deadlines to meet and couldn’t stay
too long, but it was nice having the
chance to hunt for the bustard!
Once we returned to the homestead
and had some lunch I went over to
the lab to do some work on a presen-
tation I was giving the following
day. But about ten minutes later a
student came rushing in saying there
was a snake... and with that I was
off. A few students had been sitting
in the outdoor common area having
afternoon tea when a beautiful
Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja
textilis) had come right past them –
obviously searching for some shade
to escape the heat. Most were
spooked, but a few were absolutely
stoked and followed the snake to
take photos.
Shortly after we had left the snake to
go on its merry way, a student came
running over with a herp that
everyone is familiar with; a Central
Bearded Dragon (Pogona vitticeps).
So far, the only beardies I’d seen
had all been dead - most notably the
half-mummified one outside the
front of my accommodation. So it
was a welcome change to finally see
on that was alive. As many people
know, I’m generally uninterested in
1.2.3.captive central beardies, however I always enjoy seeing
them in the wild. Thankfully, as the trip progressed
plenty more were spotted basking across the station.
Later that afternoon, while on a drive across the property,
it dawned on me that one of the truly sad things about
western NSW is the intensity of feral species. Hands
down the most abundant animals we came across were
goats - they were everywhere. Not to mention the cats,
foxes and pigs that also plagued the station. It’s a sad
reality driving past countless herds of goats with healthy-
looking young, while contrastingly so many of the
Shinglebacks (Tiliqua rugosa) across the landscape were
dead or dying. Just after we returned from the drive, I
came across a particularly pitiful Shingleback that was on
death’s door, being highly emaciated, lethargic and
ridden with ectoparasites.In the evening, the students were all busy doing their
research projects, and other staff were working on their
own projects or resting up. So I thought I’d go for a walk
to try to find some interesting herps - mainly, I wanted to
find a Curl Snake as I hadn’t got one on this trip. I was
joined by one of the students who is a keen naturalist,
and although we didn’t find any Curl Snakes, we did turn
up an adorable Tessellated Gecko (Diplodatylus
tessellatus).By this stage, we only had a limited amount of time left –
one more full day and then a day of packing up. After theusual morning activities, I decided that it was worth
attempting to hunt for a Gidgee Skink (Egernia stokesii).
I’d found them on my previous trip to the station in the
rocky outcrops on the hills near the homestead, however
this time I wanted to be able to get a good photo of one.
Together with some of the other staff, I set off for one of
the outcrops to have a bit of a look at the view as well as
search for the skinks. I found typical latrine sites of rock-
dwelling Egernia, however the lizards themselves were
nowhere to be found. The views from the outcrop were
breathtaking; the semi-arid zone is a truly beautiful part
of the world you can only really appreciate in person.
One thing we did find near the outcrop that was quite
cool (at least to me) was a Leopardwood tree (Flindersia
maculosa). These trees have an awesome spotted pattern
through the bark that is responsible for the common
name.- A beautiful Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis)
went right past the outdoor common area. - Many of the Shinglebacks (Tiliqua rugosa) were either
dead or dying. - Tessellated Gecko ( Diplodactylis tessellatus).
Images by Simon Gorta.
Above (slide show): the landscape in the semi-arid zone
can be truly breathtaking. Images by Mitch Hodgson and
Matthew Brun.