Best Photograph 2020

Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo Dendrolagus lumholtzi, Atherton Tableland.

We all know 2020 has been a terrible year and I have noticed that I have posted much fewer articles this year than most. This is a result of me not having traveled so much this year, none internationally. But in November the state borders opened in Australia and I was able to go on a field trip to Cape York, stopping for a few days on the Atherton Tableland in north Queensland. And that was where I spotted this lovely animal high up in the rainforest branches.

These are not the sharpest of shots, but not bad for a hand held long lens in dull light. It is the back-lighting on the fur and leaves that I like, and the pose. The kangaroo could not have held a better pose for me. And I like the detail of the mosses and ferns on the branches, a true wild shot of an animal in its natural habitat.

Although, as it sat there looking down at me, completely at ease in the branches, I was reminded of a similar scene from the movie Predator. I only saw this one kangaroo, I must have missed more. Real life is better than fiction.

Tawny Frogmouths are busy

Many of the tawny frogmouth chicks I have been studying this year have fledged in the past two weeks, like these two above, flanked by their parents. The family were sitting in a tree about 30 m from their nest tree. All were sitting quietly in the partial shade. Mum adopted a defensive hiding pose, adopting a posture to resemble a broken branch. Dad sat quietly, he had seen me often before and probably recognised me as no threat. The chicks were curious.

The chicks, like so many frogmouth fledglings, were so curious of the observer that they never adopted a defensive pose. They stared down at me as if determining what I was, and whether I was a threat to them. They were probably trusting in their parents for guidance. But they simply sat quiet and didn't give any soft alarm calls. Did the chicks feel safe because their dad wasn't alrmed?

Dad maybe looked calm, but I am sure he was ready to react were I to make any wrong move towards them.

There are numerous frogmouth pairs that did not seem to breed earlier, in september, as usual. But I have seen several new nests and birds on eggs in the past week, at the same time as most are fledging. This might be because there was limited food over winter and not all birds were in condition to breed in spring. Now though, with most pairs rearing two chicks, and some pairs rearing three, and it has been a wet spring, it looks like there is abundant food. I found this frog below one nest, and if this is an example of the prey available, that is a substantial meal for a frogmouth chick.

And I found this centipede below another nest. The kinks in the animal's body indicate where a frogmouth had grabbed it. I wonder what they taste like?