Ozzie Road Trip - The prequel

[Mel]

Lucky for the green tree frog that you spotted him before getting down to business. -O

Heard of the cane toad... An ugly beast in every sense.

[Lisbeth]

A documentary has been made on the Cane Toad, at least I think that's the one and on all the ways the Aussies have tried to get rid of it, but it seems that the toad is always ahead. Of course you know the following, Mousie, but it might be interesting to others.
From Wikepedia:

Introduction and spread
Native to Central and South America, Cane toads were introduced to Australia from Hawaii in June 1935 by the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations in an attempt to control the native cane beetle (Dermolepida albohirtum). These beetles are native to Australia and they are detrimental to sugar cane crops, which are a major source of income for Australia. Adult cane beetles eat the crop's leaves, but the main problem is the larvae, who feed on the roots. Adult cane beetles have a heavy exoskeleton and their eggs and larva are often buried underground, making them difficult to exterminate. Furthermore, conventional methods of pest control, such as pesticide use, would eradicate harmless species of insects as well, making it an unsatisfactory method.[5]
The cane toads bred immediately in captivity, and by August 1935 more than 102 young toads were released in areas around Cairns, Gordonvale and Innisfail in northern Queensland. More toads were released around Ingham, Ayr, Mackay and Bundaberg. Releases were temporarily limited because of environmental concerns but resumed in other areas after September 1936. Since their release, toads have rapidly multiplied in population and now number over 200 million and have been known to spread diseases affecting local biodiversity.[6] Unfortunately, the introduction of the toads has not only caused large environmental detriment, but there is also no evidence that they have had an impact on the cane beetles they were introduced to predate. The toads have steadily expanded their range through Queensland, reaching the border with New South Wales in 1978 and the Northern Territory in 1984. The toads on the western frontier of their advance have evolved larger legs;[7] this is thought to be related to their ability to travel farther. As a consequence of their longer legs, larger bodies, and faster movement, about 10% of the leading edge cane toads have also developed arthritis.[8] It is estimated that cane toads migrate at an average of 40 kilometres (25 mi) per year currently.[9]

Methods to Control Invasion
Currently, most attempts to curtail the invasion of cane toads have been unsuccessful. Many of these strategies involve the physical trapping of toads, but these methods also capture unintended native species.[22] Since the largest selective pressure on cane toads currently is intraspecies competition, these physical removals often only improve the conditions for untrapped toads. Also, since migration is high, any area purged of toads would most likely be reinvaded quickly.
Many new ideas have been proposed to control the cane toad population. Some have suggested introducing a native viral or bacterial pest of the toads, but this has potential to once again invade native species. Two similar strategies have been proposed, both of which focus on fecundicity. One involves the release of sterile males into the population. These males would compete for resources with other males, while themselves not being able to reproduce. A second strategy would be to insert a gene in female toads which would allow them to only create male offspring. In theory, this would limit the reproductive rates and control the population. It is difficult to determine the efficacy and dangers of these approaches, as these methods have never been attempted, especially on a large scale.[22]
On 13 June 2012 news reports cited a new research breakthrough regarding cane toad control. Research has confirmed that cane toad tadpoles are attracted to the toxin produced by adults and spawn. Tadpoles are believed to cannibalize toad spawn as a food source. Researchers used cane toad toxin to successfully lure cane toad tadpoles, implying that in controlled areas tadpoles could be captured and eradicated.

[nan]

some have spider on the loo... other frog

magnificent species of frog, I love the green one

[mouseinthehouse]

Hello again Wildies!

Happy Mothers Day to all mothers like me!

I read an interesting piece in one of the national weekend papers written circa 1915 about motherhood. One mother said:
'My children cause me the most exquisite suffering of which I have any experience. It is the suffering of ambivalence: the murderous alternation between bitter resentment and raw-edged nerves and blissful gratification and tenderness.'

This says it all for me.

