Possums – Go Birding

In search of the Shaman – Townsville and Outback Queensland trip – part 1

Posted on July 26, 2024 by CorwinCaelin

About six months ago Isaac Clarey reached out to see if I wanted to help drive his caravan back to Melbourne from Townsville after a family holiday. We would take about a week driving back looking for wildlife so of course I jumped at the chance. With a few value add days at the start of the trip around Townsville to chase some targets I was set for a good trip. In particular I had heard of a spiritual animal called the Shaman a couple of hours from Townsville that I was keen to visit and see if I was to be granted an audience. After a typical sleepless night due to stressing about an early flight I left Melbourne on a flight to Brisbane – fortunately I fell asleep on the plane and was woken by the jolt as the plane touched down. A four hour wait in Brisbane for a flight to Townsville did drag on but an Osprey on a sign was a good start. Finally I arrived in Townsville around 5pm and picked up a hire car and headed into town to my hotel. It was my first visit to Townsville since I was there as a kid in 1982 – I would like to say it hadn’t changed but I didn’t remember anything at all. I had a quick walk around the Strand before dark where Great Bowerbirds, Figbirds and Bush Stone-curlews showed me I wasn’t in Melbourne anymore. After a quick bite and check-in to my hotel I headed about 80 km north to meet Isaac at Jourama Falls where we would search for my first main target of the trip – the Mahogony Glider. This very range restricted species lives in a small 120km long strip of lowland rainforest north of Townsville in an area that has been heavily fragmented by land clearing for cane and other farming.

Green Tree Frog – Jourama Dunnies

Jourama Falls area was full of life if not our immediate target. In a couple of hours we saw frogs, pythons, spiders, nightjars, bandicoot and a birder playing Rufous Owl calls but no sign of Mahogany Glider. There was no flowering trees which is apparently a key sign to look for. On the way out we spotlit the entrance road and found a Giant White-tailed Rat which is an impressive animal about the size of a Ringtail possum back home.

Giant White-tailed Rat peekaboo

Legends Matt Wright and Tim Faulkner had given me a couple of other sites to try for the Mahogony Glider nearby so we headed there next despite it starting to get late. Walking down beside some cane we finally saw our first flowering eucalypt and boom! in it was a Mahogony Glider! I was a little surprised by this one as it looked like a pretty standard Squirrel Glider in colour and size. However being the only glider in range in this size we were high fiving and celebrated with a luke warm beer. Moving on we found two more which were much more impressive animals – larger and a lovely cinnamon type brownish colouring. One of them was clearly a big male, with scent gland on forehead and a huge fluffy tail – I would estimate it at 80% plus the size of a Yellow-bellied Glider back home. Interestingly all three were found in or next to flowering eucalypt species. I would recommend anyone searching for this species to do daytime recce for flowering trees. I was stoked – barely a few hours in and I already had one major target under the belt. I got back to my hotel in Townsville around 1am which was pretty good considering the success. I passed about 1000 suicidal Agile Wallabies without incident.

Mahogony Glider

Mahogony Glider – beautiful!!

I was up early the next morning and drove straight to a site Matt had pointed me to for Black-throated Finch – something of a bogey bird of mine and one of the few new birds I could target on this trip. While I had other sites up my sleeve this was right on the edge of town and would save me significant time if it paid off. Almost immediately on pulling up I had a group of finches fly over with an unfamiliar call which landed in long grass – I was pretty sure they were the target but there was a few anxious minutes til one showed itself so I could confirm – excellent – a Black-throated Finch which was a lifer. They eventually flew back over my head and landed in trees giving good binocular views and poor proof of life photos. It was quite a birdy area with some nice northern species to wet the appetite. Thanks Matt!

Black-throated Finch – proof of life

As Matt’s epic tip had saved me so much time I headed north and dropped into Tyto wetlands at Ingham. This is one of those legendary birding spots I had heard about for years so had to drop in for a quick visit. I ended up staying an hour picking up a very respectable 43 species. I would like to have stayed longer but I had a much more important appointment on my mind. In the distance beyond Ingham were mountains and in the rocky hills beyond that was the near mythical Shaman – to all who had met this beast, it was considered the most holy animal in Australia. I pointed the hire car in the right direction and set off – hopeful I would be granted an audience.

The Shaman is better known by its proper names – Sharman’s or Mount Claro Rock-wallaby and is an extremely range restricted member of the east coast Petrogale rock-wallaby tribe. It is completely restricted to the Seaview and Coane ranges west of Ingham an area of maybe 50*50km at best. After travelling an hour or so through cane I quickly ascended up a rather steep and precarious road to Mount Fox and then out to Mount Claro. The population at Mount Claro is on private property although easily viewed from the road. Immediately on pulling up I was able to glass a couple of animals on the mountain a couple of hundred meters away – hardly satisfying. There was a lot of cattle movement and I claim to all who will listen than I was charged by a wild scrub cow but in reality it was mooing and running in my general direction while I cowered behind a tree. A station-hand pulled up on a Can-am and I asked if I could go visit the rock-wallabies but said they would prefer if I didn’t as they were moving cattle at that time. It was suggested I might try some places back towards Mount Fox. I drove back up the road a few km and found another smaller rock outcrop close to the road and was able to see several rock-wallabies through the bins. I approached slowly getting some pretty good views but unfortunately put up a rock-wallaby from almost under my feet – after this they were pretty wary and watched me from a distance. It was a particularly spiritual place and I felt very at peace while visiting these animals. It was also less than 24 hours since I had landed in Townsville and my three main targets for the trip were in the bag – everything else from now on was gravy!

