9/4/11-17/4/11: Bowra Part 3- Best of the rest

There were several frog species around, a result of the plentiful standing water. Familiar species like Green Treefrogs (Litoria caerulea), Desert Treefrogs (L. rubella) and Emerald-spotted Treefrogs (L. peronii) abounded [there were several that had permanent residence in the toilet bowl (header pic; courtesy R. Yong)], but we also managed to find two species of burrowing frog (Cyclorana alboguttata (right) & C. novaehollandiae), two marsh frogs (Limnodynastes fletcheri & L. tasmaniensis) and most intriguingly, a desert toadlet, identified as Uperoleia rugosa/capitulata (below). Toadlet taxonomy is another famously confused and foul conundrum; depending on who you ask, U. capitulata is either separate to or synonymous with U. rugosa. The current majority opinion is that they are identical, and as U. rugosa is the senior species, it threatens to subsume the former. Either way, most of these species are either rare or nonexistent in greater Brisbane, so seeing them was something special.


Native mammals were stop-start; there were plenty of red and grey kangaroos about, and a few Common Wallaroos, but it was the microfauna we were really interested in and fortunately for us the few we saw were notable. The claypans were most rewarding, yielding two species new for the sanctuary: Giles’ Planigale (Planigale gilesi) (left; pic courtesy J. Rowland)and the Stripe-faced Dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura) (below; pic courtesy J. Rowland), two small marsupial predators that push all the adorableness buttons. The Harp traps were also fruitful, yielding several bat species including Gould’s Wattled Bat (Chalinolobus gouldii), Lesser Long-eared Bat (Nyctophilus geoffreyi), Inland Forest Bat (Vespadelus baverstocki) and two species of broad-nosed bat (Scotorepens balstoni & Scotorepens sp.), the last one an as-yet undescribed species (below; pic courtesy R. Yong); microbats are one of those animal groups whose taxonomy seems to be in a perpetual state of flux.



Stripe-faced Dunnart


Undescribed Broad-nosed Bat (Scotorepens sp.)

These and other small mammals are less well-known than the more charismatic kangaroos, wombats and echidnas, but they form the bulk of Australia’s mammal fauna, and being voracious predators, are important components of the dry country biotopes. Nevertheless, their unassuming habits and often-restrictive lifestyles mean many species are highly endangered; finding several individuals of these native mammals is indicative of the need to regulate and manage Australia’s sensitive dry country ecosystems, not only to protect charismatic wildlife but also relatively obscure creatures such as these.


The regularity of work meant we had precious little time to regard the avifauna around us, but we did manage to come away with some good sightings. Bowra is particularly famous as a sanctuary for the Hall’s Babbler (Pomatostomus halli) (above), the most restricted in range of the four Australian babblers. Sure enough, we managed to sight mobs of these birds with some regularity, indeed one of our sites was located within the territory of one family, meaning we were at one point treated to daily views of this special dry-country bird. Another local specialty to offer good views was the Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush (Cinclosoma castaneothorax)(right). These attractive birds are not the rarest, but they are notoriously elusive, often affording birders no more than a fruitless pursuit around the mulga chasing their calls -a ventriloquic high-pitched “seeee”- and a fleeting glimpse as it runs for cover. We were therefore fortunate, not only to be able to see them on several occasions, but to come away with premium views.


Bowra was also known as a good site for both Grey Falcons and Letter-winged Kites; these, however, again proved elusive- another trip, another blank for Jeremy, who’s racking up the miles fruitlessly searching for both these species. As for myself, I managed to come away with decent views of Restless Flycatchers (Myiagra inquieta) and Spotted Bowerbird (Chlamydera maculata) (above), both new ticks, and Bourke’s Parrot (Neopsephotus bourkii) (left) which felt like a whole new tick, given my only previous sighting was the most fleeting of glimpses from a moving vehicle. Parrots were particularly bountiful, and we saw six other species: Blue Bonnets (Northiella haematogaster) (below), Mallee Ringnecks (Barnardius zonarius) (below), Red-winged Parrots (Aprosmictus erythropterus), Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos (Lophocroa leadbeateri) (below), Little Corellas (Cacatua sanguinea) and Mulga Parrots (Psephotus varius).


