Drought after plenty

by Chris Johnston

Last summer and autumn, the bush was full of Golden Orb Spiders – they were everywhere! This year there seem to be very few.

Here is a fine female spotted on the recent FOBIF walk in the Muckleford Forest. There are other interesting posts on this spider on Natural Newstead too – have a look at http://geoffpark.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/5163/ to see one in moult.

Cackler caught!

By Chris Johnston

Last night, in the lovely rain, Frances Cincotta and I – torches in hand – scrambled our way through a mass of golden wattles and young eucalypts growing on the edge of my dam to see if we could spot the cackler (aka Peron’s Tree Frog – Litoria peronii – common names Maniacal Cackle Frog, Laughing Tree Frog, Emerald Spotted Tree Frog).

We’d looked up several guides – Chris Tzaros ‘Wildlife of the Box-Ironbark Country’ and the recent ‘Frogs Field Guide’ produced by North Central CMA. So we were looking for a frog about 2 inches or 50mm long, greyish, with faint emerald spots and some bright yellow/orange in the groin, armpits and back of its thighs (a bit hopeful to think it might flash orange at us!).

Geoff’s advice (see comments on previous post – http://geoffpark.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/maniacal-cackle-frog/) – I quote: Try this method. You will need two people with torches – stand roughly 90 degrees apart and then shine your beams to where you think the calls are coming from. With a bit of luck the frog should be at the intersection of the two beams. Hope this is useful encouragement. I did say it would be a challenge! Cheers, Geoff

The 90 degrees was a particular challenge, with the thick bush to squeeze through along the edge of a deep dam!

The night was cool, and we could only hear one frog cackling as we plunged through the dripping leaves. We moved in towards the sound, at about 180 degrees and trying not to blind each other with our torches. Then another frog started calling, and our original ‘target’ stopped. So off Frances went to try and find that one which seemed to be in a more open spot.

Then the original frog cackled again – I was close and suddenly I spotted what might have been a frog. A glint from its eye confirmed it wasn’t just another dead leaf, but was the cackler.

Spotted at last!

Dashing back, Frances got her torch on him too and we closed in for the … photo.

A closer look at the calling Maniacal Cackle frog

And by the time we’d extracted ourselves from the tangled wattles, three cacklers were calling – wonderful! Today I went looking for tadpoles – to see if all this male frog calling had succeeded. The CMA guide says that eggs are laid in December (and males keep calling through to January). There are tadpoles there, but they are too shy and I was too slow to see if they are the future maniacal cacklers.

Thanks for the challenge Geoff, and everyone else who told me about their cacklers, and to Kate for her original identification. It’s been interesting to see how each frog guide explains the presence and distribution of this particular frog. For example, the CMA booklet says that this frog is ‘locally common’ whereas Tzaros’s maps show no records for this frog from Newstead to Castlemaine – a gap that seems to demonstrate the inadequacies of DSE’s Atlas of Victorian Wildlife – or alternatively that more of our observations need to find their way into this atlas, given it is used for public land planning and management!

Maniacal Cackle Frog?

by Chris Johnston

Summer nights at Green Gully are being filled with a maniacal cackle - last summer and again this summer. Last year there was only one cackler, but now it sounds like 3! Someone suggested it was a nesting Woodie, I thought it was a bunyip …. but Kate Sandiford had a far better idea – that it is a maniacal cackle frog – or a Peron’s Tree Frog. Have a look at this web-page – http://frogs.org.au/frogs/species/Litoria/peroni/ - and click on the “hear it now” link to imagine what Green Gully nights are like!

But seriously, has anyone else heard this frog locally? The ‘frogs’ website (above) suggests that they are not found in the goldfields region.

Floating nest

by Chris Johnston

It’s the first time in the 6 years that I have lived in Green Gully that my big back dam has been full – full since the floods of late last year. So it’s usually a tangle of rushes and cumbungi with many frogs. But this year it’s attracted some new nesters for the first time.

The other morning I noticed a pair of small birds on the dam – almost invisible against the reflections.  With help from Kate, they have been identified as Australasian Grebe wearing their breeding attire – a chestnut streak on the side of the head according to the Slaters Field Guide to Australian Birds. Here is a distant photo – they duck-dive (or is that grebe-dive) on any close approach.

Grebe floating amongst relflections

This morning I noticed a floating nest, and creeping up closer spotted an egg. But I have yet to see either parent sitting on the nest.

Floating nest

Who is eating my tree?

by Chris Johnston

It’s spring and this tree is again being munched. Two springs ago the same pattern of bark removal was observed – and you can see from the scarring that this tree has had barked stripped away over some years. At the base of the tree are lots of small strips of bark. Last year, no bark was removed.

Newly stripped bark edges the older scar.

Galahs appear to be hanging around the tree, and it does seem to have some possible nesting spots. Is it galahs taking bark to line a nesting hollow? Who knows the answer on this one please?

Bouncing babies

My ‘front lawn’ is often visited by two small kangaroo family groups. One a group of five – currently with a big male in attendance – and the other just two adult females.  Both have new joeys starting to emerge from the pouch and test their legs. The joeys are so curious, leaning on ‘mum’ while she snoozes, and alert to everything going on.  Then suddenly racing off, to quickly turn around and race back to ‘mum’, diving into her pouch at the first scary moment – but only if she bends down at the right angle for an easy entry. Last week I caught this joey and its mother with my camera – both paused for a moment undecided, before the joey made a quick retreat back to the pouch. I am amazed at the size of this joey still returning to the pouch, and fascinated by opportunity to watch quietly.

Chris Johnston, Green Gully

Grey Kangaroos, Green Gully

Remarkable fungi season

Seen in Muckleford Forest last weekend – this wonderful fungus – the brightest yellow-orange growing at the base of a stump. This one about the size of an adult hand – and other smaller examples. Described as a  Brain or Jelly Fungus Tremella sp. on the Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests website http://www.fobif.org.au/gallery.html

Brain or jelly fungus, Muckleford Forest, 18th July 2010