The Australian Sistine Chapel with Shaman holding court

I was pretty tired when I checked into my accommodation at Balgal Beach but after a swim, shower and a beer I headed up to Paluma for some spotlighting. On the way up I had a White-throated Nightjar and Spotted Python on the road which was nice but there was a huge amount of traffic travelling up a very windy narrow road at high speed. When I got up to the sleepy town of Paluma it was pumping – it turns out my visit coincided with their major massively sold out Mountain Bike cross country event. Every time I stopped to spotlight somewhere I had people either pulling over to see if I was ok or blaring their horns – it was quite frustrating. I did however manage to see a Greater Glider which depending on which taxonomy you follow would be of the Northern taxa which was new for me. It was a mangy, little thing compared to the GGs we get in Victoria but the bright eyeshine was the same. I had enough of people driving too fast so I headed back to my accommodation but did decide to stop a couple of spots on the way down. At one of the stops I found a couple of Broad-toed Feather-tailed Gliders and while I was trying to get a look of them I heard an anaemic trill nearby. Very experienced with Sooty Owls in Vic I knew immediately what it was and walking down the road I was able to get eyes on a lovely Lesser Sooty Owl. Like the GG this is another species in taxonomic dispute with it recently being lumped again with Greater Sooty Owl. Still what I was seeing was a smaller, more compact bird with much more subdued vocals to what I am used to. I ended up walking away from it and went back to bed and a beer – very satisfied with the days achievements.

Lesser Sooty Owl on the hunt

Cold shoulder

Today Owen Lishmund was arriving a bit after lunch and I was to pick him up from the airport. I spent the morning around Bowling Green National Park birding which was very pleasant – didn’t see anything special just good solid Northern Australian birds and a few herps. I picked Owen up and we headed straight out to Townsville Common – another legendary Australian birding site where we saw a few wetland species for the only time on the trip. Another great spot that needed more time than what we could give it. We then headed for a swim at Big Crystal Creek which was very pleasant before a good pub meal. That evening we spotlit again around Paluma which was much quieter with most of the MTB crew either exhausted or home. We started in large, mature flooded gum forest before stumbling onto a couple more Lesser Sooty Owls closer to Paluma. Compared to the bird the previous night these were much more vocally and physically similar to southern birds. It was quite a quiet night despite being very still with one Green Ringtail being the only other thing of note.

Lesser Sooty Owl

Litoria serrata

The next morning Owen and I went birding in the rainforest around Paluma while Isaac safely put his family on a plane back to Melbourne. As is typical the rainforest gave its secrets slowly but we saw and heard some really nice birds in our short time – I really need to come back here and spend a week. A particular highlight was a pair of Chowchilla foraging beside the track with the male feeding the female before erupting into a cacophony of territorial song – brilliant stuff. We had originally thought to head west immediately but decided to stay an extra night so Isaac and Owen could also experience the Shaman. We headed again out to Mount Fox arriving early afternoon again glassing animals easily on Mount Claro itself. There were far less cows around today with the cattle movement seemingly done but we again headed back to my previously successful spot. This time we walked in much more slowly and were rewarded with excellent views of the Shaman as he welcomed us in with his outstretched arms. We spent quite a bit of time just watching and appreciating them and again felt quite serene in their presence. Back on the road we celebrated with a beer in the presence of a couple of Pretty-faced wallabies – the only ones of the trip.

The Shaman – a very spiritual experience

We birded a bit on the way back to Ingham and after a KFC dirty bird feed we spotlit around Tyto wetlands. While we hoped for a Grass Owl as per the name of the place but had no luck – White-browed Crakes and Large-tailed Nightjars a good compromise. Owen had a spot for some large-scrotumed gecko-skink or something near where we were staying so we decided to try for that next. It was only a kilometre up a path and a couple of hundred meter scrub bash apparently which seemed well within my unfit capabilities. It turned out to be a pretty epic night of scrub bashing, climbing silly mountains and rock hopping down creeklines but needless to say we dipped on the target. Pretty sure I am not built to be a herper – but I would be very fit if I ever became one!. We only ended up travelling 5 km as the riflebird flies but it was a seriously tough endeavour. Poor Owen brushed against some vine that would continually flair up and remind him of his folly over the next week or so – we were definitely very sympatheic. Needless to say we dipped on the fucking gecko!

Oh fuck

This is snek

Stay tuned for part two where we hook up the caravan and head west to the promised land.

Record of Leadbeater’s Possum in Bunyip State Park

Posted on July 27, 2020 by CorwinCaelin

Introduction

The observations were made in the Eastern part of Bunyip State Park in an area of regrowth Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) that burnt in Black Saturday in 2009. The site is about 250m above sea level and in the Lawson Creek catchment which eventually flows into Westernport Bay via the Bunyip River.

Bunyip State Park covers 16,600 hectares of various types of wet forest and heathland in the southern fall of the Great Dividing Range about 65km east of Melbourne. It contains a variety of forest types with the Mountain Ash forest largely confined to slopes in the north of the Park. Large parts of the east of the park burnt extensively in 2009 with much of the remainder burning in 2019. The burnt Mountain Ash habitat in the eastern of the park is similar to habitat where Leadbeater’s possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) occurs elsewhere with dead trees and an understory containing various wattle species. While not specifically targeting Leadbeater’s Possum at this site in May 2020 a brief stop did result in a good sighting with Scott Baker and Jim Wright.

Leadbeater’s Possum – Bunyip State Park

Observations

On the 15th of May 2020 Scott Baker, Jim Wright and myself (Tim Bawden) headed into the southern part of Tarago State Forest near Jindivick spotlighting in particular targeting Leadbeater’s Possum and large forest owls. The night was particularly successful with Leadbeater’s Possum found in the very south of Tarago State Forest (these records are some of the southernmost since rediscovery in 1961) and Sooty Owls observed along the Tarago River. Later in the evening the group decided to head home through the eastern edge of Bunyip State Park down Forest Road and stopped to check out the range-limited locally endemic Gully Grevillea (Grevillea barklyana). To our surprise we spotted a Leadbeater’s Possum in the very tree we were looking at. Upon leaving the car we pished and were able to call the animal back close enough for photos – another animal was observed close by and was heard drumming. The diagnostic shape and behaviour on both animals leaping through the understory was very evident. There was significant movement on the other side of the road which may have indicated a third animal but this was not confirmed. After a couple of minutes of spotlit observation we left the animals alone and tried two more sites further down with out success. Conditions were a very crisp, still and clear night with no risen moon and a temperature around 3 degrees C. Needless to say I was a little excited as I had tried for a while for this species in Bunyip SP.

