Maria and I hope the festive season has been kind to
you and wish you and yours all the best for 2007
In
this issue:- Weather
Reptiles Parthenogenesis
in Komodo Dragons? and On the Local Scene
Plants
The Stinging Tree Strikes Twice and Flowers and
Fruit in the Forest.
Birds
Breeding Biology of the Eastern Whipbird, Christmas Dinner,
Comings
and Goings and Breeding
Mammals Around the Village and
the Tablelands and On Nocturnals
Weather
It
was still cool up here on the Tablelands at night until Boxing Day (26/12) and
most of the recent days have been very pleasant. We have had only three storms
but some "winter drizzle" early in the month.The hot days have forced the spiders
which live between our roof battens and the metal to move away from the hot roof.
This has been great for the Willy Wagtails and honeyeaters which have enjoyed
the easy meal. Snakes were very quiet until January but the invertebrates have
been on the move since the middle of December.
Three
southern states that have suffered bushfires in recent weeks - Victoria, New South
Wales and Tasmania - have experienced a white Christmas.Snow fell in the Australian
Alps and on Mount Wellington near Hobart.
Reptiles
Parthenogenesis in
Komodo Dragons?
Parthenogenesis is reproduction in which offspring are
produced by an unfertilised female; this term is typically used when the family
in question normally reproduces sexually. Parthenogenesis is common is ants, bees,
wasps, and in certain species of fish and lizards.
In plants the combination
of gametes from the same individual is called autogamy.It seems that Komodo Dragons
from zoos in England and France have produced fertile eggs without the aid of
a mate.The house gecko and five species of native geckos in Australia are known
to be parthenogenic.
On
the Local Scene
During late November and early December many of the
chelids (side-necked turtles), larger lizards and dragons have been laying eggs.
Small skinks already have tiny young running around and the Yellow-faced Whipsnakes
in my garden are having a field day. They just love skinks for breakfast, lunch
and dinner. With the nights still being cool we are not seeing many snakes as
we drive around at night and none on our nocturnal tour. Still no Chameleon Geckos seen since the cyclone
which has me rather confused as to why. They are a ground dwelling animal and
I would have thought immune to the worst of the event.
Plants
The Stinging Tree Strikes
Twice
The Stinging Tree, Dendrocnide moroides, is capable of
inflicting a nasty sting to those unlucky or silly enough to rub shoulders or
any other part of their anatomy with this gem of the rainforest. Actually this
plant is a shrub and not a tree at all. The tubular hairs contain a nasty chemical
which excites the nerves and causes pain for two days. After this there are secondary
effects which have lasted for me up to 4.5 months and can vary from person to
person. None however are pleasant. They include burning sensations and electric
shocks. I recently learned from one of my learned guests that this secondary reaction
is a syndrome called, 'reflex sympathetic dystrophy'. Presumably this is caused
by nerve damage cause by the chemical in the hairs. It seems that the pain is
not reflex nor sympathetic and is not related to dystrophy. And I thought wildlife
taxonomists were crazy! If you want to read more about the definitions you might
like to go to http://jnnp.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/71/3/291
Flowers
and Fruit in the Forest.
Rose Butternut, Blepharocarya involucrigera,
are dropping both their fruit and seeds at the moment. this will continue for
a month yet as some fruit is still green. The timber of this tree is beautiful.
I had a door made of it in a previous dwelling. Every part of the tree however
is toxic and just working the timber or sucking on a dry stick has been enough
to make people ill. Along Petersen Creek the Crab Apples, Schistocarpaea johnsonii,
are having big fruiting two years in a row. The two rainforest pandans which don't
climb are in flower. Around the edge of Lake Eacham the whole population is male.
these plants have propagated vegetatively. Also in flower at the lake are the
mulberry like Whalebone Trees, Streblus brunonianus.
The
purple flowered Maple Silkwood, Flindersia pimenteliana, is in flower
but the white flowered Flindersias have finished. They now have young fruit from
this flowering and mature fruit from last year. Often the fruit can take 13 months
to mature but will sometimes do so in 10. You might notice the same thing in citrus
fruit if you grow those. Both groups belong to the family Rutaceae. The pink or
buff winged fruit of Cabbage Crowsfoot, Franciscodendren laurifolium,
is littering the forests. These trees are called Crowsfoot because of the nature
of their buttress roots. Two of the sweet smells in the forest are coming from
toxic plants, the Scrub Daphne and Cunjevoi.
