Nov/Dec Issue

This issue contains some fascinating insights into the life of the Freshwater Crocodile – featured on the cover – and some of our amazing lizards. We have also set up a new page called ‘Secret shutterbugs’ for those who love to delve into photographing the world of wildlife and want even more tips on getting the best shots. In an exclusive, our story about the sad and tragic world of the icon for extinction, the Thylacine or Tasmanian tiger, provides some amazing insights as well as images not published before. We’ve also got a packed ‘Secrets sightings’ with interesting and unusual tales, including ones about termites, the Rough-scaled Snake and, of course, birds and more birds. If that is not enough, let us take you inside the world of the endangered Gouldian Finch.

 

Spring brings the amazing wildlife more in contact with humans than any other time of the year. Help is available for many of our injured or nuisance wildlife.

Birds will be breeding, building nests rearing young, reptiles slithering about and marsupials active from dusk to dawn. So what are some of the key things to watch for this spring.

Birds

 

Nests

Bird nest – Tania Begg

Nest building animals, collecting hair, fibrous, leaves, twine are often collected and cause havoc for adults and often young birds caught around the nest. remeber to keep string, twine and fishing line in the bin not on the ground. Why? Adults and young birds often get entangled when they use it around the nest. When parent birds are building the nest keep a low profile try to avoid the arae of that tree and keep all domestic animals from being a threat especially that fat cat!

 

Fledglings

With all the strong winds several eastern states have had already. Many reports of nestlings and baby birds are flooding in. Mortality is high as nests have been blown out of their trees or shrubs.

In late spring beware the fledglings, often seen on the ground rather adult looking, I describe them as like human teenagers adult like but without their drivers license or in the birds case a flight license. Adults will feed them on the ground in many cases e.g. Magpies, Noisy Miners,

 

Swooping birds

Magpie breeding season is well under way. Swooping magpies seem to be in every town. Usually associated with nests in high traffic areas, typically the more harassed or in conflict the more intense the swooping.

 

The other swooping bird the Plover will be seen swooping people. They nest in yards with long grass or around roundabouts, park lands and within water ways. The hatchlings are remarkable once free of the egg, will quickly be able to walk and follow the parents to a new feeding site. They remain close to the parents for several weeks.

 

The very important facet to understand is to limit the aggression by avoiding conflict. Magpies in particular get more prone to swooping if there is regular conflict daily. Some magpies will actually target a type or size of person that travels near rhe nest if there has been a direct confrontation in the past e..g. Adult men who have kidnap a fledgling in the past. That magpie then targets men while less hostile toward women. Swooping birds can often be more apparent when there is a fledgling bird on the ground. Often fledgling birds are fine t be left alone in the care of the adults. See volume 1 no 2 Australian Wildlife Secrets “Don’t be a birdnapper”.

 

 Montreme

Echidna

The warm weather stimulates the inerterbrates including the massive armies of the ants. Warm weather is also a precursor for the Echidna to begin his wide searching of ants. Wandering widely often get bailed up by dogs or can be seen in yards wandering around. Trick is to leave them alone let them wander and leave on their own even in dense suburbia yes.

 

Marsupials

Kangaroos and less so wallabies will inevitably graze along roadsides at dusk. Drive safely and sow down around grazing roo’s. Pouch checks of dead macropods,  are critical for the joeys at this time of the year. Report all dead roos to your wildlife groups. most dead inspected/pouch checked macropods will have a marking like an X spray painted on them.

 

Possums and gliders, its time for large amounts of babies or joeys more accurately. Ringtail possums can carry up to 3 joeys usually 2 on average and are very prone to losing one or two through misadventure. Brush tailed possums usually carry one sometimes two joeys.  This leads to a large amount of joeys being reported from the ground. Predators like cats and dogs are also a major problem during spring. Orphans are rescued by most wildlife groups and always ring your hotline when a joey is found on the ground during the day or signs of injury.

 

Reptiles

Snakes

Spring is a time to slough the skin, for boys to chase the ladies for kilometers, feed as much to replenish lost fat stores from winter dormancy. Snakes can be sluggish in spring on mild sunny days, snakes are often slow to move away and confrontations may occur. Be alert while hiking, working along bush lands or in gardens. Always get professional help to deal with regular snake appearances otherwise develop a tolerance and safety plan for a snake visit.

 

Lizards

Found basking in yards or around parks and large native gardens are very common in spring. The enormous amount of lizards that emerge in spring, basking along fences, roads and moving in search of mates. Care is needed when mowing especially as the lizards may be sluggish in the first few weeks. Wandering monitors are more likely when weather is over 30 degrees. Watch out for basking lizards on roads.