Leadbeater’s Possum – Bunyip State Park

I was keen to return so a week later I headed back with Rohan Clarke and Scott Baker on the 23rd of May 2020. Unfortunately this night conditions were not ideal with constant drizzle and a SE-E wind and ~20kph winds with a temperature around 8 degrees C – there was no risen moon but would have been irrelevant with total cloud cover and fog throughout. Still we persisted and with a combination of pishing and Rohan’s thermal scope were able to locate a Leadbeater’s Possum approximately 200 meters south of the last sighting in Acacia dealbata. The animal was skittish perhaps due to the conditions but Scott was able to secure a diagnostic photograph. Other sites above and below this one were unsuccessful but conditions were definitely not conducive. Eventually we had to admit defeat and move to more sheltered areas.

Leadbeater’s Possum record shot – Scott Baker

On the 13th of June 2020 I returned with my son Lucas and we managed an hour of spotlighting in the area without success before gale-force winds moved us on. On the 19th of June 2020 Isaac Clarey and I had completed a loop through Tarago State Forest (LBP at 2 sites in State Forest) and spent 2 hours working Forest Road inside Bunyip State Park after midnight without success. Unfortunately Covid-19 has at this stage prevented further visits to the area.

Over the past 5 years I have driven this road many times at night and have stopped regularly to play owl calls without observing anything unusual.

Habitat

Habitat near the site showing fire killed Eucalytpus regnans – notice the uniform relatively small size of these stags

The area the Bunyip SP sightings occurred in was a small tongue of Mountain Ash in the Lawson Creek catchment that had burnt heavily in Black Saturday in 2009. It appears that this gully may have been logged before declaration of Bunyip State Park with none of the fire killed trees particularly large. No real evidence of large stags visible from the road during daylight visits. The fire appears to be have burnt hot enough to induce stand replacement in the Mountain Ash with many young ~10 year old trees coming through. Interestingly above the road line in the sighting location the forest changes to more stringybark types including Eucalyptus obliqua and Eucalyptus sieberi typical of many other slopes in Bunyip SP. There is a thick understory with abundant Acacia dealbata and Acacia obliquinervia with the odd Acacia melanoxylon and of course the Grevillea barklyana in which the first animal was spotted. The makeup of the understory is very similar to many other locations where I have observed Leadbeater’s Possum previously. Daylight observations of the forest area did not find any obvious denning locations with no large stags located – it is possible that the fire killed trees from 2009 are now cracking enough to provide some cover or there were other undiscovered options.

Typical understory in the area

Other nocturnal mammals seen in the immediate area during recent observations include Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps), Bobuck (Trichosurus cunninghami), Feather-tailed Glider (Acrobates sp) and Common Ring-tailed Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus). Nocturnal birds noted were Australian Owlet-nightjar (Aegotheles cristatus) and Australian Boobook (Ninox boobook)- it is noteworthy that in ~10+ nocturnal visits to this area over the past 5 years I have not not located any large forest owls with playback in this area of burnt forest despite them being relatively common nearby. Diurnal birds in the area are typical of similar wet forest areas in the region with notable species including Pilotbird (Pycnoptilus floccosus), Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae), Brown Gerygone (Gerygone mouki), Rose Robin (Petroica rosea) and Lewin’s Honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii).

One of the largest of the regenerating Mountain Ash in the immediate area

Significance

The Leadbeater’s Possum is a Critically Endangered possum species restricted to the Central Highlands around Melbourne and is Victoria’s fauna state emblem. It was discovered in 1867 and was only known from five specimens with the last one collected in 1909 and was considered likely extinct as most of the original lowland swamp habitat was drained and cleared for agriculture. In 1961 it was rediscovered by Eric Wilkinson in Ash forests near Cambarville. It has since been found to inhabit an area of perhaps 70 by 80 km from Toolangi in the west, Rubicon in the north, Baw Baw in the east and Tarago in the south – see interactive map. The majority of these records are in ash or snow gum forest with only one small isolated lowland population known at Yellingbo. There are few records in the Westernport Bay catchment since 1961.

In Bunyip State Park itself there are perhaps two previous records of Leadbeater’s Possum. The first by Richard Loyn and Ed McNabb occurred in 1981 on the southern slopes of Mount Beenak in an area on the very edge of the current day park in what was then Gembrook State Forest at an altitude of about 600m. I have searched this area over past few years without result. There is a second record from the 1990’s in the Blue Range on the very northern edge of Bunyip SP (ALA) but it is unclear if this was inside the park boundary – this area contains a lot of regrowth Ash forest and would be worth further investigation. The current observations are approximately 8km ESE of these and are well with the current park boundaries. Probably the closest sightings are the recent ones in the southern portion of Tarago State Forest – before these the species was not well known south of the Tarago River. It is interesting to consider if these recent sightings have moved in following regrowth and opportunity following the Black Saturday fires or have always been in the area. Further searching in the immediate catchment area and other parts of the Bunyip catchment would be worthwhile, particularly in lowland areas which are not dissimilar to the Yellingbo habitat. At this stage Covid restrictions prevent further investigation.

Leadbeater’s Possum from nearby Tarago State Forest – note white tail tip

References

“Atlas of Living Australia – Open Access to Australia’s Biodiversity Data.” Atlas of Living Australia, http://ala.org.au.
“Leadbeater’s Possum Interactive Map.” Leadbeater’s Possum Interactive Map, http://lbp.cerdi.edu.au/possum_map.php.
Lindenmayer, David, et al. Mountain Ash. CSIRO PUBLISHING, 2015.
Loyn, Richard, and E. G. McNabb. “Discovery of Leadbeater’s Possum in Gembrook State Forest.” Victorian Naturalist Vol 99, 1982.
Menkhorst, Peter, and Frank Knight. Field Guide to Mammals of Australia. OUP Australia & New Zealand, 2010.

