Short walk at Royal NP and Dharawal

[moloch]

The last couple of days have been beautiful so I headed out on short walks. As usual, I saw few species of butterflies but it was a great time to be out with a few flowering plants, birds and herps.

Royal National Park:

I walked a section of the coastal track from Garie Beach to Eagle Rock. The surf was rough today so Garie Beach was almost deserted.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/GarieBeach2_zps70f78500.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/GarieBeach1_zpsafe3c8ae.jpg


The highlight for me was observing and photographing these butterfly-like moths with clubbed antennae. I saw them for the first time a couple of years ago but missed them last summer. Sun Moths (Synemon magnifica), Castniidae, spend lots of time flying back and forth over the trail and then chasing any other moth that they encounter. They look a little like a large skipper in flight. Once they land, though, they fold their wings in the manner typical of other moths.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/SunMothSynemonmagnificaCastniidae3_zps9ce11162.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/SunMothSynemonmagnificaCastniidae_zps58b3a1b8.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/SunMothSynemonmagnificaCastniidae2_zps0afe679e.jpg

I only saw a few other lepidopterans and none remained long enough for photos.

Here are additional non-lep photos from the walk.

Small creek:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/heath1_zps440d318e.jpg

This Bush Rat was drinking from a pool of the creek until it saw me and then scampered away:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/BushRat_zps338ef138.jpg

Flowering Silky Hakea (Hakea sericea). These are members of Proteaceae and have stiff, needle-tipped leaves.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/Hakeasericea_zps92944318.jpg

[moloch]

Beautiful Firetails are nicely coloured birds that live in the heath. The coastal track is a good place to find these firetails. This one was pulling seeds from an Allocasuarina cone.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/BeautifulFiretail1_zps9c3f9199.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/BeautifulFiretail2_zps53f55978.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/BeautifulFiretail3_zpsc6cd54ff.jpg


Further along, I stopped at this creek. It often has a number of lizards nearby. Today, I saw several Eastern Water Dragons and Eastern Water Skinks.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/creek1_zps93826173.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/EasternWaterDragon1_zpsd440cb72.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/EasternWaterSkink1_zpse4e507ae.jpg


Copper-tailed Skinks are normally common in the summer but I only saw two today. It may have been just a little too cool.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/Copper-tailedSkink1_zps0ca57f73.jpg

Triggerplant (Stylidium sp.)
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/RoyalNationalPark/8Dec2013/TriggerplantStylidiumsp_zpsb68e5f5c.jpg

[moloch]

Yesterday, I visited Dharawal National Park, about a 20 minute drive from my home.

This Yellow Admiral (Vanessa itea) was puddling on the trail. It was one of the few butterflies observed.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/YellowAdmiral_zps437bd80e.jpg


Dharawal is a good place for spring and summer flowers. This year was not so good due to the dry winter but there still were a few flowers to be seen.

Fringed Lily (Thysanotus sp.)
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/Thysanotussp_zpsa566558d.jpg


Fan Flower (Scaevola sp.) Goodeniaceae
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/FanFlowerScaevolaspGoodeniaceae_zps72e1d702.jpg


http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/flower1_zps1afa8b61.jpg

Fairy Aprons (Utricularia sp.). These are in the bladderwort family and are carnivorous plants.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/FairyApronsUtriculariasp_zps60a3c811.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/FairyAprons2Utriculariasp_zpseace64d1.jpg

Christmas Bells (Blandfordia sp.) Blandfordiaceae
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/ChristmasBellsBlandfordiaspBlandfordiaceae_zpsa621 52ef.jpg

Grey Spiderflower (Grevillea buxifolia). Proteceae
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/GreySpiderFlowerGrevilleabuxifolia_zps90e4236e.jpg

[moloch]

Cone Flower (Conospermum sp.) Proteaceae
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/ConeFlowerConospermumspProteaceae_zps17f10723.jpg


Silky Hakea (Hakea sericea) Proteaceae
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/SilkyHakeaHakeasericeaProteaceae_zps70352c1d.jpg


http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/Mimulus1_zps44a3805f.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/flower2_zpsaa2f1a5b.jpg


Darwinia fascicularis
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/Darwiniafascicularis1_zpsca623a64.jpg

Darwinia taxifolia
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/Darwiniataxifolia3_zps2ebde8ff.jpg


Sundew (Droscera sp.)
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/sundewDroserasp_zps79f34441.jpg

Eastern Water Skink (Eulamprus quoyii)
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/EasternWaterSkink1_zps9a55d931.jpg

[moloch]

Jacky Lizard (Amphibolurus muricatus)
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/JackyLizardAmphibolurusmuricata_zpse9954657.jpg


These Flat Rock Spiders are always an interesting sight. Their bodies are flattened to the extreme and they live beneath sheets of rock. They are fast but tend to run in quick circles. Their egg cases are flattened as well and one is visible near the spider.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c386/moloch05/Dharawal/7Dec2013/flatrockspider_zps6751dcb7.jpg

[Angiud]

Great location and nice pictures