Though denying ever being away with the fairies (Fairy Gerygones and Wrens are different cases!), I admit to chasing after dragonflies (click pic to enlarge), butterflies and pretty creatures whenever mood takes and chance offers. So, three results of pursuit - with variations on the theme of yellow and green:
First, the lumberingly named but aerially agile Austrogomphus prasinus. A male, the guidebook relates, as shown by the yellow, forked rear appendages. This dragonfly sped into view today and drifted from stem to stem of giant cane grass after drawing me away from butterflies (below) clustered on a cane road.
The Common Grass Yellows (Eurame hecabe) were gathered in several places along the sandy gravelled road sipping (licking?) salts after light rain overnight and this morning. Also popular with the 40mm wingspan butterflies was a flattened patch of horse dung. No other of the several butterfly species in the area showed interest in the gravel or the dung.
Finally, a small Lace Monitor (Varanus varius) encountered a few days ago (pre-Cyclone Hamish alerts) near Dungeness boat ramp, where the Herbert River emerges into the bottom end of the Hinchenbrook Channel. The monitor stopped sunning itself and skittered across the road when it saw me coming camera in hand. It disappeared - as they say, like a rat up a drainpipe - up a drainpipe!
Such ability to vanish like a fairy in a yellow funk leaves me green with envy.
8 comments:
I enjoyed the photos - but your ability with words keeps me laughing!
Love that dragonfly Tony!
Thanks Mick: Much better than singing in the rain is laughing in it!
Hi Duncan; Would you believe f14 1/80th sec handheld 672mm (mistakenly on aperture priority)?
Excellent Austrogomphus photo - was it near running water?
A fascinating story about the Grass Yellows, I've never seen so many gathered together - I wonder what the horse had been eating? ...probably a bit hard to tell.
Hi Barbara: Cane road and dragonfly on western edge of Francis Creek (still running high: close to Bruce Highway). Grass Yellows in several clusters of 50-100. 2-3 horses in area do it tough in scruffy grasses, weeds.
The photo of the Grass Yellow is wonderful Tony - the one butterfly with its wings open really makes the image a standout.
Hi Tony
Somebody's got to say it - Love your Tongue shot!
Cheers
Denis
Hi Boobook: Pleased you noticed the deliberate selection. Also tried for flying masses but they dispersed too quickly.
Hi Denis: Trouble with tongues is they're always moving lickety-split!
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