My oldest son came and saw me after breakfast, a little weary after a late night at season end cricket presentations. (read free food and booze). -O SO and I walked the kilometre into town which is very much in full swing even on a Sunday with all shops open. After a small shower of rain earlier, the sun came out and it was quite warm and humid. On return SO took a long walk on the beach and took the following photos.


Hermit crab


Looking up the beach to the north.


Looking across the small bay to some of the beachside residential areas.


The caravan park is just behind the vegetation. Our van is about 6 metres from the beach sand.


Great Keppel Island. Had a resort on it and a couple of backpackers places. We stayed there once. The resort has since closed and developers have been trying to get approval for a huge new resort and marina. After about 4 years and three knock backs by the Environment Minister they finally won approval for a scaled back version. The sea has been rough and stirred up the silty bottom discolouring the water.

Tomorrow we are going fishing among other things (pending good weather). Hope to have shots of our catch (and release) fish. And some more scenery.

[Lisbeth]

Too many houses, but otherwise it looks like a nice place. The coasts are getting ruined all over

[mouseinthehouse]

Hi again!

The last couple of days have been great spending time with Number 1 son and generally having fun and being lazy and eating out a lot.

The three of us went out of town a little way to The Causeway where the sea flows in and out of a lake as the tides come and go. Yesterday we caught a few little fish. A half decent sized Bream and a couple of 'Fingermarks', a tiny spotted cod and a 'Butterfish'. All released back.




My son Bevan rigging up his rod.


SO with a Bream.

The weather has improved a lot and today has been particularly pleasant. I am not looking forward to going back to freezing temperatures at home. Around the caravan park there are some resident Ibis as well as a lovely kookaburra or two and it was great to get a visit from some Red-tailed Black Cockatoos.




Rather unco-operative red-tailed black cockatoos.


Beautiful Kookaburra!



SO did a little fishing off the beach in front of our campsite and hooked a small stingray much to his surprise! We didn't have the camera. I had to run back and get a knife to cut the line. It wasn't possible to get the hook out as we didn't have the means to immobilise the fish and be safe from a barb strike. Hopefully the hook will deteriorate quickly and cause no long term harm. For lunch we headed out to the cafe at the Rosslyn Bay Marina. Some impressive looking boats moored in the harbour!



Then SO and I headed on to the causeway again but no luck fishing this time. The Bluff Point conservation park is nearby and has a lovely 2km walk up to the summit and back so we headed off. Very pretty rainforest type area. Lots of beautiful butterflies. In the gardens at the base of the hill, a couple of bush turkeys were foraging.



At the summit lookout we were able to see Green Turtles in the sea at the rocky base. The scenery all around was stunning. On the return part of the walk we saw a kill!!! A pretty butterfly flew straight into a web at head height across the path. In a second the large spider pounced on its prey!




Interesting geology formation of one of the many little islands dotting the sea in this area.

We are leaving Yeppoon tomorrow morning. I leave a little happier with the hope that my son may have a chance at his dream job. He has had a tough time in the last 6 weeks including being made redundant from his landscaping/gardening job of 7 1/2 yrs due to company financial difficulties. This morning we went out to a resort owned by the Mercure group. They have a magnificent championship golf course and he spoke for a second time to the people in charge of the golf course. The resident Golf Professional told him they are hiring 6 full time people in two weeks time!!! He left his resume again, just to make sure they had it and will wait for formal advertising of positions shortly. Will be crossing my fingers every day.

Tomorrow we hope to get past the NSW border, heading for home!

[Flutterby]

Lovely pics of the kookaburrra and cocatoos!! Poor flutterby!

Holding thumbs for Number 1 son!

[Bushcraft]

Some more great updates

A family that fishes Post some pics on our fishing forum, which is dead

I would love to have seen a pic of the ray

Thanks for this mith

[Lisbeth]

Sounds like you had a few lovely days Nice bird pics. The kookaburra is beautiful

[nan]

those Kookaburra and Cockatoos are
me too I would like to see a Ray