Celebrating Botanic Gardens Day#2; some animals of the gardens

In my most recent post, I celebrated Botanic Gardens Day, which this year fell on Sunday 26 May. There I introduced and celebrated a range of 18 mostly regional gardens (though briefly also touching on a couple of big city ones) across five states and territories. Today I'm going to wrap up this mini-series with a celebration of some of the animals we've enjoyed meeting in 14 different Australian botanic gardens. In this case Canberra's own Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG hereafter) features much more heavily, doubtless disproportionately so, but as a reflection of the fact that, over the decades, I've spent a lot more time there than in all the other featured gardens put together. I shall try to do better in other gardens in the future!

Male Satin Bowerbird Ptilonorhynchus violaceus snacking on Lilly Pilly berries
(Syzygium or Acmena sp.) in the ANBG.

I don't doubt that there have been bowers in the national gardens before but I've not seen them. Needless to say though these are not the only gardens with bowerbirds, and I have enjoyed the wonders of male bowerbirds displaying in their elaborately constructed and decorated performance stages in other gardens.

Male Satin Bowerbird standing proudly (and hopefully) in his bower, surrounded
by blue ornaments (all artificial in this case) at the entrance to the North Coast BG,
Coffs Harbour, north coast of NSW.

Western Bowerbird Chlamydera guttata in his impressive bower at the lovely
Olive Pink BG in Alice Springs, central Australia. This arid land bowerbird is
using traditional decorations, mostly white bones and stones, with some greenery.

I definitely wanted to show you the bower, but he deserves a better portrait too.

Alright, so he's shy about showing his face, but I especially wanted you
to see this gorgeous lilac crest, only visible when he's displaying.
That lovely soft fawn-spotted chocolate back is very attractive too.

Elsewhere in this garden, which is a particular favourite of ours, this White-plumed Honeyeater was attending the nest, just above the coffee-sippers (ie us on this occasion) at the outdoor cafe.

White-plumed Honeyeater Ptilotula penicillata with nest, Olive Pink BG, Alice Springs.

Like bowerbirds, honeyeaters arose in Australia, though both have extended into New Guinea and nearby islands. Honeyeaters make up something like 10% of Australia's breeding bird species, so it's inevitable that they'll pop up regularly in botanic gardens.

Far to the south of Alice Springs is another arid land gardens, in fact called the
Australian Arid Land Gardens Botanic Gardens, just outside Port Augusta
at the head of Spencer Gulf in South Australia. It features a bird hide facing
this bath/drinking trough, in the extensive natural area of saltbush and shrubs;
Singing Honeyeaters Gavicalis virescens, one of the commonest arid land
birds, are of course one of the major clients of this water supply.
(Here's a photo of the hide, as featured in last week's post.)

Rather more colourful, and a lot less common here than Singers are at Port Augusta,
was this exquisite male Scarlet Honeyeater Myzomela sanguinolenta in the ANBG
in Canberra feeding on an equally richly-coloured bottlebrush Callistemon sp..
The honeyeater is common enough at the coast, but infrequently makes
its way up the escarpment for a visit.

Flowers and berries are, as you might expect, good food sources for native birds in any garden. Here are a couple of different lorikeets getting stuck into nectar from two very different flowers in gardens in two different states.

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus feeding on eucalypt blossom in
Goondiwindi BG, an excellent native garden on the Queensland-NSW border.

Rainbow Lorikeets Trichoglossus moluccanus are familiar urban birds everywhere
in eastern and south-eastern Australia, and are rapidly spreading inland.
This one is feeding on the numerous tiny blossoms of a flowering spike of grass-tree,
Xanthorrhoea sp., in the Wollongong BG south of Sydney.
Both these lorikeets are feeding (destructively) on both pollen and nectar.

        

Far to the north these Metallic Starlings Aplonis metallica are feeding on palm fruits
along the boardwalk between the Flecker Gardens and the Centenary Lakes in
the Cairns Botanic Gardens.

