I have to apologize but I have not had much time for awhile to participate on the forum. My work is finally slowing so I hope to post a few reports.
I worked remotely in the northeastern corner of New South Wales a couple of times in the last few months. My son, Nicholas, moved to Ballina six months back so my wife and I try to get up to that area to see him when we can. While there, I always get out a little. I think that this area is one of the prettiest parts of the state with beautiful beaches and hills covered with subtropical rainforest.
This report will include photos from a week in December 2012 and then another week in April 2013. I headed to Mt. Warning and the Border Ranges NPs on both trips. December was hot and dry. I only saw a few species of butterflies and number were low. Richmond Birdwings were active but they never landed low enough for photos. I usually saw the green and gold males floating through the canopy. April was much cooler and there had been heavy rain from January through March so everything was lush and green. One of the storms that hit the area in January was the remnants of Cyclone Oswald. The high winds and torrential rain associated with this tropical depression did a great deal of damage.
Here are shots of Mt. Warning along with a few habitat shots.
Unfortunately, the summit trail is closed due to landslides and tree falls after the heavy rains in January.
Bangalow Palms were numerous in the subtropical rainforest.
This shot was from last December. The big tree was now a sad sight since it lost most of its crown in January.
Black Bean trees were flowering in December.
Here are photos of the Border Ranges NP. This park is not far from Mt. Warning. Most of the "hills" of the park were walls of the old Wollumbin Volcano with Mt. Warning at its core.
It was nearly 40C when I drove through this area in December. I stopped and went for a swim in this creek. The water was perfect and while swimming, I saw a Richmond Birdwing overhead. The park was nearly empty of visitors that day.
Distant view of the Mt. Warning (Wollumbin) caldera:
Wheel of Fire Tree (Stenocarpus sinuatus). These lovely trees are members of the Proteaceae family. Like most members, they have big, showy flowers that attract lorikeets and honeyeaters. These trees grow in rainforests from central coastal NSW up through the Atherton Tablelands of far north Queensland.
Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius). These are such an incredible sight in the early summer. They flower while leafless and the flowers are an intense red. I love to see these trees that range naturally from the hills near Wollongong up through the wet tropics of the north. These beautiful trees are often used as ornamentals and the first shot below was of one planted along a fence line. The next shot was a typical view of the flowering trees within the forest.
Mt. Lindesay was the core of another volcano. The big trees to the left of centre are Hoop Pines, one of the southern conifers (Araucaria cunninghamii).
I briefly stopped in the Bunya Mountains of southeastern QLD on the December trip. I wanted to see these Bunya Pines (Araucaria bidwillii) in their natural habitat. Bunya Pines have a tiny distribution in these isolated mountains. I love the symmetrical shape of these trees that now are commonly planted as ornamentals in much of eastern Australia.
Regent Skipper (Euschemon rafflesia). This was a lifer. I have visited its habitat many times but this was the first time that I found this rainforest skipper. I saw two on the April trip.
Grass Darts. There are seven possibilities that live in this area. All look quite similar so I am not certain of the identitiy.
Orange-streaked Ringlet (Hypocysta irius)
Wonder Brown (Heteronympha mirifica). I saw a number of females but none of the orange males on the the April trip.
Hairy Line Blue (Erysichton lineata). This was another lifer. I saw a number of them late in the afternoon in the Border Ranges. They dropped to sunlit areas on the road and briefly puddled. Unfortunately, they were wary and hard to approach.
Speckled Line Blue (Catopyrops florinda). Another lifer.
Small Green-banded Blue (Psychonotis caelius). I saw several of these but they usually landed too high for photos.
Large Grass Yellow (Eurema hecabe). Abundant in April.
Caper White (Belenois java). These were abundant in December but were absent in April. The first shot below was of a female that had been harassed by a couple males. She landed and provided this signal for them to leave her alone.
Caper Gull (Cepora perimale). I saw a few of these in April only.
White Albatross (Appias albina)? Unfortunately, the only shot that I could get of this wary species.
Here are a few of the other animals seen
Red-necked Wallaby.
Murray's Skink (Eulamprus murrayi). Pretty skinks that are common in the shade of the forest interior.
Land Mullet (Bellatorias major). These are the biggest of all skinks and grow to about 2/3 m in length. They are heavy bodied with glossy black scales.
Challenger's Skink (Saproscincus challengeri). These are members of the genus known as the "shade skinks". They were common along trails within the rainforest of Mt. Warning.
Red-bellied Black Snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus). This was a big elapid in the Border Ranges looked fat and healthy in April. These are fast moving snakes that are shy and hard to phtograph. This one was slowed by the steep embankment that it had to climb to get away from the road.
Carpet Python (Morelia spilota). This 2m python was crossing the road in the Border Ranges NP in April.
Such awesome scenery shots, David! That Regent skipper could really pass off as a moth but the colours are contrasty and makes the skipper very attractive.
Some magnificent scenery and wild life shots. Thans for sharing these shots
I was planning to visit Mt Warming last December but it didn't materialise.
Northeastern New South Wales
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