det fixar sig returns from brumation
Once again, it has been a long time between posts. The reasons for this have now become shrouded in a fog of fatigue; a change of lodgings, several days occupied by guiding punters in and around the Gondwanan Rainforests, a bingle in the red rocket and one rather desultory work trip all contributed to the malaise. To add to this – it has been more than two months since I wrote the draft for this post!
Amongst the horror of day-to-day drudgery, however, there were some glimmers of light and happiness which I shall endeavour to describe below…
While packing and cleaning the Priory in a frenzy, I had a brief respite in the form of a trip down to Lamington with a lovely couple who had come up from Melbourne for a wedding. For me there was nothing unremarkable about the day – it was simply another productive session in the world heritage area – but for them the trip represented a fantastic adventure crammed with lifers. It’s refreshing to experience the thrill of getting lifers in bulk, even if only vicariously! The highlight for me was probably our close encounter with two primeval beasts sunning themselves by the path. The Southern Angle-headed Dragon isn’t a rare reptile, but it is an endemic and it does look awesome.
My next distraction from the cardboard-boxing conundrums came in the form of a fantastic and long-awaited leptwitch with my good friend Mr P. Ever since meeting Roger, and hearing him talk about the Bulloak Jewel, I had wanted to see one. A string of recent records from some young Brisbane leppers in the preceding season had been enticing, but I had been too busy with work trips to get out there… Stu had been out there but, sadly, dipped. We didn’t have an early start (for once) as we expected the butterflies to be most active through the midday period. When we pulled up to the site, we were initially discouraged… it was very hot and windy and there was nothing on the wing. With some patience, however, we eventually got on to some Azures and it was game on.
The little blighters were fast, and it was more through chance than any skill on my part that I managed to get some decent views of Ogyris amaryllis, which was by far the most common butterfly we saw that day. We saw both males (defending territories) and females (visiting the boys) and eventually managed to get some decent photos when they deigned to settle low enough. Suspected Silky Azures (tentative ID based only on binocular views and different behaviour) never came low enough to tog – and the same was true for a Purple Azure ripping around the tallest trees. Something different caught my eye after about an hour and I followed it up to find my first lifer of the day – Sapphire Azure! An absolute mega and a lifer for Stu as well. While the Ogyris had been entertaining, there had been no sign of the real target despite a solid 2.5 hours searching and we returned to the car for lunch and a drink somewhat demoralised.
Still, we had come a long way and after some vittles we returned, refreshed, to the fray. Sadly, the search again proved fruitless and we split up to head back to the car. I chose to walk back along the western edge of the vegetation and then it happened… a dream became reality… I had glanced back over my shoulder at a Casuarina and glimpsed a black spot on the edge of the canopy, sitting out in the open. Could it be? I got the bins on it to confirm it was a butterfly (the critter was roughly the size of my thumbnail and sitting 12m up) and realised I had found the Hypochrysops – one of the rarest butterflies in the country. I snapped some record shots and yelled for Stu, but there was no response! I took off running towards the car, stopping every 100m or so to holler for my pal and getting nothing. I was seriously starting to fret! Surely, he couldn’t dip now… eventually I found him down near the car and we hopped in to race back up to the Jewel. We got to the tree and the fateful words once more left my lips: “THERE IT IS”.
I’d brought the scope along and we managed to get some fantastic views of the first male, who was actively defending his territory from Azures but often returning to his perch. We spent about half an hour watching the little guy, and a second male who showed up briefly, and then departed with big grins. If you’re interested in reading more about the Jewel then I suggest these two articles: ABC and Guardian; Ann also has a podcast about it here. The species is only just holding on… it was a privilege to be able to see it.
Back at home, and with the move complete, I headed off to Georgetown again. While the trip was pleasant enough, there were no real highlights beyond some good company, a few good gecks, my best views to date of Antilopine Wallaroo and the astonishing sighting of a Little Kingfisher at Centenary Lakes in Cairns. While seemingly everyone else who goes there sees it on every visit, I think I have dipped it at least two dozen times! It was fantastic to finally spend some time with the caerulean crippler – Australia’s smallest bird, according to Wally Walbridge.
Another trip down to Lamington followed, with some lovely American clients. Again, and as usual, it was vicarious lifer overload… a flat tyre put a little dent in the schedule, but thankfully I was able to adapt and overcome. Having a slightly longer trip than normal was excellent, as it allowed us to watch some bower maintenance, go spotlighting, and return for repeat visits of favourite new birds. We hoovered up a lamington and a donut from Crusty Devil as part of a cross-cultural exchange and then they returned to their hotel to prepare for a parrot extravaganza… and a return to Trumpistan.
That’s all for now, thanks for reading! I had a busy schedule through to the end of the year with some semi-interesting happenings… hopefully they’ll appear here soon. Remember that you can subscribe to the blog here if you enjoy it – an email will remind you when I manage to get another post together. Stay safe!