Another cafe bird (like the White-plumed Honeyeater above) is this male Superb Fairywren Malurus cyaneus which literally came to the table at the Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens near Batemans Bay on the NSW south coast.

This was in March, and he was just finishing moulting out of his breeding finery
to be less conspicuous - and thus safer - for winter. Like the bowerbirds and honeyeaters,
he belongs to an endemic Australian family, with a couple of outliers in New Guinea.
This bird is one of the most familiar and beloved of south-eastern Australian birds.

Many other birds are, like the fairywren, drawn by the rich biota of invertebrates in a healthy garden.

Black Butcherbird Melloria quoyi, stalking the understorey of the Cairns BG,
for small reptiles as well as invertebrates.

Fan-tailed Cuckoo Cacomantis flabelliformis in Eurobodalla BG, looking not only
for insects, but also opportunities to parasitise the nests of smaller birds,
leaving eggs for the involuntary hosts to brood and then ultimately rear the chicks.

Here are two more birds availing themselves of the invertebrate food store of Eurobodalla.

Eastern Whipbird Psophodes olivaceus, briefly appearing in the open.

Jacky Winter Microeca fascinans waiting for lunch to fly by.
This is one of the Australian robins.
(I'm pretty sure this isn't its bower...)

Male Leaden Flycatcher Myiagra rubecula, nicely catching the sun in the ANBG.

Like the White-plumed Honeyeater above, many birds of course nest in botanic gardens which may provide some security, especially if cat control is undertaken.

White-winged Chough Corcorax melanorhamphos nest in the Australian Inland
Botanic Gardens, Buronga, south-west NSW. These belong in this list of
invertebrate-eating birds of botanic gardens, which continues below.

Papuan Frogmouth Podargus papuensis roosting in mangroves in the
Cairns Botanic Garden, beautifully camouflaged. At night they feed
mostly on large insects, usually on the ground.

More formidable predators, focussing on vertebrate prey, also inhabit gardens.

Powerful Owl Ninox strenua, which took up residence in the ANBG for some
weeks in autumn of 2007. It stayed until the supply of Sugar Gliders in particular
ran low, then moved on, but while there it was quite a celebrity. This top-order
predator elsewhere is known to prey on fruit bats, larger possums and domestic cats.

Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus with an introduced Common Blackbird Turdus merula
in the Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens. As I sat on a bench the bird flew right over my
head, with still-struggling lunch in its claws, then sought a more private spot to eat it.

A few gardens birds are omnivores, like this Australian Brush-turkey Alectura lathami in the
Cairns Botanic Gardens, though I'm surprised to discover how little we know about their diet.
He was tending a mound at the time.

Some eat seeds.

Double-barred Finch Stizoptera bichenovii, Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens.

 

Common Bronzewing (Pigeon) Phaps chalcoptera, ANBG.
A familiar pigeon, found across virtually the entire continent, but always
a pleasure to encounter up close, especially with the sun bringing its iridescent
wing feathers to glittering life.

My last gardens bird for today is a special one for me, being the first Australian 'lifer' that I've come across in a botanic gardens (or at least for a very long time).

Spotted Whistling Duck Dendrocygna guttata, Centenary Lakes, Cairns Botanic Gardens.
They are found from the Philippines to New Guinea, and in the last couple of decades
have established a colony at Weipa up on Cape York Peninsula. However it was a real
surprise to find a small group in 2019 here, another 800k to the south-east.

Mammals are, unsurprisingly, much less frequently encountered in botanic gardens, but mostly because we're only there in the daytime. Additionally, large grazers like kangaroos and wallabies are understandably discouraged by garden managements. However, sometimes we get lucky.

Black-tailed Wallaby (or often Swamp Wallaby, though it's a misleading name) Wallabia bicolor
in the ANBG. They are browsers on shrubs, so could be a problem, but there are very few
in the gardens so unlikely to be very damaging.

Also in the ANBG, this Echidna Tachyglossus aculeata was definitely no threat to
the plants, though the ants and termites are distinctly unsafe.