Blue Bonnets (and Black-faced Woodswallows)


Major Mitchell's Cockatoos


Mallee Ringneck Parrot

All the iconic outback species were present: Woodswallows [four species: Black-faced (Artamus cinereus), Dusky (A. cyanopterus), White-breasted (A. leucorhynchus) (right) and Masked (A. personatus)], Brown Treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus) (below), Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus), Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys), White-winged Fairy-wren (Malurus leucopterus), Red-capped Robin (Petroica goodenovii), Striated Pardalote (Pardalotus striatus), Chestnut-rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza uropygialis) and Crested Bellbird (Oreoica gutturalis). Less common species included Chestnut-crowned Babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps), Red-backed Kingfisher (Todiramphus pyrrhopygius), Painted Buttonquail (Turnix varia), both Stubble and Brown Quail (Coturnix chinensis & C. ypsilophora) and Spotted Nightjar (Eurostopodus argus). Raptors were thinner on the ground, but we nevertheless got decent views of the most common species, including Whistling Kites (Haliastur sphenurus), Brown Falcons (Falco berigora) (below) and most impressively a Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides) eating a Bearded Dragon.


Brown Treecreeper


Brown Falcon at sunset


Nankeen Kestrel

The ones I had been really hoping for though were Australian Bustards and Brolgas. Both species had eluded me the previous trip and I was desperate to get them; the former is rare this far south and might have been a pipe dream, but surely I would get Brolgas? As our trip wound down it became increasingly clear I would miss out once more. We heard Brolgas one morning but that was as close as we would come; they were clearly toying with our senses, tormenting me with titillations but no more. Leaving Bowra, we had our eyes peeled, but as we left Cunnamulla steadily behind, hope disappeared. I was all ready to give up when Jesse suddenly started: “Brolgas!” And there, flashing by the window at 110km/h were a pair of stately Brolgas, standing insouciantly in a mud puddle by the highway bordering a worse-for-wear paddock. There a second, gone the next, with nary a picture but an eternal memory to commemorate the moment I first saw these majestic birds. The return was rushed, as we had to cover the entire distance in one day. The route replicated the one Jeremy and I had taken back from Scotia: Cunnamulla to Dalby to Brisbane, with a lunch stop at St George. The little wildlife we saw whizzed by; most notable was a Spotted Harrier (Circus assimilis) over the highway approaching Moonie. By nightfall we had passed Toowoomba and our journey was soon over.

So it was that we left Bowra. We had spent a week there, during which we managed to experience the joys of the dry country’s animals both charismatic and obscure. It was hard work for a good cause richly rewarded, and we can only hope that further fulfilling experiences are in the offing.

9/4/11-17/4/11: Bowra Trip Part 2- Rigor & Reptiles

Stony mulga with Eriacne/Eremophila understorey

The pattern was quickly established and rigorously adhered to: a rolling system was devised wherein we would awaken early every day to check 2-6 trap sites, construct one more and take down those that had been up for three days. Being smaller than Scotia, Bowra was easier to get around, and between us three, the two ecologists and one other volunteer who stayed for half our trip, we had plenty of hands to efficiently carry out all the tasks. Checking traps was the easy part; digging in holes for the 10L buckets was far more arduous: the soils we dug in alternated between highly compact alluvial clay and loose clay interspersed with gibber stones and boulders. Digging bars were necessary to help break through the hard soil and rocks, which were sometimes even bigger than the buckets themselves. After that, laying the traps and setting up the camera and Elliot arrays was a comparative walk in the park!

The other worry was the large numbers of feral animals present; unlike Scotia, Bowra has, as yet, none of the infrastructure for keeping out feral animals. As a result, wild goats, pigs, foxes, cats and rabbits run riot through the sanctuary. Additionally, the deal struck with the previous landowner allowed him to continue running his livestock on the sanctuary until the end of June, meaning cows and horses were also present (right). To top everything off, the mouse plague was in full swing, ensuring we would catch a healthy crop every night, not to mention a fair few in the house! The result was a fear of having our sites trampled (which happened on several occasions) or our trapping efforts otherwise compromised. In one memorable incident, I was baiting an array of Elliot traps when I heard one trigger behind me. I peered through the bushes to see a ruddy fox had set off a trap and made off with the bait! The next morning, no less than 12 of the 20 traps had been either dud-triggered or had the bait stolen out of them, at least one of them had been pissed and defecated upon; we caught nothing. All this without even mentioning the effect so many clod-footed and cloven-hoofed grazers would have on the environment.

