Snakes, Slugs and Sparklers

Coming into Camp Somerset in the late afternoon

May was a busy month for TFNC as we also had our annual camp with Bill McDonald from the Qld Herbarium. Once again Barry organised a superb camp and we all had a great time. Having visitors from other organisations was an added bonus. 

Phil and Lauren

Highlights were: 
1) Celebrating Lauren's 65th birthday with sparklers, cakes and a serenade in Danish. 






2) Seeing a Brush-tailed Planigale on one of the bird walks. (Sorry about the quality of the Planigale photos.) The phascogale is a rat-sized marsupial with a black ‘bottle-brush’ tail. It is said to be nocturnal, shy and rarely seen. Mating occurs between mid-May and early July. After that quite frantic activity all the males die. Females may live to three years old.

Fuzzy photo of the Planigale. 

  

The brush tail

Ros, Bill, Sandra, Dawn, Marie
and Helen on the bird walk

Red Triangle Slug,Triboniophora graeffei   

A Welcome Swallow
enjoying the morning sun

All fun and games, some of the evening entertainment.

3) Another good find was a Keelback Snake, Tropidonophis mairii. They are diurnal and found near freshwater  dams, creeks, rivers and swamps. They are harmless, eat their prey rear first, and are able to eat small Cane Toads!

Young Keelback Snake hanging on Neil's glasses.

Bird List:  (compiled by lesley from members’ sightings)
Australian Brush-turkey, Australian Wood Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Little Pied Cormorant, Australian Pelican, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Whistling Kite, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Bush Stone-curlew, Masked Lapwing, Gull-billed Tern, Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Galah, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Australian King-Parrot, Crimson Rosella, Pale-headed Rosella, Pheasant Coucal, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Beeeater, White-throated Treecreeper, Satin Bowerbird, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Variegated Fairy-wren, White-browed Scrubwren, Brown Thornbill, Spotted Pardalote, Striated Pardalote, Lewin's Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Dusky Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, Grey-crowned Babbler, Eastern Whipbird, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Golden Whistler, Little Shrike-thrush, Australasian Figbird, Grey Butcherbird, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Spangled Drongo, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Torresian Crow, Magpie-lark, Rose Robin, Eastern Yellow Robin, Welcome Swallow, Mistletoebird, Red-browed Finch.


Butterfly list: (compiled by Don from members’ sightings)
Small Grass-yellow Eurema smilax, Black Jezebel Delias nigrina, Caper White Belenois java, Evening Brown Melanitis leda, Brown Ringlet Hypocysta metirius, White-banded Plane Phaedyma shepherdi, Wanderer or Monarch Danaus plexippus, Blue Tiger Tirumala hamata.