Possum Magic

Posted on October 11, 2018 by CorwinCaelin

Last weekend I swung into the city to pick up Nik Haass and his lovely wife Raja before meeting up with Rohan Clarke for a night of looking for mammals in the Toolangi State Forest. As I have said previously it is not my favourite area of forest due to the pressures of excess logging but armed with spotlights, thermal cameras and a bat detector (and of course Rohan’s excellent local knowledge) we were pretty confident of seeing and hearing some cool stuff. This area of forest is largely unprotected and is still heavily logged despite being the western most habitat of the Critically Endangered Leadbeater’s Possum.

We started off in an area near Sylvia Creek Road and almost immediately Rohan found a Leadbeater’s Possum which was new for Nik and Raja. The views were fleeting as were a couple of others seen briefly soon after. They didn’t respond to pishing at all during the night perhpas due to the lack of moon and the threat of predators. There were a number of bats flitting around so I faffed around with the bat detector a bit quickly picking up a couple of Vespadelus species and Chocolate Wattled Bat.

Leadbeater’s Possum – Toolangi State Forest

As usual when something cool turns up I was taking a nature break and after a quick jog up the road found that Rohan has found a lovely little tubby Eastern Pygmy Possum low down in road side foliage. Despite missing a good chunk of its tail this animal was in good condition with its little fat rolls seen well. It gave walk away views and we picked it up again on the walk back down the road which showed the thermal camera was not missing much.

Eastern Pygmy-possum

From here we moved on trying a number of spots picking up mere glimpses of Leadbeater’s Possum in the thermal camera as well as plenty of Bobuck and a couple of Greater Glider. I wandered off with the bat detector and picked up an Eastern Falsistrellus doing loops which is an impressively large microbat of the wet forests of SE Australia. It would be new for Nik and Raja so we drove down to the spot and sat and waited and sure enough it was soon picked up on the detector and then spotlit giving decent views. We also detected a Long-eared Bat sp which looped around before ducking into foliage and was lost. Disappointingly we heard no Sooty Owls for the night but there were plenty of Boobooks and the odd Tawny and Owlet-nightjar calling as well as a couple of late night cuckoos.

Eastern Falsistrellus – showing its distinctive frequency around 35 kHz

About now the batteries in the hand held thermal camera were running low so Rohan mounted the car unit and we went for a drive picking up plenty of Bobucks and the odd ringtail and roosting bird. Eventually late in the evening we disturbed a wombat off the road which seemed to flush a small mammal upwards which glowed in the thermal camera. A bit of stumbling round and it was found to be a Feather-tailed Glider which decided freezing was its best defence and allowed a few photos of its feet and tail but not much else. It eventually decided it was time to flee and we got fantastic views of it moving adeptly through the thick lower story until we lost it. Analysis of the photos later appear to confirm that it is a Narrow-toed Feather-tailed Glider but would welcome comment on the pics below.

Narrow-toed? Feather-tailed Glider

Toes

Tail tip

Toes

To wrap things up nicely we heard Yellow-bellied Gliders on the way out and while we stopped and looked for them and heard their gurgling call a number of times we couldn’t get an eye on them. All in all an excellent night with some 8 species of glider and possum seen between the party. It is such a shame that the remnants of this forest are not better protected and it seems a shame that logging seems to continue at a pace before its seemingly inevitable cessation in the Central Highlands around Melbourne – #GFNP

All in all an excellent night!

The bucket list – a Wallaby and a Wombat – part 1

Posted on August 12, 2018 by CorwinCaelin

It was getting to that time of year again – time for Rohan Clarke and I to head somewhere to see something amazing. This year I was to fly into Mackay and meet up with him after he had an excellent 3 week holiday with the family while they would fly back to Melbourne and we would drive the car home (while diverting to some interesting sites of course) We had joked last year that we should combine a trip for Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat and Bridled Nail-tailed Wallaby and through academic contacts of Rohan’s things had fallen into place. Permission had been granted to enter Epping Forest National Park to trial thermal camera gear as a survey method – this is the only place that the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat remains in the wild. In addition we also had permission to go to Taunton National Park – this is where the Bridled Nail-tailed Wallaby was “rediscovered” in 1973 when a fencing contractor reported seeing these tiny macropods when they had been considered extinct for 40 years. Around these two cornerstones and a few other targets we planned a trip back to Melbourne.

Despite a few delays in Brisbane I flew into Mackay and landed around 4:30 pm picking up a hire car for the evening – this was my first time back in Mackay since an epic family holiday back in 1982 – I am sure it hadn’t changed a bit! I was checking into my motel while a Red-whiskered Bulbul called outside – a Queensland plastic rarity which was somewhat amusing. Rohan had permission to spend his last night with the family spotlighting (thanks Kate) so we had a cunning plan to go look for Water Mouse (aka False Water Rat) at a site south of Mackay. Needless to say after several hours bashing through mangroves and surrounding grassy swamp areas we dipped. We did find a number of Melomys but were unsure of species. Birds were better with two species of nightjar and a Grass Owl on the way out.

I was up early and headed to the Botanic Garden for an excellent couple of hours of birding. It was great to catch up with birds I had not seen for a couple of years – things like Cotton Pygmy-geese, Jacanas and Yellow Honeyeaters showed I wasn’t in Melbourne anymore. Also of interest was a Platypus snuffling around which I was quite surprised to see here in the middle of town in a coastal location. I returned the car and met up with Rohan and after a quick supermarket shop for supplies we headed out towards Eungella. A Pacific Baza perched beside the road giving excellent views was a nice start – this is a species I had only seen a couple of times previously. I had two realistic bird targets for the trip with the first being White-browed Robin. We stopped at the first likely bit of habitat on the Pioneer River and after a bit of poking round we found a lovely couple of pairs of White-browed Robin in a strip of riparian vegetation between the river and the cane. After spending a bit of time with these it is clear it is my new second favourite robin – after Southern Scrub-robin of course.

White-browed Robin

From here is was up to the township of Eungella perched on the plateau of the Clarke Range west of Mackay. There is a bird around here called the Eungella Honeyeater which is probably the only Australian species formally described in my lifetime (1983) and restricted to a small area of upland rainforest and surrounds. This range restricted species can be difficult at times to connect with but Elliot Leach had given us his best spot which paid off as soon as we rolled down the hill the appropriate distance! While we made lunch we saw a number of Eungella Honeyeaters calling and returning too and from some flowering in some tall trees. Lifer number two of the trip and thankyou Elliot!! I would have loved to have stayed and explored but time was short and we rolled on to Broken River which must be the easiest place in Australia to see Platypus.

