On my walk I was brought up short by the sight of an Eastern Water Dragon sunning itself on a rock which becomes submerged after heavy rain forms a pond in an otherwise dry creek bed which it was today. I returned with my camera but the metallic sound of my tripod on footpath, alarmed the reptile, which promptly dropped over the edge of the rock. I set up the camera and waited. I was just explaining what I was after to a couple I know who were strolling past with their dogs, when I caught sight of the Water Dragon clinging to the side of the rock. It didn’t budge and I filmed away. Unfortunately it was alarmed by another passerby and the filming came to an abrupt end.

PS Although I saw it the next day, a doctor’s appointment prevented me from returning with my camera until the day after, by which time it had apparently moved on, because I did not see it again.

What with the website still not finished and the 100+ flora and fauna videos to do, I have not filmed for 2 months. The yardman who looks after some shops near my home, showed me what I believe is a Striped Marsh Frog, hibernating under a stone. The first such frog I filmed was also hibernating. I returned with my camera. After a few minutes the frog twitched a few times before deciding it needed to find a better hiding place in some adjoining bracken.

This was our last night shoot for the 2012/13 season and the 88th in the series. There wasn’t much doing. I filmed a Leaf-tailed Gecko with what seemed distinctive colouring (which viewing the footage will confirm or refute), a fine Stick Insect and an earth worm. I have been told that the rainforest earth worms are a different species to the garden variety.

Because of ex-cyclone Oswald, our options for night filming have been restricted to Joalah and the Knoll. Tonight it was the Knoll’s turn. What transformed a night of lean pickings into one of rich reward was the appearance of a Stephen’s Banded Snake. It was only our second sighting of the species. The first was also in the Knoll a few years ago. The snake was smaller than its predecessor, but its black and russet banding was similar. It too hung around for a good while; first on the path and then in nearby undergrowth. I was able to get some wide shots of the whole snake.

After I had obtained permission from the owner, Peter Hendry who identifies my moths, set up a screen for a trapping session on a beautiful mountain property with rainforest that adjoins Joalah National Park. Peter had hardly finished before it began to pour. Peter cannot trap and I cannot film in rain. For three hours we waited for the weather to clear. By 8.30 pm Peter was able to fix the lamp above the screen, crank up the generator and the night’s entertainment began. Peter was particularly interested in collecting rainforest moths. I filmed more moths at one location than I had ever filmed before, though the overhead lamp cast exaggerated shadows on the screen.  Peter wants to trap here again. Next time I will bring my spotlight to better illuminate the moths I film.

I had a look at the moth footage I shot on 21 February which confirmed the feeling I had at the time of filming; that I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing. I thought I was capturing the underside of the moth’s folded wings, but I was actually recording their outer surface. I had never seen such patterns on a moth. They resembled individual block prints on a textile or a pattern covered by a green glaze on a precious ceramic artefact.

Last night we went to MacDonald  National Park to see if we could film, in spite of the park being closed to the public following the passage of ex-cyclone Oswald. The gravel path near the entrance was washed away and debris littered the ground. The going was most unsteady, so we abandoned our quest after walking about 150 metres. We agreed to try Palm Grove, having already accessed The Knoll and Joalah after the storm. It too was closed, but we ducked under the tape and kept walking. There appeared to be no damage to the path. After a while we saw an exquisite green moth hanging from a twig. Hugh and I went back to the car to get my camera while Mark stayed with the moth, which I duly filmed on my return. We continued on our way, encountering several pademelons which were too elusive for me to film.

My worst premonition was confirmed when we saw the vast bulk of perhaps the mountain’s grandest tree, the leaning Moreton Bay Fig, blocking the path. Tragically it had been uprooted by Oswald. Today, I returned to film it and pay it homage. The tree had… Read Complete Text

Tonight was our 80^th shoot. It did not disappoint. Though I normally don’t film fungi at night, I filmed one with a large, dark grey cap, a cluster of 3 enormous Giant Panda Snails feasting on some orange fungi, a roosting Large-billed Scrubwren and a beetle. Note that on the previous week’s shoot we were joined by Jaap who is spending a couple of weeks in Canungra before resuming his bus travels around Australia. It was great seeing him again.

A friend phoned to tell me about a cereus cactus in her garden that only flowers on one night a year. All but one bloom had flowered. I filmed the plant in daylight to set the scene and returned after dark and filmed the remaining bloom in all its flowering magnificence. I also filmed a cricket, a katydid and a small moth on the spent blooms.

For the second night shoot in succession, I filmed a butterfly resting with wings spread. Normally we see moths at night. We were in Joalah and encountered an unconscionable number of leeches in spite of fairly dry weather. Recent rain had not even muddied the ground. It was as if the leeches still thought they were enjoying the good, flooding season of recent years. This meant that my helpers Dan and Jason, whose young eyes are better able to discover potential subjects than mine or Mark’s, were more taken up with picking off leeches than spotting creatures, though I did film a Leaf-tailed Gecko completely minus tail.