Sturt National Park NSW

These photos are taken at Sturt National Park in the NW corner of NSW. The last time I visited this area it was dry.  It took me by surprise to find water here. And even more surprised to find water birds here. This was the first egret I saw on this journey, in a place that I expected to see little more than dry dirt.

This next image with emus wandering through the shallows are about where I camped on my last visit here 3 years ago.

 As the water dries out the mud surface shrinks and cracks and crunches under your feet as you walk on it.

 Galahs, a member  of the parrot family are found in most parts of Australia. Sometimes huge flocks of thees birds drink at the temporary water holes. They are social birds and fun to watch.

Kangaroos (macropods)

This unusual looking creature is a Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroo found only in Daintree area in Qld. It is a good example of how creatures evolve to suit the habitat they are living in. Rainforrest can be really dense and getting around in trees is easier than try to get through dense areas of ground level rainforrest vegetation.

Kangaroos are one of Australia's iconic animals and seeing them is almost obligatory if you visit from anywhere overseas. In reality the term kangaroo is given to group of animals of similar appearance but they range from possum sized betongs and rat-kangaroos to red kangaroos that stand nearly as tall as person. The largest ones we call kangaroos, wallabies are medium sized and the betongs, pademelons, rat kangaroos are examples of the smaller representatives of the group.

They can be found in just about every habitat: desert, grasslands, scrublands, forrests, rocky mountain ranges and any thing in between. Some live entirely in the open while others like the betongs, scrape out a depresson and build woven nests under grass tussocks to shelter in. Some are adept at jumping up rocky ridges while others like the tree kangaroos not only climb but spend most of their lives in the trees. The following images are a few of the different kinds found on the east coast area of Australia. Kangaroos are part of a group of primitive mammals called marsupials which have pouches for their young. Very soon after birth the very tiny baby kangaraoo climbs up through its mother's fur into the protection of its pouch where it will spend many more months growing before it is ready to be independant. This is a pademelon joey taken at Womboyne Lake, NSW.

Typically we see kangaroos in this upright pose ready to hop off, however much of the time they dont actually hop on two legs. The next few pictures show how they not only use all four limbs to move but also their tail, which they use like an extra leg to support their body when they swing their rear legs forward.

All the above shots are of pademelons taken at Womboyne Lake, NSW.

This is an Agile Wallaby taken near Cooktown, Qld. (above and below)

This is a Black or Swamp Wallaby, taken in Qld but they are found all along the east coast of Australia around to the SA border. They feed on shrubs, ferns, sedges and only some grasses and are often active during the day but they are shy and solitary.

At night time at Cania Gorge these little members of the kangaroo family come out to graze. It is a Rufous Betong. When they stand they are really cute like minature kangaroos but when they are on all fours feeding they look a lot more possum like. They use their claws to did for tubers and underground fungi and they also eat seeds, insects, some grasses and sedge stems.
They are restricted to NE coast of Australia now but in tne past they were found in Victoria near they Murray River.


This is an Eastern Grey kangaroo taken at Narooma, NSW.

Odonata ( dragonflies & damselflies)

The images taken in this post are all from the same sunny day in December 2008 at Mount Anan Botanical Gardens, near Sydney around a small dam.

I always look for dragonflies and damselflies when I'm near any fresh water. I love the different colours that they come in. Often it is not obvious how beautiful they really are until I see the photos on the computer. On a sunny day with lots of different species flying around I feel like a kid in a lolly shop and never know which one to try and photograph first.


This is a Blue Skimmer or Orthetrum caledonicum, a member of the Libellulidae family and is found right across Australia. This is the male: the female is yellow and black.


Not a lot of vegetation surrounds the edge of the dam but there were a number of sticks towards the middle that the dragonflies used to perch on. There are two different species sitting on the stick above. These two are both members of the Libellulidae family. The top one is a Graphic Flutterer or Rhyothemis graphirtera. The lower one is another Blue Skimmer.

There were a few of these red dragonflies which are called Scarlet Perchers or Diplacodes haematodes, another member of the Libellulidae. This one is flying, patrolling the edge of the dam.

Damselflies can be distinguished from the dragonflies not only by their finer body shape but also the way they hold their wings when they rest. Damselflies generally hold their wings together along the length of their body whereas dragon flies wings sit at 90deg to its body like the red one above. (there are a few exceptions where damselflies do hold their wings like a dragonfly)

This is a Red and Blue Damsel or a Xanthagrion erythroneurum. It is a male indicated by the fact that it has bright blue markings at the tip of the abdomen which females do not. These pretty little damsels are found nearly all over Australia, (with exception of Cape York) and also New Zealand, Fiji and New Caledonia. If you look at the wing tips you can little dark patches. All dragonflies and damsels have this (and some other insects as well). It is called a pterostigma, (which literally means wing mark) It has been recently realised that this little bit of colouring is actually an area of the wing that is a bit thicker and stiffer than the rest of it. It keeps the wings from deforming when the insect is flying...must help out with accuracy and sharp turns no end. Because they have such amazing flying abilities, research is being carried out on dragonflies so that we can build technology with the same abilities. (of course you guessed it...for military purposes.) 350 million years of evolution has refined the design of the wings and strengthening veins so well that it makes Leonardo's flying machine models look extremely simplistic.