Eungella Honeyeater

Platypus

Carlia rhomboidalis

From here we spent some time in Crediton State Forest doing some birding and recce for spotlighting later in the evening. A highlight was the range restricted Peppered-belly broad-tailed gecko (quite a mouthful – but a lovely gecko) After a good meal we did some bat detecting down by a creek picking up Eastern Forest Bat and Little Bentwing Bat. Further up the road we spotlit a number of Central Greater Gliders (Lifer) as well as some very vocal Yellow-bellied Gliders and a Sooty Owl – a pretty good start to the evening! Back to Broken River and Rohan picked up a tiny thermal speck in the top of the canopy which after much contortion was found to be a Broad-toed Feather-tailed Glider (Lifer) which was pretty cool. We found it again as we walked back up the road which showed the thermal camera was probably not missing anything!

Peppered-belly broad-tailed gecko

Broad-toed Feather-tailed Glider

From here we moved out through drier areas towards Eungella Dam – during this drive we saw good numbers of Central Greater Glider in habitat that seems unusual including a couple of animals cavorting on the ground in a cow paddock!!! The trees were low and no Southern Greater Glider would be seen dead in such second class habitat! Also of interest were a couple of Rufous Bettong and Sugar Glider as well as a Boobook with an unidentifed Rat prey. When we reached the dam area we parked and went for a walk where we found several Squirrel Gliders in a flowering tree which were clearly larger and bulkier than the Sugar seen earlier. Jono Dashper had said this was a great site for Unadorned Rock-wallaby (Lifer) and so it proved with perhaps half a dozen seen including a mother and joey. They certainly lived up to the Unadorned name…..

Squirrel Glider

Central Greater Glider

Unadorned Rock-wallaby

Up early we birded around Eungella Dam seeing some nice wetland species as well as an interesting mix of dry and wetter country birds. At one stop we found an unfortunate Squirrel Glider deceased on a barbed wire fence – these must take a terrible toll in this glider rich area. We had vague info that the area towards Nebo was good for Spectacled Hare-wallaby so headed in that direction. A nice group of Squatter Pigeons was a highlight as it was the first time I have seen the southern subspecies. We spent the night spotlighting and thermal camera around Homevale National Park which was an interesting blend of dry woodland and escarpment country only about 20km as the crow flies from Eungella. Hearing Lewin’s and Scarlet Honeyeater calling in seemingly dry country was quite unusual. Highlights of the evening were three Rufous Bettong, a small pack of Dingo and several Barking Owl as well as Spotted Nightjar, Squirrel Glider and a good number of microbats around the camp.

Squirrel Glider – unfortunately killed on barbed wire

Squatter Pigeon

Barking Owl

Today was a big day – we were heading to Epping Forest National Park to hopefully see one of the most endangered species in Australia. On the way to Nebo we found recently harvested fields full of 100’s of Brolga and Bustard as well as large flocks of Red-winged Parrot which glowed in the morning sun. A bit further on we flushed a large flock of finches off the side of the road which proved to be Plum-headed Finches – a species I had only seen once previously. We stopped and it proved to be a great location with a conservative estimate of 500 Plum-heads as well as other nice species like Black and Black-chinned Honeyeater, Squatter Pigeon and Little Woodswallow. At Clermont we stopped for lunch and supplies before birding a bit at Hood’s Lagoon which was a nice stop. From here it was onto Epping Forest National Park where we were greeted by the current caretakers – Sandra and Charlotte. Epping Forest National Park was the last place in the world where Northern hairy-nosed wombat occurrs in the wild and was as low as 30 animals in the 1970s. Numbers have increased to more than 200 at Epping and there is a second introduced population but it is still very much endangered. Access to the park is restricted and Rohan had organised through academic contacts over a number of months. There is a fence around the park to keep dingos out and wombats in but it is not a true predator proof fence – cats and foxes would have no problem passing through and indeed we saw several cats and more prints during our visit. The speed limit in Epping is 20 km/h during the day and 5 km/h during the night and it never seems too slow.

The caretakers were amazing with their hospitality and insisted on cooking as dinner. We had a nice evening drive and were very privileged to see our first Northern hairy-nosed wombat sitting outside their burrow in the evening sun. The wombat bolted back into its hole but soon emerged to give us another view. We were stoked and returned for a celebratory drink and an excellent dinner. The caretakers at Epping are all volunteers and do an amazing job checking the fences, looking for signs of predators and protecting the park.

Wombat!

Bucket List number 1

After dinner we headed out for a long night of using the thermal camera and spotlighting. There were many wallabies and kangaroos which were somewhat distracting but at least showed the thermal camera was working. The grass was high but the car-mounted thermal camera cut right through it which showed the value of it as a survey tool. A small signal proved to be a Spectacled Hare-wallaby which was a new very cool macropod for me. It allowed reasonably close views but was a bit skittish but I was happy to get some distant photos. A bit later on we were able to get extremely close to another Hare-wallaby which decided that hunkering down in some grass was good camouflage even when we wandered up right next to it – no wonder they get smashed by foxes in range. It took a while but eventually we picked up a wombat in the thermal and then I was shocked to see one waddle across the middle of the screen not five meters from the car! They were very skittish though and not tolerant of white light at all. Red light was somewhat better but they would still bolt to a hole if they heard or smelt us (several days without a shower and I was probably quite stinky) It was an amazing night – probably saw eight wombats (including a couple thermal only) and at least that many hare-wallabies as well as plenty of other critters and a few night birds.

Spectacled Hare-wallaby

Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat

In the morning we birded a bit and checked out some impressive wombat burrows before we had to head off. A young Black-breasted Buzzard took a bit too much thinking to work out but I blame to lack of sleep. I think it is fair to say we were both somewhat in awe of the experience and very privileged. I did accidentally leave my boots in Epping but I think that was a fair price to pay for such an amazing experience!!