If the blatant persistence of ferals was depressing, however, the numbers and variety of native animals we did find provided an exciting and spirit-raising counterpoint. Every day brought some creature that was new for us, and indeed a good number that had never even been previously recorded for the sanctuary. While I had somehow contrived to go without seeing a single snake on the previous trip, this time we managed no fewer than six species, including three from the brown snake complex: Strap-snouted Brown Snake (Pseudonaja aspidorhyncha) (left), Mengden’s Brown Snake (P. mengdeni) (below) and Ringed Brown Snake (P. modesta). We also found another Dwyer’s Snake, a Curl Snake (Suta suta) and a feisty baby Mulga Snake (Pseudechis australis).


Mengden's Brown Snake (Pseudonaja mengdeni)

Curl Snake (Suta suta)

Mulga (King Brown) Snake (Pseudechis australis)

There were also plenty of interesting lizard species, most notably the two Pebble Dragons we found in stony mulga. True to their name, these lizards are one of the most fascinating examples of reptilian mimesis, their pattern and body contours splendidly camouflaging them amidst the scattered stones and pebbles. It was out of sheer serendipitous luck that we found them: the first was a tiny baby Smooth-snouted Pebble Dragon (Tympanocryptis intima) (right) that I initially thought was a mole cricket, such was its size and scurrying nature. We subsequently found another of similar size, and Jesse managed to see a second species, the Lined Pebble Dragon (T. lineata) (below) on our last morning. Other dragons getting about were Nobbi Dragons (Amphibolurus nobbi), Burns’ Dragons (A. burnsi), Bearded Dragons (Pogona barbata) and Central Netted Dragons (Ctenophorus nuchalis) (below); this last one was new for all of us.


Lined Pebble Dragon (Tympanocryptis lineata). Photo courtesy Jesse Rowland.

Central Netted Dragon (Ctenophorus nuchalis)

We also managed a handful of geckos: Bynoe’s Gecko (Heteronotia bynoei), Varied Dtella (Gehyra variegata), Fat-tailed Stone Gecko (Diplodactylus conspicillatus) (left) and Tessellated Stone Gecko (D. tessellatus) (below). We had never seen either Diplodactylus species before, and unbelievably I had to wait this long to see my first Bynoe's Gecko and Varied Dtella; thankfully there were several of these common inland species about for me to appreciate. There had been initial hopes for other interesting species like Strophurus and Nephrurus, but these ultimately came to nought.


Tessellated Stone Gecko (Diplodactylus tessellatus)

Skinks were similarly profuse, ranging from the familiar [Common Bluetongue (Tiliqua scincoides) and Tree Skink (Egernia striolata)] to the unexpected [Ctenotus ingrami (right)and C. leonhardii (below), both new records for Bowra]. In between were some moderately interesting species, including the tiny Dwarf Skink (Menetia greyii), Southeastern Morethia (Morethia boulengeri), Royal and Barred Ctenotus (Ctenotus regius & C. schomburgkii), Metallic Fence-skink (Cryptoblepharus metallicus) and tiny wormlike Mulch Sliders (Lerista fragilis).


Ctenotus leonhardii

8/4/11 - 9/4/11: Bowra Trip Part 1- Bendidee and Beyond

Deja vu as once again we found ourselves piled into a large, rugged vehicle and headed west. This time, the destination was Bowra, another AWC sanctuary located approximately 850km west of Brisbane, near the town of Cunnamulla. The plan was to stay for a week and help with the general fauna surveys on the property; we were accompanied this time by Jesse, who provided his new vehicle, a sturdy, tough, rough on the edges, rough on the inside Defender, with its long-trip debut. The route we took would see us head south thru Millmerran and Goondiwindi before travelling westwards via St George (see map, below). In between, we would camp overnight at a local national park of Jesse’s choosing.


