Turning The Page

Time is a strange thing, isn't it? All you needed to do, dear reader, was turn the page; but since I wrote the last entry of The Butterfly Waltz, four months have passed for me. Four months to turn a page? Think about it. But I'm glad you're still here.

My wife Huguette and I left the Coffs Coast and our small seaside town of Woolgoolga at the end of March 2022. We would be making the long drive up to Cairns from there, as Huguette had secured a job at the Pullman International Hotel, and I had also found full-time work as a reservations agent. Before we launch ourselves into the richness and beauty that characterises Far North Queensland however, there is one more entry I need to dedicate to Woolgoolga - or more specifically, to a road trip we did inland of Woolgoolga.

One special destination that was included in this trip was Girraween National Park in south-east Queensland, located approximately three and a half hours' drive from Brisbane. This is where I photographed a Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum caledonicum), patrolling its babbling stream. Farther up in the forest, I was intrigued by a grasshopper that was clinging motionless onto the side of a tree. Ever the iNaturalist enthusiast, I snapped some photos of it from different angles in the hope that a grasshopper expert could confirm the species for me, but unfortunately it seems that only its genus could be confidently ascertained. According to the consensus, my grasshopper belonged to Genus Pardillana, meaning it was a member of the Spur-throated Grasshoppers (Subfamily Catantopinae). I am admittedly somewhat disappointed when the exact species of a given insect I have photographed cannot be determined, but I quickly learned that this would be a frequent occurrence. Being able to narrow down to Genus is already quite an accomplishment for insect identification, it seems!

Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum caledonicum)

Genus Pardillana, a member of the Spur-throated Grasshoppers (Subfamily Catantopinae)

As our trip continued, we headed back into New South Wales (still west of the range), and happened upon Dangars Lagoon, just south of the town of Uralla. I had wanted to visit it as it was an eBird hotspot (I have found that using eBird hotspots is a great way of discovering new and interesting locations for wildlife and nature in general, not only birds). Here I did an eBird list, and also snapped some photos of the dragonflies frolicking about in the high grass on the fringes of the lagoon (as you will see, they weren't dragonflies, but damselflies). I noticed that these particular specimens were smaller than the Blue Skimmer I'd seen in Girraween National Park. Knowing that I needed photos of them to identify them, I preoccupied myself with getting the best angles possible. Later, I learned that I'd seen the delightful Common Bluetail (Ischnura heterosticta), and its relative the Red and Blue Damsel (Xanthagrion erythroneurum). Both are part of the Family Coenagrionidae, the Narrow-winged Damselflies.

Common Bluetail (Ischnura heterosticta)

Red and Blue Damsel (Xanthagrion erythroneurum)

Dangars Lagoon is also the place I took my first photo of a Cabbage White (Pieris rapae), which is actually an introduced species in Australia. Farther to the east of the lagoon, we explored the region south of the town of Barraba (again chasing an eBird hotpsot), and we cruised along the hot gravel on Borah Road in our trusty Toyota Avensis 2007 (nicknamed L'Hirondelle - the Swallow - which my Dad had generously given us when arrived back to Australia in 2021). Along this road I remember being particularly enthralled by my first sighting and subsequent photograph of a Lesser Wanderer (Danaus petilia); the colours and patterns of this butterfly were magnificent to behold, and I still very much enjoy admiring Lesser Wanderers whenever and wherever I see them.

Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)

Lesser Wanderer (Danaus petilia)

Upon returning to our shared house in Woolgoolga, a dragonfly had found itself trapped in the house in the dining room, noisily buzzing its wings in vain against the white wall. I managed to get a photo of it when it calmed down and rested, and it turned out to be an Australian Emerald Dragonfly (Hemicordulia australiae). I don't recall what happened to it, but in any case it lives on eternally on this page, printed and frozen in time.

Australian Emerald Dragonfly (Hemicordulia australiae)

Image has been edited slightly (increased brightness and exposure, decreased contrast)

Thus end the chronicles of my time as an endeavouring naturalist in Woolgoolga, New South Wales. I have fond memories of the area, and it is a fabulous place to observe, photograph and identify wildlife of all sorts. The same can be said for our next destination, of course - and for the following entry you may need to fetch some snorkelling equipment and put on some flippers.

G Thomas Doerig

10 July 2023

Cairns