Wombat burrow

A mystery solved

Posted on May 24, 2017 by CorwinCaelin

A couple of weeks ago I headed up to Euroa with Scott and left with a bit of a mystery. I had seen small, agile and very fast mammals running round in the top of a eucalypt without getting good looks. By process of elimination on range and behaviour I thought they must be Feathertail Gliders but something in the back of my mind did not sit right. So I hit up Rohan Clarke for a bit of a jaunt up the Hume. We got out of Melbourne a bit later than expected getting onsite after 7pm. A scan of the relevant tree from last time with the thermal camera revealed nothing. We decided to walk the roadside reserve and quickly Rohan spotted some hot spots in the thermal camera. Flicking on the red light we observed an Antechinus type which on ranged is probably Yellow-footed. Further on he started to pick up many house mice including a number quite high in vegetation.

Squirrel Glider

We meandered along for several hours and found three different Squirrel Gliders as well as more common things. The Squirrel Gliders were high in eucalypts feeding on sap and gave great views if a little high for good photos. I believe these three to be different individuals to the last visit so confirms a good population in this area and shows the value of these remnant roadside vegetation. Somewhat surprisingly there was very little bat activity compared to two week previously despite conditions being very similar.

Eventually I spotlit a small mammal high in a eucalypt and got a little excited. Some more observation showed further small, fast mammals in the tree. Unfortunately when we finally got a light on them they turned out to be house mice! They are not normally known to inhabit the high branches of a mature tree but here they were. After some double (and triple) checking we realised the mystery from last time was solved and headed for home. Not quite the result we were after but any night you see three endangered Victorian Squirrel Gliders is a good night!

The Squirrel Glider – an endangered Victorian

Posted on May 7, 2017 by CorwinCaelin

Late last year I spent an evening around Euroa looking for Squirrel Glider with Scott Baker and Owen Lishmund without success. The weather was looking pretty foul around Melbourne but a quick check of the weather forecast showed it likely much better north of the divide so I hit up Scott for another crack. I picked him up about 5pm and we headed up the Hume arriving onsite west of Euroa a bit before 7pm. This is an area of remnant roadside vegetation and easements with some excellent old growth box and other eucalypt species with a high density of hollows. Leaving the car we quickly saw a number of Ringtail and Brushtail possums as well as many microbats zipping around despite the cool weather. Scott had to return to the car to get more batteries when I spotlit a small mammal bolting back into a hollow. Further spotlighting of the tree showed a number of other small, very fast arboreal mammals which were very light shy. By process of elimination I believe they were Feathertail Gliders but unfortunately just could not get a good enough glimpse to confirm. About now the heavens opened up and I rather fatefully left the camera in the car.

We continued to wander along the easement seeing many more Ringtails and a rather cheeky Fox. Eventually Scott found a glider but it was just a Sugar. The smell and noise from nearby pig farms was slightly disturbing! We were about a kilometer from the car when Scott spotlit a noticeably larger and fluffier glider perched low down just off the track. This was unmistakably a Squirrel Glider with its large fluffy tail looking like near half its body volume. My previous sightings in Victoria have been in nestboxes which does not give perspective on the animal. It gave us excellent close walk away views with just one small problem – the cameras were a kilometer away in the car! Still it was a memorable experience as Squirrel Gliders are endangered in Victoria and probably have a smaller population here than the Leadbeater’s Possums I photographed last week! They are more common in Northern NSW into Queensland.

We walked back to the car and drove around to the other end of the easement hoping that the Squirrel Glider was still in the same tree but without success. A search of the area could not relocate it. Still nearby we had a Brush-tailed Phascogale run down a tree propping nicely for excellent binocular views. Unfortunately it was too high and obscured for good photos. Still another threatened Victorian mammal – the night well a success.

Brush-tailed Phascogale – just a record shot of a cool animal

We tried a few other areas and eventually found a second Squirrel Glider – this one a bit smaller but it sat well for photographs, if a bit far away. This area is clearly a stronghold for the species in Victoria and clearly demonstrates the importance of the remnant roadside and easement vegetation. Eventually we called it a night and headed back to Melbourne arriving just after midnight – all in all a very successful night. The tail on the Squirrel Glider is something else – I think I have a new one to add to the favourite list!

Squirrel Glider

Revisiting old friends – Leadbeater’s Possum in the Central Highlands

Posted on April 30, 2017 by CorwinCaelin

Still coming down from the buzz of seeing my first Letter-winged Kite, I decided it was time to head back into the Central Highlands to look for Leadbeater’s Possum and other furry targets. I hadn’t had a chance to get out to see Leadbeater’s Possum this year so I decided it was definitely time to rectify that. Dan Ashdown (one of the discovers of the Letter-winged Kite earlier in the week) met me at the station and we headed east. We poked around Tarago State Forest and Reservoir not seeing particularly much but were stopped in our tracks as yet again this area of forest was closed due to a car rally!! So we drove a few other areas with the highlights being large numbers of Lyrebirds running off the sides of the roads.

It was starting to get dark so headed in to Powelltown to pick up a burger which we took back up the hill, sitting on the edge of a devastated logging coupe where a juvenile Sooty Owl screamed incessantly from across the valley. Rohan Clarke caught up with us and at our second stop we came across a few Leadies which gave good views but would not stop for pics. There were a couple of bats flitting around here with Gould’s Wattled Bat and Eastern Falsistrellus (which I still need a confirmed sighting of!) picked up on the bat detector. Over the next few stops we steadily picked up more Leadbeater’s Possum and other cool stuff like Bobucks, Sugar Gliders, Agile Antechinus and Bush Rat. The Leadies were quite reactive and gave a good show of their diagnostic squirrel like movement and a couple of them even propped for a happy snap or two. Eventually we found the only Greater Glider for the evening sitting in a mountain ash. A distant Boobook caused some confusion until we got better views – it was variously called Greater Glider, Sooty and Powerful Owl until we got our act together!