We left on the Friday afternoon [work commitments precluded an earlier embarkation], leaving behind a rainy, gloomy Brisbane. No sooner had we hit the Warrego Highway did the clouds clear, and by the time we approached Gatton the sun was fully in our eyes. We fairly sped through Toowoomba and via a dinner at Millmerran, were en route to Bendidee National Park, a little-known patch of forest in between the Cunningham and Gore Highways. Getting to it entailed a drive of about 15km on desolate Wyaga Road, which always augurs well for wildlife spotting. The drive brought quick reward, as we soon found our first Brigalow Scaly-foot (Paradelma orientalis) (left), an uncommon species of legless lizard, and a small Dwyer’s Hooded Snake (Parasuta dwyeri)(below). We also noted myriad small mammals scurrying away in our headlights. We at first thought these were native species, like some sort of planigale, but attempts to secure one revealed what they were: House Mice (Mus musculus). By the time we reached Bendidee and our campsite, we had seen dozens of them on the road, and they would further torment us at our campsite. I was periodically awoken by one rustling underneath my tent near my head, but Jesse copped it worst: sleeping in an open swag he had to retreat to the car by 1am, driven there by mice crawling over him and stealing his hair. Like all the other outback denizens, the mice were evidently prospering in this boom period. The park was alive with the calls of Tawny Frogmouths, Masked Owls and Owlet-nightjars, distant Fallow Deer rutting and numerous insects and bats. Even sans mice, I would imagine I wouldn’t have had it any easier getting to bed.


One of the joys of such travel is ‘the morning reveal’, when one wakes up and has the true nature of the place s/he arrived at the previous night revealed. In the cold light of morning, Bendidee revealed itself: a mixed dry sclerophyll/casuarina forest, the understorey and odd bare patches strewn with saltbushes and the tall eucalypts hung heavy with ripe mistletoes (right; top image). A quick sunrise birding sojourn brought all the regulation species: Rufous Whistler, Brown Quail, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Friarbird, Willie Wagtail, Inland and Yellow-rumped Thornbills and Leaden Flycatcher. By 7:30 we were on the road again, getting brief glimpses of Black-striped (Macropus dorsalis) and Red-necked Wallabies (M. rufogriseus).

This stretch of our journey was used to field-test an experiment Jeremy had devised, basically a road transect survey of raptors; by logging the birds of prey along each stretch of highway and data regarding their habitat quality, we would be able to make inferences on the impacts of land use on different species. This meant we all had our eyes peeled, and until St George the birds did not disappoint: in those four hours we logged Wedge-tailed Eagles, Whistling Kites, Black-shouldered Kites, Black Kites and plenty of Nankeen Kestrels. To say the final leg between St George and Cunnamulla was a disappointment, however, would be a gross understatement; maybe it was time of day, or just plain luck, but the entire 300km of the Balonne Highway yielded nary but a single Wedge-tail. In fact, there were barely any birds at all, save for a few Mallee Ringneck Parrots (Barnardius zonarius). It made for a rather boring afternoon, and we were glad to pull into Cunnamulla, where a quick pit stop yielded the first of innumerable White-plumed Honeyeaters (Lichenostomus penicillatus). From there it was just a quick trip to Bowra, which lay only 10km from town.

A quick passage about Bowra: A recent purchase by the AWC, Bowra was -and until the end of June, still will be- a cattle property, covering about 16kha, about a quarter the size of Scotia. The environment was also very different to Scotia’s: where the latter featured predominantly red sandy soils, mixed mallee and spinifex swales, the former is a mix of clayey grass plains and mixes of stony mulga, acacia, chenopod and Eremophila scrub; it’s remarkable to an outsider how even an area as synonymous with monotony as the outback can have such a range of dissimilar habitats. Unlike Scotia, which had no permanent water sources other than dams, Bowra had stretches of river running through it, creating small areas of riparian eucalypt-dominated habitat, in addition to several dams and piped bores. The fauna is characteristically semi-arid-zone, with its distinctive suite of reptiles and a range of common inland birds and mammals. Our arrival and obligatory introductions were followed by our briefing: there were to be none of the bird surveys we had at Scotia; our work was centred on constructing and using pitfall arrays, along with Elliot traps for small mammals, camera traps and Harp traps for bats. Our home for the next week was a wooden shearer's quarters, very cosy and well-equipped. As night fell and the temperature dropped, we went to bed, lulled to sleep by the sound of owls and frogs down by the nearby pond. Peace, before the hectic tumult of the coming week.