 

Frogs

If good rains continue we will see an emerging bonanza of frogs this year, calling incessantly often driving some people to lose sleep! This can be remedy by playing your favorite music softly to offset the frog chorus. However the frogs after many years of drought and poor breeding while resurge, tadpoles will appear in many dams, ponds and roadside ditches. Please remember not to move tadpoles or frogs from one location to another. As this can cause disease to be spread from one region to another, cause imbalance and reintroduction of cane toads.

 

 

Marine Mammals

Yearlings are often reported in seal prone areas of bays, coastlines and estuaries. Often around piers where often fisherman feed them scarps or they feed on discarded off cuts. Tired New Zealand fur seals, leopard seal and Sub Antarctic seals can rest along the coastlines. While distressed public feel sorry for them it usually is only a wait and see approach before they wander back.

 Mammals

 

Microbats

The warmer months also means more microbat activity. These winged wonders are silently racing through the night grabbing millions of insects. It may occur that colonies roost in your roof space. The high pitch squeaks may be heard by those with very good hearing. Not to be confused with the rats or possum that are very noisy to pretty much all.

 

Contact your state body conservation department or local wildlife shelter or rescue group for assistance and advice.

In July, a visit to a Julatten yard saw the exciting removal of  harmless, if not unusual coloured Keelback Tropidonophis mairi snake. martin Baxter runs Snakewise and educational and reptile relocation service in FNQ. Well know locally and originally a Melbournian who turned north to find the sun and adventure.

Snakes especially during the warmer months are fond of large sheets of corrugated iron, which retain the warmth longer and remain dry.

 

A night time trip to dinner, met with a wayward Slaty – grey Snake on the road surface, quickly identified correctly!  This species often confused with a potentially harmful Small – eyed Snake.

 

 

 

 

Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mount Coot-tha is Queensland’s premier subtropical botanic gardens. The 52 hectare gardens are located seven kilometres from the city centre on Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong. Entry to the gardens is free. Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha features Japanese Gardens and a Freedom Wall monument. The botanic gardens are also home to the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium.

Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha offers visitors a living museum of native and exotic plant collections. Its themed sections include a scented garden, Japanese Gardens, waterfalls and the largest collection of Australian native rainforest trees in the world. The Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium is a feature,

 

Some amazing wildlife were seen casually basking. Like the Eastern Water Dragons.

 

The botanic gardens are also home to the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium.

Walking around the various well signed gardens. Introducing native and exotic gardens.

The bird life while predictable urban species, they were quite bold and allowed great visibility and would delight every one.

 

 

Some people enjoy their duck feeding. There were several species and of course the ever present Ibis.

The ever present Ibis and the whistling and black ducks, were high in number as with seagulls made a racket.

During July, I visited the far North Queensland. I have loaded some images and what I saw in both wildlife parks and during excursions in the field.

Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas.is a beautiful and magical place that has amazing board walks with truly spectacular wildlife that occur right in plain view. It’s remarkably well managed and offers those with less fitness and time constraints a great chance to walk the rain forest.

 

 

Australian Tarantula burrow and web, under suitable fallen timber, often resides the female and a male plus smaller burrows with juveniles.

Martin Baxter from the education company Snakewise, removes a harmless snake the Keelback Tropidonophis mairii from a yard. The Julatten form is often referred to as the “banana keelbacks” because of its unusual colouration.

This charismatic and beautiful snake is nevertheless, venomous and potentially harmful. rarely seen its quite the snake seen more around My Glorious and Mt Nebo regions.

 

 

Fungi types in the wood along the edge of the wet forest.

Whistling Ducks (Dendrocygna arcuata) were abundant across North Queensland, aroud waterways and wildlife parks. they are very attractive and make whistling sounds when they fly.

 

 

The Reef HQ Aquarium turtle hospital provides a dedicated facility where sick and injured marine turtles can be cared for and rehabilitated. The hospital operates under and promotes the C.A.R.E (Conserve. Act. Rehabilitate. Educate) philosophy playing a key role in raising community awareness.

 

On July 18th members of the Reef HQ released a Green Turtle, with plenty of Australian Wildlife Rehabilitation Conference attendees present as part of the workshop. It wasa sight to behold, as this poor originally underweight turtle now a healthy weight, being released.

Turtle Rehabilitation is quite the ongoing commitment. A series of standings and mortality over recent years has highlighted some serious concerns with turtles and rehabilitation efforts have increased. Reef HQ rehab turtle enclosure, where short term adult and young marine  turtles spend up to 6 months during rehabilitation. The common cause type is starvation or poor weight with extending circumstances. So called “Floaters” often are turtles with poor weight and predisposing ailments that can contribute to this state.