Grey-headed Fruit Bat (or Flying Fox if you like, but really?) Pteropus poliocephalus,
Sydney Botanic Gardens, part of a large daytime roosting colony. This was in 2009, and
they've since been moved on. I understand the dilemma - in large numbers they can be
quite destructive to the canopy of roost trees - but they are also a nationally listed
threatened species (and were at the time of the removal). Personally they provided
one my strongest motivations to visit the gardens, but I wouldn't want to have
to make decisions on the issue either.

Reptiles live in any botanic gardens, I feel safe in asserting, albeit without actual comprehensive proof! I'm thinking especially of the numerous small skinks...

Rainbow Skink Carlia sp. (I think C. pectoralis, but am happy to be corrected),
Cooktown Botanic Gardens.

Red-throated Rainbow Skink Carlia rubrigularis, Cairns BG.
I'm a little more confident about this one...

Dragons are more conspicuous, especially the larger ones. In fact they are one of the highlights of the ANBG.

Australian Water Dragon Intellagama lesueurii, ANBG. There is a thriving population
throughout the lower part of the gardens where there is permanent water.
They regularly lurk under the restaurant tables.

They're not the only dragons here though.

Eastern Bearded Dragon Pogona barbata absorbing as much of the early spring
sun in the ANBG as it can. It has flattened its body and tilted it towards the sun
to maximise exposure to the sun, and cells containing melanin have turned its
flanks almost black for greater heat absorption.

And here's another (though not closely related) water dragon,
the Northern Water Dragon Tropicagama temporalis in the Darwin BG.

Not all gardens reptiles are lizards though, of course.

Krefft's Turtle Emydura kreftii, Centenary Lakes, Cairns BG.
This turtle is found along almost the full length of the Queensland
Pacific Coast, but not south of there.

Green Tree Snake Dendrelaphis punctulatus, in the big lush conservatory, Cairns BG.
Perhaps not a great name, as it is as much at home on the ground as in trees, and isn't always green!
Common Tree Snake is another name that reflects this aspect of it. I don't know if this
one had just popped in for some reconnaissance, or if it was finding enough frogs and
skinks here to make a permanent living. A lovely encounter anyway.

And this time I'm giving the invertebrates the honour of closing the show. As you might imagine I could have offered many more photos than these, but hopefully these can satisfy. I have just noticed that a disproportionate number of these photos feature butterflies (not really apology-worthy) and were taken either in the ANBG (because that's where I spend most time) or Cairns (because it's Cairns?).

Shining Oak-blue Arhopala micale, Cairns BG. Like other blues, its
caterpillars are attended and protected by ants while they feed. It is found in
Queensland, New Guinea and throughout Melanesia to Fiji.

Red Lacewing Cethosia cydippe, Cairns BG. We can just see the distinctive big red patch
on its upper wing. This tropical butterfly is found from north Queensland to Indonesia.

Male Cruiser Vindula arsinoe, Cairns BG, with a similar distribution to
the Red Lacewing. Both these butterflies were in the steamy green and extensive
conservatory; I suspect that they were introduced there (though maybe not) but
in either case they are local species.

Imperial Jezebel Delias harpalyce, ANBG. I find it interesting that the upperside
(not visible here) is a somewhat dingy black and white. This is a common butterfly throughout
the southeast mainland. (Just noting in passing that people - English blokes? - who gave
butterflies English names seemed somewhat preoccupied with human women,
often with derogatory connotations. Keep your eye out, though now that I think
about it, it's probably not as common in Australia as elsewhere.)

Male Common Brown Heteronympha merope, ANBG. This is always a common
butterfly, but in the summer of 2022-23 (when this was taken) they were
extraordinarily abundant, literally everywhere!

Orchard Swallowtails Papilio aegeus, ANBG. Here two males (left and right) are
attending - harassing?! - a female with intent. These were in the Tasmanian
rainforest gully by the footbridge, before the gully was severely damaged
by the devastating hailstorm of January 2020.

