Eastern Banjo Frog ( Limnodynastes dumerili )

"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." - Mark Twain
(..... although it has been almost 5 years since my last post.)

Since making a pond for wildlife a few years back, I've recorded two frog species making use of it. They are the Brown Tree Frog (Litoria ewingi) and the Eastern Banjo Frog or Pobblebonk (Limnodynastes dumerili).

The Eastern Banjo Frog is found throughout south-eastern Australia. In mainland Tasmania we have the subspecies L.d. insularis while King Island has L.d. variegatus. While usually more active at night, this one was out and about by day. (hopefully not a sign of a sick frog)

Interestingly these frogs burrow into the soil in mid autumn and  don't emerge again until mid spring. While excavating in my backyard I have several times found them at a depth of about 50cm to 60cm in very rocky soil. From what I've read, their burrows are usually found within 100m of water. However I was finding these borrows long before I built the pond. As far I know there is no permanent water for at least half a kilometer from here.

A Visit to the Tamar Island Wetlands Reserve

I recently visited the Tamar Island Wetlands Reserve just north of Launceston. The Tamar Estuary at 70km in length is said to be the largest in Australia and it drains Tasmania's largest catchment area which covers 18% of the state. The reserve itself protects around 60 hectares of mud flats, reeds beds, coastal paperbark forest and small islands.

Some of our small party were a little less enthusiastic about entering because as soon as we got out of the car they spied a snake slithering off the path and into the reeds. Unfortunately I missed seeing it. It was likely to be a Lowland copperhead, Austrelaps superbusas, as that is the only snake that has been recorded in the reserve.

Between the entrance and the interpretation centre you pass through an area of freshwater lagoon. Apparently this is a good place for spotting the rare Green and Gold Frog, Litoria raniformis. On sunnier days they sit basking on the bank but we "dipped out" as it seems the frogs had "dipped in". The photo below is of a captive specimen.

Green and Gold Frog - Litoria raniformis

The interpretation centre has a lot of information on the wetlands ecology and also has a spotting scope set up for watching the birds.

Interpretation Centre

About half a kilometre down the boardwalk there is a side track that takes you through some coastal paperbark forest and then to a small bird hide.



Along the main boardwalk you pass though large areas of reed beds (Phragmites australis) where I spotted a Little Grassbird, Megalurus gramineus.

Reed Beds

There are three species of skink in the reserve. Along the boardwalks we spotted two metallic skinks, Niveoscincus metallicus, and also the rare Glossy Grass Skink, Pseudemoia rawlinsoni. This species is found in other parts of south-eastern Australia too but it is rare here in Tasmania only being known from a few sites mostly in the Launceston area.

Glossy Grass Skink - Pseudemoia rawlinsoni

You also cross over a series of bridges spanning drainage channels. At low tide these areas reveal extensive mud flats.

Bridge

Drainage Channel

Some of the 53 Black Swans, Cygnus atratus, we saw at the reserve

Great Egret - Ardea modesta

Black-fronted Dotterel - Elseyornis melanops


Juvenile Welcome Swallow - Hirundo neoxena at the side of the boardwalk
(Only about 60cm from lens)

At the end of the walk you cross over to Tamar Island (1.5kms from the entrance). The island has a long history of European occupation and is dominated by exotic trees and shrubs. The birds I saw here were, not surprisingly, mostly introduced species such as Greenfinch and Goldfinch but there were also some natives like Silvereyes, Zosterops lateralis and Superb Fairtywrens, Malurus cyaneus.

This was a fairly rushed trip and much of the time was spent covering the area as opposed to sitting and watching for birds. We only saw 22 of of the 63 birds that have been recorded there. My intention was mostly to spy out the land to see if it was worth visiting. The answer was an emphatic yes.

List of birds seen:

Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)
Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides)
Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa)
Australasian Shoveler (Anas rhynchotis)
Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea)
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta)
White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)
Swamp Harrier (Circus approximans)
Eastern Australian Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio melanotus)
Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris)
Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles)
Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops)
Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae)
Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus)
Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus)
Forest Raven (Corvus tasmanicus tasmanicus)
Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena)
Little Grassbird (Megalurus gramineus)
Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis)
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
European Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)
European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

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