Cocky
Apples, Planchonia careya, are flowering at night in the dry country
now. In the morning the fluffy pink flowers like huge shaving brushes are found
under the tree.
In
the garden Buckinghamia ferruginiflora is in flower. The rediscovery
of this plant was more of a thrill than finding new species. A good friend had
found the plant in 1956 and we relocated it in 1986 on our third expedition for
that purpose.
Birds
Breeding Biology of
the Eastern Whipbird
Recent reports and studies indicate that the dueting
in this species is male lead and that the female having the last say is a response
to a saturated habitat with a preponderance of unmated females. So the female
is saying, "but he's taken. And so is this territory." And to think that I was
accusing her of needing to have the last word as a sex linked imperative! Territories
are defended by both birds throughout the year. Generally one parent will care
for a single young for up to six weeks.Recently at Lake Barrine I saw something
different. Our attention was drawn to a pair of Whipbirds by their dueting from
either side of the track. As we peered into the undergrowth of lawyer vines and
ferns we realised that each bird was accompanied by a juvenile which it was feeding.
The strange thing was that the young with the female crossed the path to
the male and was fed by that bird. We clearly saw the male feed both of the youngsters.
The female then crossed near us and one of the juveniles closed in on her. We
were not in a position to say that it was the same or different offspring.
Christmas
Dinner
I complained about Purple Swamphens eating my sweet corn and
threatened to eat the birds. In response to this Jennifer Spry posted to the birding-aus
list the following Christmas menu. "Thought that at this time of year someone
may be interested in a menu for the family Christmas dinner. This is PART of the
menu for the 1864 annual dinner of the Australian "Acclimatisation Society". For
space reasons I have edited out the imported stuff like the rabbit and chicken
dishes.
"The first
“Acclimatization Society” was set up in Victoria in 1861. The aim of
the Society was to import species for propagation and use. Two of the earliest
imports were the Blackbird and the Starling followed by other European natives
such as the fox and the rabbit.
"The
"Bill of Fare" for the society's annual dinner in 1884 was: Sydney rock oysters.
Soups: turtle, oyster, Australian wild turkey, kangaroo tail, bisque of Murray
lobster. Fish: boiled Murray cod and shrimp sauce, fillet of whiting au gratin,
fillet of soles a la orlis, grilled mullet a la maitre d'hotel, matelote of eels,
guard fish, Gippsland perch a la Nanteuse, Yan Yean eels a la Tartare, Murray
perch a la Chambord, boiled butter fish with sauce genoise, flounders a la Normande,
fillet of trumpeter au turban, John Dory. Entrees: vol-au-vent of frogs, chartreuse
bronze-winged pigeon, fricondeau of wombat and spinach, fillet of black duck (with)
sauce orange, curried bandicoot, parrequeet patties, salmis of teal aux truffles.
Cold: aspic of native pigeon.Roasts: Cape Barren goose, wood duck, saddle of kangaroo.
Game: native companion (brolga), wood duck, bandicoot, teal, wattlebird, wild
turkey, black duck, plover, wombat, widgeon, mallee hen (and) quail; with vegetables
in season, Queensland yams, sweet potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes.
"Personally,
I think the parrequeet patties sound the most intriguing. But wattlebird? slim
picking there I would have thought..," said Jennifer.
Anthea
Fleming added, "Prof. McCoy at one of these dinners recognized from the shell
or bones
that the Turtle Soup on offer had been prepared from the Murray Tortoise.
He wisely declined a serve. The creature stinks in self-defence and has to be
very carefully cleaned before eating.
Comings
and Goings
On the last day of November I saw some cranes very high in
the sky flying north west. By the middle of December most of the birds had departed
for their breeding grounds. At the time of writing there are at least eight Sarus Cranes and one Brolga remaining. these are either young
or unpaired birds.
For a while there
was a second Cassowary at The Crater. A bird has also
moved north out of the forest, visiting orchards and back yards between East Barron
and Atherton. Fortunately the rate of deaths on the coast has slowed. Most deaths
were from cars and dogs. While their are many figs in fruit the usual supply of
laurels and elaeocarps is not there because of a little storm we had in March.