Australian Painted Lady Vanessa kershawi on Xerochrysum sp., ANBG.
Its proboscis, clearly visible, is probing the numerous tiny florets for nectar,
without having to burn energy in moving. See previous comment re butterfly names...

Staying in the ANBG, but moving on from butterflies though staying largely with daisies!

Common Flatwing Austroargiolestes icteromelas, ANBG, a very
common eastern Australian damselfly.

Flower spider Diaea sp., waiting on a daisy for a pollinator to alight in the ANBG.
Isn't it a beautiful camouflage?

Fly, Family Acroceridae, pollinating a daisy.

Native bee (best I can do, sorry!) collecting pollen from a paper daisy, Xerochrysum sp.

And finally, an insect from a different botanic garden, before the rumbles about local bias become too overwhelming!

A spider wasp (ie she hunts large spiders to paralyse and lay eggs on, to feed her babies),
Family Pompilidae, in the Inland Botanic Gardens, Buronga.

And that's the end of this celebration of botanic gardens, though I don't doubt there'll be more in the future. My thanks if you're still reading, I appreciate that.

In a just over a week we're planning to head off for four weeks in south-west Queensland, where we're hoping that the wet seasons of the past year or so will have relented enough for us to get to places, but left them full of flowers and breeding birds! We'll see, but whatever we find will be rewarding, and will doubtless provide material for future blog posts. The point here though is that there will a hiatus in Ian Fraser Talking Naturally, until Thursday 18 July. In the meantime you can always find more to read in past posts that you might have missed. See you then!

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 18 JULY

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Costa Rica; where the Americas meet #2. Animals, frogs and scales.

A little while ago, following a visit to this special country, I posted here an introduction to it. You might want to start with that post, though it isn't essential to reading this one; you will however find there more information on most of the localities mentioned here. My original intention was to put up two posts on animals of Costa Rica - one on the birds, the other (this one) on 'the rest'. However, when I was about three quarters of the way through this one I realised that it was just too long and unwieldy, even before I'd got to the mammals! So I've gone back and split this post in two, in the hope that some of you will find your way through both rather than giving up in exhaustion. (Though I confess that I did then take the opportunity too to slip a few more photos in...)

Here then is an introduction to some of the numerous and fascinating frogs and reptiles of the country; the tropics abound in these groups which are fascinating and often very photogenic. It's mostly a 'photo essay', with most of the information in the picture captions. For no good reason - other than 'why not?' - I'm going to start with some frogs, then go on to reptiles.  

The first five frog species belong to the very large and widespread tree frog family Hylidae.

Crowned Tree Frog Anotheca (or Triprion) spinosa, Tapirus Lodge, central mountains.
A spectacular arboreal frog found in scattered locations in Central America, it breeds
in above-ground puddles in tree hollows or bromeliad leaves. The female
provides unfertilised eggs as food for the growing tadpoles!

Golden-eyed Tree Frog (it goes by several different names though) Agalychnis annae,
in the grounds of the Hotel Bougainvillea on the outskirts of the capital, San José.
It is a highly Endangered species, living only in the heavily populated and
cultivated central valley; this population in the hotel grounds is apparently
the only one in the vicinity.

Red-eyed Tree Frogs Agalychnis callidryas on the other hand are very
common in Central American rainforests. The spotlight has messed with
its glorious colours, and the eyes in particular, which are really a glowing bright red.
We were there in the rainy season and, like these two, many frogs were engaged
in producing even more frogs!

Hourglass Tree Frogs Dendropsophus ebraccatus. The smaller male in this case lacks the
hourglass shape on the back of most of the species; the top of it can be seen on the female's
head. They can be found throughout Central America and as far south as Ecuador.

Masked Tree Frog Smilisca phaeota, Tapirus Lodge. A common (and rather
winsome) tree frog found throughout the moist lowlands and lower mountains,
and from Honduras to Ecuador.

