Living in the rainforest in Far North Queensland has opened up a steady stream of “backyard” wildlife observations, the kind you only really appreciate once the camera has been quietly running for a while.
Over the last six months I’ve moved the trail camera around a lot. Partly to see how the wildlife actually uses the area, partly to work out where the main camera trap should eventually go, and honestly, sometimes just to settle the question of “I wonder what ate the bananas.”
From the first day I arrived, it was clear the bananas were a target for the nocturnal wildlife. A surprise daytime giant white-tailed rat (Uromys caudimaculatus) made an appearance at the clump, which was a treat given how much you usually only see them after dark. The more cautious fawn-footed melomys (Melomys cervinipes) also moved through, picking their moments far more carefully. And the Australian brush-turkeys (Alectura lathami), of course, as chaotic as ever, though they pop up just about anywhere and are basically omnipresent. Fair to say I did not get to eat any of the bananas, and that’s entirely fine. I get to watch their antics and catch a glimpse of the wildlife instead, which is a far better trade.
Good to see both species of bandicoot, the northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus) and the long-nosed bandicoot (Perameles nasuta), which is always a nice confirmation that the area is in healthy shape. Red-legged pademelons (Thylogale stigmatica) turned up in a range of spots too, as common and ever-present as you’d expect around here. And plenty of musky rat-kangaroos (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus), one of my absolute favourite animals in this part of the world, moving through more often than I’d ever get to see by eye alone.
A Macleay’s honeyeater (Xanthotis macleayanus) visited the bird of paradise flowers, which was a lovely thing to catch on camera.
In one of my favourite spots, the one with the two buttress roots where I’ve had the camera trap sitting for many days, a single yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes) has shown up so far. I love that area, and I’ll keep working it.
I had no success with the clump of fig trees. I was hoping for bats to visit, since I can hear their echolocation calls at night, but nothing on camera yet. So the investigation continues, and that’s all part of the fun.
The one I expected at the bananas and never caught was the striped possum (Dactylopsila trivirgata). Turns out I was simply looking in the wrong spot and there was something way more appealing on the menu somewhere else. More to come on that in a future field note, with video.