Nankeen Night Heron
On a recent photography creek crawl of Enoggera Creek, Robert Whyte and Mark Crocker spotted this Nankeen or Rufous Night Heron Nycticorax caledonicus.
According to Wikipedia:
“The Nankeen Night Heron stands about 60 cm tall with a stooped appearance. It is not strictly nocturnal. It often feeds during the day, especially during wet weather. The bird is dependent on a diet of small fish, reptiles, insects and sometimes eggs. It can be seen around freshwater rivers, lakes, bulrushes, estuaries, harbors and in residential fishponds for goldfish.”
Nankeen Night Heron. Photo: Mark Crocker
Tawny Frogmouth
Jacob at Ferny Hills sent us the photo below of a Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides and a report on some of the animals that visit his yard.
” I spotted the koala (photo at right) in the trees near where I live in Ferny Hills. Doesn’t he look comfortable!
“I also have become very friendly with a family of kookaburras Dacelo novaeguineae which sit on the fence and occasionally are happy to hop onto my hand for a food titbit.
“Another bird to visit us, which I thought was injured, was the frogmouth owl. Mum phoned the council to report what I thought was an injured bird only to be told by the person who came to check the bird out, was that the owl was OK and just taking a rest.
“We have had a snake visit us and my brother Tom, who has a pet snake, picked it up and took it to a safe place away from the road traffic.
“I have a pet blue tongued lizard Tiliqua scincoides called Bluey.
“I enjoy the wildlife around where I live very much.”
Jacob and the Kookaburras that visit his yard.
This Tawny Frogmouth visited Jacob’s house. It was just resting.
Long-nosed Bandicoot
The Long-nosed Bandicoot Perameles nasuta is not often seen, but there is plentiful evidence of Bandicoots at SOWN’s regenerated bushland sites.
The Bandicoot is a nocturnal, solitary predator of invertebrates and tubers.
The Long-nosed Bandicoot is primarily a brown colour. It is distributed along the eastern coast of Australia from Cairns in Queensland to Naringal in south-western Victoria.
The Bandicoot in the photo below is a regular visitor to a SOWN members’ house in The Gap.
Long-nosed Bandicoot at The Gap. PHOTO: Brian James
Koala
A koala Phascolarctos cinereus was spotted recently in the backyard of a house in Bellata Street The Gap.
Bellata Street adjoins Mount Coot-tha Reserve which contains more than 1500 hectares of natural bushland, so it has plenty of good grazing territory for koalas.
Koalas live almost entirely on eucalypt leaves. This is likely to be an evolutionary adaptation that takes advantage of an otherwise unfilled ecological niche, since eucalypt leaves are low in protein, high in indigestible substances, and contain phenolic and terpene compounds that are toxic to most species.
If you spot koalas, platypus or other interesting mammals in Enoggera catchment, please email SOWN with a photo if possible.
Platypus
Wildlife Queensland conducted three Platypus surveys in September 2012 on Enoggera Creek.
While no animals were sited in 2012, Platypus were sited at the three locations in 2008.
