Dear Reader:
At first, I think it is a Dragonfly, but the wings look more slender and the legs longer. It seems that I have photographed my first Scorpionfly.
The Mount Compass School Swamp is one of several, remaining and rare, freshwater swamps on the Fleurieu Peninsula. Unlike many other wetlands they do not dry out over the summer months These swamps are a refuge for numerous threatened species of plants and animals.
I am strolling along a boardwalk established by the local area school. It meanders through thick growths of Coral Fern, Tea-tree and native grasses.
There are finches, wrens and other small birds continuously calling and flitting between the verdant layer of ferns and low shrubs. They are hard to photograph but eventually I manage to capture a few images of Silvereyes and Superb Fairy Wrens.
As I scan the flowering Tea Tree bushes for smaller animals, I notice a small striped beetle crawling along a branch. Later, using ‘I Naturalist’, I discover that it is species of Soldier Beetle.
Insects are not the only small inhabitants of this swamp. Small lizards scamper across the boardwalk at regular intervals. Finally, one stops long enough for a quick-fire image. I think they are Water Skinks but later research shows they are Southern Grass Skinks which also like boggy ground.
The pastureland around the swamp is an ideal environment for other less fragile species and near the enclosing fenceline I spot a group of Western Grey Kangaroos, some Straw-necked Ibises and a flock of Galahs.
I have spent a couple of hours exploring the swamp and it is time to head back to the adjacent township of Mount Compass for coffee and a bakery delight.
Cheers
Baz
Additional notes
Other animals seen, heard but not photographed Dragonflies, Mosquitoes, Blackbird, Magpies
The camera used for this post is a Nikon Coolpix P900
This is an easy walk which is quite suitable for families and seniors with, parking and other facilities nearby.
Please pass on this blog title and or contact information (URL) to any person or organisation with an interest in taking walks and enjoying wildlife in SA.
Click on these links and see more South Australian stories and pictures in my Weekend Notes articles as well as locating similar blogs on Feedspot’s top 20 Australian wildlife blogs
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