The other well-known tropical American frog family is that of the poison dart frogs, Dendrobatidae, with some 170 species. These are diurnal frogs, often brilliantly coloured, a very few of which were used by Native Americans to extract poison for blowpipe darts. The alkaloid toxins (which are very potent) are produced by the frog from chemicals in their insect diet, and stored in skin glands for use in protection against enemies. Their striking visibility is a warning. Two species are common in Costa Rica, though not found everywhere there.

Green-and-black Poison Dart Frog Dendrobates auratus. It is found in southern
Central America to Colombia, but in Costa Rica only on the southern Pacific coast.
This one was in rainforest in Carara National Park. It really looks like porcelain!

Strawberry Poison Dart Frog (also known as Blue Jeans Frog!) Oophaga pumilio,
until recently included in the larger genus Dendrobates. This frog can be found
in almost any Costa Rican lowland forest or plantation. It has a range of colour
variants, some of which lack the blue legs, and others are not red at all.
Their range is centred on Costa Rica, and extends into Nicaragua and Panama. This one
was at the wonderful La Selva Research Station, in the Caribbean lowlands.

Finally, before I get too carried away with these frogs, a nod to one of the many other families present.

Foam frog Leptodactylus sp. at Esquinas Lodge in the Piedras Blancas NP
in the far south near the Pacific coast. This is a substantial group of mostly large
frogs, and I'm not able to identify this one further, though would welcome
suggestions. Eggs are laid in a protective bed of foam on the water surface
and the tadpoles fall into the pond below when they hatch.

Reptiles are numerous and diverse throughout the tropics, and Costa Rica is no exception. We encountered a good selection of both snakes and lizards, so let's meet some of them.

 

Some of the snakes were non-venomous...

Northern Cat-eyed Snake Leptodeira septentrionalis, Esquinas Lodge.
This little snake (found from the far south of the US to Costa Rica) hangs around
ponds, hunting frogs and their egg masses.

Common Snaileater  Sibon nebulatus, Tapirus Lodge. Another small snake that
lives on slugs and snails, extracting these from the shell with specially adapted jaws.

... others less so.

Hog-nosed Pitviper Porthidium nasutum, Tapirus Lodge. This venomous little snake was
on the concrete by the stopping platform at the top of the 'aerial tram' ride through the rainforest
canopy. The young fellow staffing the platform reckoned it was 'just there'. Well, maybe.
Normally they lie still in leaf litter awaiting a meal of a small mammal, frog or lizard.

Eyelash Pitviper Bothriechis schlegelii, rainforest canopy walk, Monteverde. This is a surprisingly
common snake in Costa Rica, nearly always encountered on branches, which may be nearly
at ground level or high in the canopy (like this one, which is peeping out at us through the
coils). There is also a bright yellow version, which I've not seen. It waits patiently - for
weeks sometimes - for birds, small mammals or lizards. Young ones tend to be close to
the ground, and ascend the trees as they get older and switch prey from mostly frogs.

Here is a closeup of the same species, close to the ground, displaying its 'eyelashes'.

Young Eyelash Pitviper, Tapirus Lodge. The 'eyelashes' are of course no such thing, but
modified scales. Their purpose is unclear but it is suggested by those who've studied them
that they help to break up the outline of the distinctive head to better hide from potential prey.

Fer-de-Lance Bothrops asper, Carara NP. This can be a huge snake, up to 2.5 metres long, and
highly venomous. It was curled up in the dark under a park bench by a well-used walking track.
The park staff had simply put a ribbon barrier up for the duration of its stay to prevent us from
taking a rest there. (The vertical pupils distinguish it from the similar False Fer-de-Lance
Xenodon rabdocephalus which has round pupils.)

Many of the lizards encountered - and they are abundant - belong to a cluster of families that include the iguanas and anoles (and the Australian dragons).

Green Iguana Iguana iguana, San Isidro. This is a common big lizard (to more than
1.5 metre long) found naturally from Mexico to southern Brazil. It comes in a range
of colours in addition to green, and is a adept at climbing, swimming and burrowing.
Fortunately for small animals it is mostly vegetarian.

