Return the the Simpson Desert

G'day all,

I returned to the Simpson Desert for another research trip. My second for the year. Due to the very nature of the arid inland, conditions are constantly changing so no two trips are the same. Rainfall can trigger irruptions of animals, all taking advantage of the glut of food created by rain.
Rainfall also triggers burrowing frogs to emerge from an underground aestivation to feed and if theres enough rain, breed.

On the trip out to the desert there had been recent rainfall along much of the drive. Here are a few photos of some of the critters seen between Sydney and Windorah (where we were halted for a short time due to rainfall).

It was nice to see a few of the specialities of the western plains on the way out. Usually a dud area and the lowlight of the three day drive we found both Painted Honeyeaters and Superb Parrots east of Nyngan (coincidentally, Nyngan is where the drive starts to get much better).


Painted Honeyeater (above)
Superb parrot (below)

Another "hard-to-find" bird species is the Bourkes Parrot. Just stake out a waterhole just after dusk and they will come! This one was flushed when we stopped the cars to cover the swags.

A few frogs were calling around puddles on the roadside.

Waterholding frog Cyclorana platycephala can stay underground for 7 years at a stretch. It's not lack of food that kills them in the end, it's buildup of nitrogenous waste!

(above) Knife Footed Frog Cyclorana cultripes. Carries a long sharp cutting edge on it's foot to disembowl predators*.

Another burrowing species, Notoden nichollsi. Does not pack heat, but can secrete a really sticky white substance from the glands on it's back. Many a frog fancier have been accused of ungodly things when they've come back from innocently handling a few Notodens. I guess this foul habit makes the frog totally unpalatable.

This cane grass dragon Diporiphora winneckii was resting in some spinifex. The longitudinal stripes are not only dorsal, but ventral as well, presumably aiding camouflage when perched in a grass clump.

That'll do for now, more later on.

*May be totally untrue.