17.June.2016 (Day 12)

Even in daylight

Most of my work is at night, driving the back-roads looking for snakes (or “road cruisin” for those in the know). It might seem silly to hear but it’s actually the best way to see snakes and all other manner of cool animals.

You cover more ground.

 Not to mention it’s a lot easier to see a snake in the middle of the road than hidden in the grass or under a rock.

That said, most of my outdoor experiences are at night and it’s easy to forget how magical and different everything can be during the daytime.

There are beautiful insects out.

Eggfly butterfly (Hypolimnas bolina)

Funny looking birds all over.

Masked lapwing (Vanellus miles)

And gorgeous flowers.

Water lily (Nymphaea macrosperma)

Not to mention it’s important to remember what a dynamic environment I’m in. There is constantly an interaction between everything that flys, walks, slithers, grows, and creeps.

The forest itself is always growing, breathing, decaying, and being born again. With all the parts intermingling and cooperating  in a relationship I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand.

Even the fungi play their part and help break down old wood into important nutrients.

Mushrooms

Lizards are constantly darting around from sun to shade, gobbling up insects.

Striped water dragon (Lophognathus temporalis)

This is a female water dragon, besides having one of the coolest names ever they are amazing at running away from predators (or silly biologists with cameras) and can run on top of the water.

Hopefully I’ll have a competent video up shortly.

The females blend in great with the trees where I saw them mostly hanging out and the males fit in almost too perfectly with their environment.

Boys only

While I could only snap one of the worst pictures in the world, I even managed to find a new snake for the trip.

Brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis)

These snakes are rear-fanged, meaning they have venom, but unlike rattlesnakes, who have hollow, needle-like fangs, they have grooved fangs at the back of their mouth which makes them relatively harmless to adults. These snakes are probably best known for how invasive they can get. Native here though. 

Islands like Guam that are important trade routes have been hit particularly hard. 

Because there is (or used to be) plenty of food on Guam, plus no natural predators, the snakes can get a lot bigger than they do here. They’ve found a specimen over 3 meters long (~10 feet)! 

One of the best methodz they’ve found the try to control these snakes in places they shouldn't be is to use drugged up mice.

Well, sorta.

They've used acetaminophen (aka Tylenol) injected into mice. 

The snakes are extra sensitive to it and it helps control their out-of-control population.

Who am I kidding though, at the end of the day, when the sun goes down, it's is my time to shine.

At night, aside from the numerous amphibians, the most prevalent type of animal are spiders.

Wolf spider (Lycosa sp.)

Hand-over-fist they outnumber everyone else.

And they come in all shapes and sizes.

Orb weaver

Spiders are pretty terrifying when you know there’s one crawling on you but they’re really important for the ecosystem and help control the insect populations. Orb weavers catch food by spinning intricate webs every night, while wolf spiders actively hunt their prey or sit and wait for something to get too close.

Like ‘em or not, I don’t even want to imagine how many more mosquitoes (or mozzies as the ozzies call them) would be out here without them. 

I’m pretty sure I’ve donated about a pint of blood to the mosquito bank over the past week and a half.

Something else that keeps everything else in check around here is fire.

I was born and raised in California so anytime there’s a fire it normally shuts the state down and can often grow to catastrophic proportions.

Out here in the top-end it’s pretty old hat to have a ‘bush fire’ burning every night in the distance. Often in the field I’ll see a light in the distance and think it’s a campsite or something.

No worries, just a casual tree burning down

These fires are started by people to purposefully burn away the undergrowth at the start of the dry season so that fuel doesn’t build up and lead to a real California-style home-destroyer.

I was a little baffled the first time we drove down the highway with both sides of the forest on fire and no one else in the car paid it any more notice than to say ‘roll up the windows then’.

Like I said, spiders are easily number one around here at night.

But I shouldn’t neglect number two.

Roth’s tree frog (Litoria rothii)

When these frogs mate in the wet season the males give a call that has been described as a ‘chuckling’ or ‘cackling’ sound.

Pretty awesome.

It’s even better when I see them making friends.

Best buds