Spiny-tailed Iguana Ctenosaura similis, Carara NP - a group of these big iguanas
was running the carpark when we first visited. They also climb trees well, but have an
affinity for rocky areas...

... as evidenced by this young one in the north at Rincon de la Vieja, displaying
the bright green colouration typical of juveniles.

There are three common species of the extraordinary basilisks in Costa Rica, and throughout most of Central America (plus another in north-western South America). The aspect of them which is most often remarked upon is their ability - especially of smaller individuals - to run several metres on the surface of water, flailing their hind legs very fast and spreading their long toes to distribute the weight.

Green Basilisk Basiliscus plumifrons, Tortuguera on the Caribbean coast. This is a spectacular
animal and quite common, especially along waterways.

Brown Basilisk Basiliscus vittatus in the grounds of Esquinas Lodge.
This one is only found (but very commonly) on the Pacific side of Costa Rica.

Green Spiny Lizard Sceloporus malachiticus, Savegre Valley on the Pacific slopes.
This a common lizard in the mountains; indeed we first saw it basking at some 3400 metres
above sea level, above the tree line in conditions that we reckoned were uncomfortably cold.

The anoles, in the same general grouping, are abudant, mostly small quick lizards found on tree trunks and branches.

Slender Anole Anolis limifrons, in the rain at Esquinas Lodge. This little fellow was
very agile, leaping between leaves.

Bridled Anole Anolis frenatus, seen at night at Tapirus Lodge. My impression is that
most anoles are active in the daytime; this is also large for an anole, at around 15cm long.

Another commonly seen Costa Rican lizard group is the whiptails (or ameivas, from a former genus name), in the family Teidae. They are very common along forest tracks, on logs and in the litter. They are long-tailed and quick and some are brightly coloured. This one however was in our cabin, living on and in the totally superfluous bed doona that was on the floor.

Central American Whiptail Holcosus festivus, La Selva Research Station.

Geckoes were less obvious than I might have expected, but maybe that was just me. Here is a rather lovely daytime species which was dining out too, on one of the wooden supports of an outdoor restaurant.

Yellow-headed Gecko Gonatodes albogularis, a widespread species of drier
tropical forests, here at Caño Negro in the northeast.

I find it surprising that there are only four species of freshwater turtle in Costa Rica (though I have no real reason to be surprised, I must admit). This appears to be the commonest one, but is only found on the Caribbean side.

Black River Turtles Rhinoclemmys funerea, beneath the pedestrian bridge across the
Puerto Viejo River at La Selva Research Centre.

Finally there are two species of crocodilians, one quite common, the other definitely not.

Spectacled Caiman Caiman crocodilus, in the wetlands of Caño Negro.
This smallish caiman (generally less that two metres long) is found thoughout Central
America and the north of South America. It keeps to itself in the rivers and
wetlands, mostly being active at night, and hunting fish.

American Crocodile Crocodylus acutus, Tarcoles River on the central Pacific coast. This is about
the only place in Costa Rica that this magnificent animal - up to six metres long and weighing almost
 a tonne for very large males - is still relatively common. Here there is a thriving
business in running crocodile tours (very reminiscent of the Daintree River in Queensland).
There is also a constant stream of  tourists disgorged at the end of the highway bridge over the river
to walk on the narrow footpath, with heavy traffic seemingly only centimetres away,
to gaze down at the crocodiles which are usually lying below, facing the current to harvest
unwary fish. Overall there are probably no more than 3000 in the wild, from Florida
to northern South America.

And you may well be relieved that that's all for today (though not too relieved I hope....). Back soon to complete this series with some invertebrates and mammals. The birds can then wait for a slightly later date, while I post on something a bit closer to home. Thanks for accompanying me!

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 2 NOVEMBER

I love to receive your comments and in future will be notifying you personally by email when a new posting appears, if you'd like me to. All current subscribers have been added to this mailing list and have already been contacted. This will mean one email every three weeks at the current rate of posting. I promise never to use the list for any other purpose and will never share it.
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