This female damsel is laying eggs under the vegetation. There can be quite distinct colour differences between male and female damselflies and dragonflies. Even males that are very colourful when they are fully mature may be quite dull and almost like a female in colour when they first emerge out of the water.

The little blue spots on top of the eyes called postocular spots and are only found on some species. They are one on the characteristics that help identify an individual.

After mating the male damselfly often holds onto the female until she has laid her eggs to ensure that she doesn't go off with another male.

Both these photos were taken at Mount Anan, near Sydney NSW. This pair of damselflies are in the process of laying eggs. The male (the blue one) holds the female as she deposits her eggs on the underside of a leaf.

Dragonflies & Damselflies (Odonata)

Following is a collection of dragonflies and damselflies from different parts of Australia. I have only identified a few of them. If any one could help me identify any of these, either family, genus or species it would be much apreciated.
Most dragonflies live a good part of their life as nymphs in water. Fisherman know some of them as mudeyes and are used as bait for fishing. They are predators both as nymphs and as adults and they feed on insects and are thus important in the control of pests such as mosquitos. The adults especially the dragonflies are expert fliers and can change direction on the head of a pin and hover in mid air too. They catch other insects on the wing. Apart from being beautiful and harmless to people they are important indicators in assessing the health of water bodies as they cannot survive in poor quality water.

1. Keep River NP, NT.

2. Parry's Lagoon, NT.

3. Howard Springs, NT.

4. Howard Springs, NT.

5. Fogg Dam, NT.

6. Darwin, NT.

7. Umbrawarra Gorge, NT.


8. Umbrawarra Gorge, NT.

9. Howard Springs, NT.

10. Darwin, NT.

11.

12. Darwin, NT.

13. Litchfield NP, NT.

14. Litchfield NP, NT.

15. Litchfield NP, NT.

16. Lithchfield NP, NT.

17. Litchfield NP, NT.

18. Litchfield NP, NT.

19. near Darwin, NT.

20. near Darwin, NT.

21. near Darwin, NT.

22. Darwin, NT.

23. Litchfield NP, NT.

24. Litchfield NP, NT.

25. Litchfield NP, NT.

26. Litchfield NP, NT.

27. Darwin area, NT.

28. Darwin area, NT.

29. Darwin area, NT.

30. Kakadu NP, NT.

31. Kakadu NP, NT.

32. Umbrawarra Gorge, NT.

33. Cooktown, FNQ, Qld.

34. Cooktown, FNQ, Qld.

35. Cooktown, Qld.

36. Cooktown, FNQ, Qld.

37. Cooktown, FNQ, Qld.

38. Lakefield NP, Qld.


39. Lakefield NP, Qld.

40. Lakefield NP, Qld.

41. Lakefield NP, Qld.

42. Lakefield NP, Qld.

43. Mareeba wetlands, Qld.

44. Mt Isa, Qld.

45. Mt Isa, Qld.

46. Mt Isa, Qld.

47. Charters Towers, Qld.

48. Mt Isa, Qld.

49. Cooktown, FNQ, Qld.

50. Cooktown, Qld.

51. Damselfly nymphs, Barwon River, Geelong, Vic.

52. This is the underside of a damselfly showing the mouthparts. In many cases creatures must be examined under a microscope or hand lens to correctly identify them. The shape of the mouth parts is one characteristic that is looked at when working out what species it is.

53.This is the aquatic nymph of a dragonfly commonly called a mudeye.

54.

55. Anglesea, Vic.

56. Anglesea, Vic.

57. Anglesea, Vic.

58. Anglesea, Vic.

59. Anglesea, Vic.

60. Anglesea, Vic.

61. Anglesea, Vic.

62. Otways, Vic.

63. Port Fairy, Vic.

64. Anglesea, Vic.

65. Anglesea, Vic.

66. Anglesea, Vic.


67. Melba Gully, Otways, Vic.

68. Geelong, Vic.

69. Anglesea, Vic.

69a. Anglesea, Vic.

70. Anglesea, Vic.

71. Murray River near Robinvale, Vic.

72. Murray River near Robinvale, Vic.

73. Murray River near Robinvale, Vic.

74. Anglesea, Vic.

75. Geelong, Vic.

76. Kennet River, Vic.

77. Wallington, Vic.

78. The Kimberley, WA.

78a. Burrup Peninsula, WA

78. Burrup Peninsula, WA.

79. Burrup Peninsula, WA.

80. Millstream NP, WA.

81. Kununarra, WA.

82. Lismore, NSW.

83. Mount Anan, near Sydney, NSW.