Blue-faced
Parrot-Finches are back in their summer residence along Gourka Road east
of Malanda. Painted Snipe have been seen at Tinaburra
and there are still a pair at Hasties Swamp. Also at Hasties Swamp are three Wood Sandpipers, two Marsh Sandpipers and one Greenshank. When seven Black-winged Stilts lined up beside each
other between two Pelicans it looked most humorous. As if they could make up for
their lack of size by pomp an circumstance.
Talking
of Pelicans, one put on a great display of
forcing Little Black Cormorants to give up their catch.
This occurred at Lake Eacham right in front of a crowd of swimmers and picnickers.
The Pelican held the birds under the water until they gave up their catch. Still
the Cormorants sometimes follow the Pelican so there must be something in it for
them.
Breeding
There are
fledgling Rifle Birds, Lewins Honeyeaters, Drongos, Gerrygones
of three species and Pale-yellow Robins being fed by their parents. One
young Pale-yellow Robin looked like it was kitted
out in camouflage gear. It was patchy rufous, green and yellow. The colours were
as bright as I've ever seen on this species.
A
Macleay's Honeyeater and a female Varied
Triller are attacking their reflections around the house. Pacific
Bazas have one young in a nest in the village. We were lucky enough to
see a parent come in with a Dainty Green Tree-frog, Litoria gracilenta,
for its nestling.
Mammals
Around the Village
and the Tablelands
The number of Platypus sightings has been good for this
time of year when most of the females will be in their burrows on eggs or feeding
young. Nikkie the Tree-roo has continued to show herself
on a regular basis opposite the Jeoff Tracey Botanical Walk sign. The Agile Wallabies along the creek continue
to suffer disturbance from dogs but can be seen most early mornings or late evenings.
Tarzalli Lakes has reopened which is great for Platypus
watchers. Granite Gorge continues to offer the best sightings of Rock Wallabies. Red-legged Pademelons are shy but fairly
easily seen near the ranger station at Lake Eacham.
On Nocturnals
Oh who
would be a wildlife guide!? In September we saw Tree-kangaroos on almost every night. November
started out well but then we went eight successive nights without a tree-roo.
Things are still not back to normal with sightings at about 50%. Some good news
on Dorothy, that reprobate which has taken
to crossing the road. She was seen further into the forest in an area unoccupied
since the death of her mother. I think that she has left the previous young across
the road. If she expands her territory on this side of the road I will be much
happier than having her risk the highway. Dorothy's joey is getting bigger but we
still have not seen it out of the pouch. The other night it had its head out with
the tail draped across its head and neck like some huge scarf. Kara
has been seen without her joey. The tree-roos are spending a lot of time feeding
low in the forest on the Turbina vine. Green Ringtail Possums are showing not
only themselves but their young. Spectacled Flying Fox numbers have increased
but not back to their usual numbers. We have been seeing them in the Black Bean
trees and occasionally in figs.
Quiz
This time I return to
questions about the plants and animals rather than the people who studied them.
1.
One should be careful around Rose Butternut trees because a) there fruits are
huge and could cause serious injury b) drop bears live in their branches c) the
plant is poisonous
2. Green Ringtails are autocoprophagus which means they
a) reproduce asexually b) eat their faeces c) suckle themselves when not nursing
young
3. Most macropods (kangaroos and their kin) have four teats but give
birth in the pouch to a single young. True/False
4. Ferns are found in wet
areas because their gametes need to be able to swim to mate. True/False
Last
newsletter it was about astronomers.
1. Who was it that came up with the idea
of rotating spheres within the earth to explain the changes in our magnetic field.
Hint, he used his intimate knowledge of Newton's work on gravity to calculate
the return of a comet. Edmond (sometimes Edmund) Halley 1656- 1742.
2. Known
for establishing the scale of the universe in terms of distances to our nearest
stars, this German astronomer predicted the presence of Neptune in 1840 because
of the irregularities in the orbit of Uranus. Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel. 1784 -
1846
3. Another German known for his precocious ability with mathematics, he
determined orbits of asteroids with great accuracy. Also noted for his work with
magnets. Carl Gauss 1777 - 1855
4. Credited with the invention of the astronomical
telescope, he discovered sunspots, phases of Mercury and the satellites of Jupiter.
Galileo 1564 - 1642
5. While he kept the Ptolemaic system of epicycles and
deferents, he saw the solar system as heliocentric or at least a point near the
sun. Copernicus 1473 - 1543