Leadbeater’s Possum

We ended the night at a very recently cleared and burnt logging coupe right in the middle of the area that supports high densities of the Critically Endangered Leadbeater’s Possum. The devastation in these areas is absolute with the so called “habitat trees” that are left behind killed and blackened by the followup high intensity burning of the coupes. We need a Great Forest National Park to protect this area, the animals that live here, to protect our water supplies and to as the best carbon store in the world. To continue to clearfell this area is criminal. Somewhat deflated we headed home, dodging wombats and swamp wallabies.

Leadbeater’s Possum

Ton up on a brief Cairns wildlife adventure

Posted on December 29, 2016 by CorwinCaelin

At the start of the year I set a goal of trying to see 100 mammal species in Australia for the year. By December I had crawled my way to 89 and with work busy and a hectic schedule it was looking unlikely that I would make it. I managed to find a small window and booked flights to Cairns for a few nights up on the Atherton Tablelands where a suite of a number of new types possum and other local mammal specialties should get me there with a bit of luck. I flew out of Melbourne Saturday morning and landed in Cairns just after lunch. My headtorch had gone walkabout so I had to head into the CBD for a replacement where it is almost impossible to miss the several camps of Spectacled Flying-fox. There was a shortage of head torches but I eventually found one and headed off to the Botanic Gardens where Spotted Whistling Ducks had been reported recently. They were not there but good numbers of Radjah Shelduck and a Black Bittern were nice for a Southerner and got the bird list kick started. From here I headed up the coast getting Agile Wallaby on the northern outskirts before stopping briefly at Rex Lookout but the tide was too high to go exploring for bats in the crevices below. It was then onto Julatten and one of my favourite birdwatching areas in Kingfisher Park and Mount Lewis. I had never been here towards the wet season so very quickly picked up my first new bird of the trip in Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher, a spectacular bird that migrates from New Guinea to nest during the wet season. It proved common on the ground of Kingfisher Park. A quick wander round the grounds to get my ear in then I got prepared for a long evening of spotlighting.

Litoria infrafrenata

I had an excellent meal at the Highlander Tavern watching swiftlets wheel overhead and a Bush-hen call from the vegetation below before heading up Mount Lewis. It was starting to rain and there were good numbers of frogs out including Litoria infrafrenata, jungguy and serrata. About halfway up a Papuan Frogmouth was disturbed from its roadside perch. Up at the clearing on top of the mountain the cloud had come right in and the wind was up so observation was difficult. With a bit of effort I was able to find four Daintree River Ring-tailed Possum and a single Green Ring-tailed Possum which were both new for me. Conditions were not really improving so I worked my way back down the mountain seeing a couple of Northern Long-nosed Bandicoots on the way.

Daintree River RIng-tailed Possum

Green Ring-tailed Possum

I spent the next few hours spotlighting in and around Kingfisher Park doing quite well. I started with Fawn-footed Melomys and Bush Rat at the feeders and Northern Brown Bandicoot nearby before finding a couple of Eastern Blossom Bats in the orchard which are easily observed under red light. Red-legged Pademelon and both bandicoots were readily encountered as I walked around and around the grounds. Eventually I found a nice Striped Possum in the canopy which was quite noisy as it moved around – I had seen this species last time I was here and was happy to see again although it was too high for photos. The highlight of the night (and possibly the trip) was a Diadem Leaf-nosed Bat which I found hunting from a perch near the toilets. It hated white light but would sit quite happily under red-light allowing for binocular observation. It would wiggle its head in a circle before leaving the perch to hunt and returning – a very cool animal. I was staying in the bunkhouse which I had to myself eventually retiring sometime after midnight.

Litoria serrata

Northern leaf-tailed Gecko

I woke early and headed up Mount Lewis with a couple of birds in my sights. Andrew from KF Park had told me the small cutting half way up the mountain was currently good for Blue-faced parrot-finch and so it proved with one seen almost as soon as I left the car. It immediately flew so I sat down to wait. Within five minutes a good half dozen of the birds came in to feed on the seeding grasses giving great binocular views. A much wanted tick and every bit as impressive as they look in the books. Further up the mountain I parked at the main clearing and took the forest walk. There were plenty of nice birds including wet tropic endemics like Fernwren, Mountain Thornbill and the Riflebird. Further up Tooth-billed Bowerbird and heaps of Chowchilla were good to reconnect with. I eventually wandered past the dam and perhaps 500 meters further on I had an exquisite male Golden Bowerbird land so close to me that my camera could not focus. It sat and regarded me for perhaps 15 seconds before flying away. This was another lifer for me and now my new favourite Australian bird! I was quite stoked as I headed back to the car with three amazing iconic new birds in less than 24 hours.

From here I headed south and after a breakfast coffee ended up at Granite Gorge near Mareeba. I paid my ten dollars and duly ended up sitting getting a lap dance from a Mareeba Rock-wallaby. I was quite torn as many of the animals appear in poor health and such a setup would probably be banned in Victoria. Still it was very interesting to study them up close and when an adult male hopped on my lap I got an appreciation of just how small and light they are and how easily many of our rock-wallabies could be smashed by foxes. I really don’t know what should be done about this place but I have heard they are at least being fed macropod pellets now rather than random human food so perhaps a step in the right direction. I do know it is one I want to sanitize on my list in the future. I was now sitting on 99 mammals for the year so headed to Mareeba Wetlands where the lovely staff showed me the Large-footed Myotis roosting in the cafe building. There were perhaps twenty of them huddled in several locations which gave me my 100th mammal of the year. I celebrated with a nice pot of tea! Perhaps not the same as a Boxing Day hundred at the MCG but I was pretty chuffed with myself.

