Monday 10th February 2020. 1015 – 1120

36 mm rain in early hours of this morning. Bright and sunny with scattered cloud. Light breeze from North West. Track wet in parts with some muddy patches.

Entered Allumbah Pocket from Bunya Street and immediately spotted in a fork of on of the the trees to the right what appeared to be the rear end of a Common Brushtail Possum. Checked form the other side of the tree and confirmed that it was Chocolate on of the local residents. No obvious sign of her joey but probably concealed after a wet night.
Across the bridge and White Spot, the Green Ringtail Possum was in her favorite tree but at a lower altitude and appeared to have Joey lying on her chest with his head on her shoulder and being cuddled! His tail was unusually hanging straight down. Perhaps the rain had washed the curl out of it?
A lot of different Cicada calls this morning and on the Grey Gums on the west side of the track from Snodgrass’s Pool onward there were numerous smaller and less colourful cicadas which I photographed.
At Log Jam Peninsula we came across a tiny, fragile Mantis climbing down the trunk of a large tree.
At the Log Jam there was one Turtle in the water about to climb onto a long but our appearance caused a change of mind.! There was a juvenile Eastern Water Dragon on another log.
No Platypus seen and no more Possums.
At Picnic Peninsula we met two friendly young blokes from the Czech Republic and in spite of some language difficulties managed to direct them towards the local wildlife.
At the Viewing Platform, one of the Rufous shrike-thrushes was minding the nest today.
At the East side of the Car Park the Bush Stone-curlews were back together in what is becoming their usual spot.

Common Brushtail Possum. Trichosurus vulpecula

Rear view of Possum in fork of tree
View through the foliage on the far side of the tree

Green Ringtail Possum. Pseudochirops archeri

White Spot lower down tree today and Joey clearly visible.
Mum looking a bit damp and disheveled but Joey lying comfortably with head on her shoulder and her arm around him!

Floury Baker Cicada. Aleeta curvicosta

Oblique view
Dorsal view

Saw-shelled Turtle. Elseya latisternum

About to climb onto log

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii – juvenile

Plump young Dragon at the Log Jam

Mantis. Fam Mantidae. Spp unknown

Tiny fragile Mantis on trunk of tree

Rufous Shrike-thrush. Colluricincla megarhyncha

Good shot of bird complete with whiskers!

Bush Stone-curlew. Burhinus grallarius

Back together, happy and relaxed!

2 thoughts on “Monday 10th February 2020. 1015 – 1120”

  1. Bev Masasso

    Hi Ian, love your blog and can’t wait to read it. Just wanting to let you know that ‘Ornithorhynchus’ is spelt like the afore, and not as ‘Or t nith…’ As a local student at Atherton Primary it was drilled into us, and we used to chant this bit of nonsense out of class, ‘Ornithorhynchus is a very big word and if you cannot spell it you are a very big dunce. ‘IT’.

    1. ian.gibbs123 Post author

      Hi Bev
      Thank you for your kind message.
      I do know how to spell Ornithorhynchus but during the hour that it usually takes me to write the Post after walking for 1 hour and photo editing for another hour I sometimes make spelling or typing errors.
      Kind regards
      Ian

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