Meet the Mountain Dragon

You don’t have to move mountains to find these fascinating little reptiles, you just have to keep your eyes peeled.

I absolutely love crunching along a dirt and gravel track. There’s something about that sound, mixed with the snap of twigs and crackle of dried gum leaves underfoot, that’s just good for the soul. I especially love when you’re rewarded for slowing down, for getting into a crouching position, for stopping to, sometimes literally, smell the roses, or in my case, the wildflowers.

Sometimes it’s a close call. Some particular creatures are just so well camouflaged that they’re easy to miss and you might crunch on past them. Sometimes you get a little too close to them for their comfort and in an effort to avoid a heavy footfall they unmask themselves and you spot them briefly as they scurry away. That seems to be the way that I come across the very lovely and very little Mountain Dragon.

I’ve found these small lizards, which are endemic to Australia, in a few places around the Illawarra, including Mount Keira, Thirroul and Darkes Forest. But like I said, they are sneaky things, basking in the sun, blending in with the reds and browns of the leaf litter and rocky outcrops they spend their time in, waiting for insects to pass by. If you are lucky enough to see one, you’re in for a treat. Their backs are patterned with scaly diamonds of different shades and they have these funny, serious-looking faces.

All up they can get to about 20cm in length, with the males being smaller than the females. Now, 20cm sounds pretty big, but that is from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail. Measure your hand. Go on, I’ll wait. Mine is around 15cm and most of the dragons that I see would be that size or a tad smaller. Check out the photos and look for the gum leaves that they’re sitting amongst for a real sense of size. See, they’re lovely little things.

There are very similar-looking dragons in the area, the Jacky Dragons. They have the same kind of attitude, sitting back and quietly watching, sometimes leaping up onto branches chasing bugs but they’re bigger than the Mountain Dragon and lack the spines that sit at the base of the tail that are the easy tell.

So next time you’re out, crunching along a heath or gum lined path, look out for a flash of activity as you pass on by because there’s mountains moving around out there.

Nature Notes – 6 May 2022

Fungi Season

If you love searching for the new and the incredible, love finding things that look like they’ve been ripped from the pages of a fantasy novel or taken straight from a sci fi movie, you’re going to love the next few months. Now that it’s autumn, it’s officially fungi season. They usually start popping up this time of year due to the increased rainfall and the cooler temperatures. Usually. However, as we all know, summer was a bit of a bust this year and we’ve been seeing mushrooms in all their amazing forms for months.

This season should be particularly diverse due to those amazing conditions. So how to spot them. Firstly, slow down. Take your time meandering around your local park or even your own backyard. You’ll be able to spot the bigger ones pretty easily. Look in the more shaded areas and around old, dead trees, stumps, branches and amongst the mulch and leaf litter. Heading out for a bush walk around sub tropical rainforest areas is even better.

Think: Minnamurra Rainforest, Gibson’s Track and Mt Keira ring track but truthfully, the most luck I’ve had recently was walking near a sporting oval and around the arid zone at the Botanic Garden!

It’s getting hot in here – Sir Joseph Banks Glasshouse

After being closed for what seems like forever (thanks Covid), the Sir Joseph Banks Glasshouse at the Wollongong Botanic Gardens has reopened. I never seem to make it in there with so many other beautiful spots in the gardens to explore but I made an effort to get inside today and it is spectacular. The first ‘room’ is filled with fabulous cacti of all shapes and sizes including a Haworthia collection, some of which are over 100 years old! The next room is where things heat up and you’re struck with the hot, humid air as soon as you enter. Here there are lots of beautiful warm region and wet tropic plants and a lovely pond complete with fish where I spent way too much time. Definitely worth a visit, or a re-visit, next time you’re in the gardens.

Mission mushroom – Nature talk at Shellharbour Library

I’ve been absolutely loving the Nature Talks held online by Shellharbour Library during Covid. These are aimed at kids over 8 and adults. If you were intrigued by my ghost mushroom nature note last week, you can watch a replay of the fabulous talk by David Finlay who lives and breathes all things bioluminescent. There are also talks about astronomy, soil and one about climate change by Dr Karl all available to watch.

These fascinating free talks are back to being run in person with the next on May 11th and what perfect timing with this one being presented by ecologist and photographer Alison Pouliot about her love of fungi. Book here.

See you all next week,

Amanda