didn't spend a lot of time on the ground, so instead they settled down to enjoy a neighbourly if somewhat inconvenient co-existence.

The Cane toad soon realised that it had arrived in the land of opportunity and set about terrorising the neighbourhood. Presumably the beetle continued to munch on unconcerned until the introduction of pesticides.

Originally around 100 toads were introduced. Today the number of Toads is incalculable, however they probably number in the millions. we really need to get that number down!.