Mareeba Rock-wallaby

Large-footed Myotis

From here I drove north and checked many culverts and drains from Mt Molloy to Mt Carbine and beyond but aside from sore knees found nothing much aside from a couple of geckos and frogs. Andrew and Carol (who are excellent and free with their knowledge) had told me about a roost flyout of Little Bent-winged Bat near Kingfisher Park so I sat out in the park in the passing showers and waited for dusk. Perhaps ten minutes before dark bats began to pour from a small spout in one of the large eucalypts and I was able to get excellent views under red light as many of the bats flew out and latched on to branches nearby. Straight after dark it began to rain heavily and did not really let up all evening. I did go out and get wet and saw some great frogs and eventually an awesome Giant White-tailed Rat which was checking out a fruiting tree. Eventually I decided to cut my losses and went to bed early (midnight) knowing I would have a late night tomorrow.

makes my knees sore to look at

Mixophyes coggeri

It was still raining so I must admit I slept in a bit before heading south. After coffee (of course) I checked out Tolga Scrub but the flying-fox roost was currently empty. At Nerada Tea Plantation the staff took one look at my binoculars and knew I was there for the tree-kangaroos. They were not in their usual spots and it started to rain heavily so I relaxed with a nice pot of the local brew until it cleared. Out near the carpark in the drizzle I found two Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo which gave good views as they chilled and did their daytime thing. My only other view of this species was years ago on Mount Lewis as one crossed the road so it was great to get relaxed viewing.

Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroo

I visited many of the usual southern tablelands birding spots but it was very dry and quiet and eventually Herberton to add Little Red Flying-fox to the year list before heading to Chambers Wildlife Lodge near Lake Eacham to check in. I grilled them for sites for my remaining targets and was pleased to learn that Herbert River Ring-tailed Possum sometimes visit the grounds. They also have a feed station setup which nightly gets visited by Sugar Glider and apparently recently a Striped Possum mum and bub. After a quick walk around the grounds I headed out to mount Hypipamee for spotlighting on dusk. Here I had an excellent night with around a dozen Lemuroid Ring-tailed Possum – a weird looking possum as well as plenty of great frogs and a screaming tyto. The possum was new for me but was somewhat tinged by a tiny long-tailed grey mammal which I had briefly in the spotlight. Possibly a long-tailed pygmy-possum or a tree mouse but one that definitely got away.

Lemuroid RIng-tailed Possum

Back at Chambers I tried a couple of local spots for Herbert River Ringtail before sitting down and watching the feed station hoping for some Striped Possum photos. The Stripies did not come in this night but I had excellent views and photo opportunities for Sugar Gliders as the glided in. Once the lights went out here I went out spotlighting and eventually sometime after midnight I managed a Herbert River Ring-tailed Possum in what appeared to be someone’s front yard. I had excellent binocular views but unfortunately had left my camera back in my room so tried to take a picture with the iPhone – see below….. On the way back to bed I was kicking Northern Long-nosed Bandicoots out of the way.

Sugar Glider

Herbert River Ring-tailed Possum….. Honest!!!

It was raining heavily again in the morning so I cruised back to Cairns and onto a plane home – too short a trip but an excellent one with 17 new mammals for the year list and three new birds as well as excellent frogs. I really need to go back and photograph things with more time as well as clean up all the mammals I still need up that way. Thanks to Sim and Lucas for letting me go (and putting up with me this year) and Rohan Clarke for igniting the beast and getting us both on a non big year mammal medium year!

Summary of mammals seen below:

Short-beaked Echidna – One on side of road as I was descending Gilles into Cairns
Northern Brown Bandicoot – A couple at Kingfisher Park and one beside the road near Wongabell State Forest
Northern Long-nosed Bandicoot – Easy to see at Kingfisher Park and Chambers Lodge, also on Mt Lewis
Striped Possum – One seen on the first night in the canopy at Kingfisher Park. Apparently a mother and baby have been coming in at Chambers Lodge late most nights but not when I was there.
Sugar Glider – Quite a few came in to the feeding station at Chambers Lodge and were quite tame. Easy to spotlight in the surrounding forest too
Lemuroid Ring-tailed Possum – About a dozen seen from the carpark at Mt Hypipamee up to and along the main road a way and at the road works clearing about 3km up the road.
Daintree River Ring-tailed Possum – Four seen within 500m of the clearing on Mt Lewis including a mum and bub
Herbert River Ring-tailed Possum – thought I was going to dip but finally got one in someone’s driveway near Lake Eacham after midnight
Green Ring-tailed Possum – One spotlit on Mt Lewis and one seen during the day at Curtain Fig
Common Brush-tailed Possum – One during the day at Granite Gorge and several at Mt Hypipamee
Musky Rat-kangaroo – One only on Mt Lewis!
Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroo – Two seen near the carpark at Nerada Tea Plantation. Staff are very helpful and the tea good.
Mareeba Rock-wallaby – I had a lap dance at Granite Gorge from a rock-wallaby – these animals are not in a good state – very sad. One I would like to sanitize on my list next visit.
Red-legged Pademelon – Common at Kingfisher Park, Mt Lewis and Southern Tablelands.
Eastern Grey Kangaroo – Two just north of Mareeba on side of the road
Agile Wallaby – Common from the outskirts of Cairns
Fawn-footed Melomys – Common and easily seen at Kingfisher Park. One spotlit at Chambers Lodge
Giant White-tailed Rat – One seen on second night at Kingfisher Park in the rain. Impressive animal.
Bush Rat – Common and easily seen at Kingfisher Park
Eastern Blossum-bat – Several in Orchard area at Kingfisher Park – easy to get good views under red light
Spectacled Flying-fox – Hard to miss as you drive into Cairns. Odd animals encountered while spotlighting each night
Little Red Flying-fox – Camp at Tolga Scrub seems abandoned. Big colony at Herberton
Diadem leaf-nosed Bat – Cracker of an animal and probably the highlight of the trip. I was able to watch the bat hunting from a perch under red light at Kingfisher Park. It would move its head in a circular motion before flying off and back to perch.
Little Bent-winged Bat – I watched the flyout of a roost of 50+ of these bats in Geraughty Park next to Kingfisher Park. Red light again helpful as they would fly out and often land in the surrounding trees. Andrew and Carol can point you to the right tree.
Large-footed Myotis – Easily seen in the visitors centre at Mareeba Wetlands – just ask the staff. Also found under a couple of bridges in the Yungaburra area.
Feral Cat – One seen on Mt Lewis and one at Mt Hypipamee
Also saw a long-tailed, small grey mammal with pale blue eyeshine run up a tree at Mt Hypipamee – one that got away. Plenty of bats got away too – with many different types seen while spotlighting. I had almost no luck at all checking culverts, bridges and picnic shelters for roosts this trip.