Lord Howe Island Gecko and others

[moloch]

My wife and I have just returned from a week long trip to Lord Howe Island. Wow, what a place! It is a superb site for those who enjoy cycling, hiking, snorkelling, birding or just want to be awed by natural beauty.

I imagine that not many of you have heard of this island since it is small and remote. Lord Howe is an Australian-owned island that is situated about 700 km northeast of Sydney. It is located between New Caledonia to the northeast, New Zealand to the southeast and Norfolk Island to the east. As a result, the flora and fauna is very interesting and includes a blend of life from these different areas. It seems surprising but the islands were uninhabited when the Europeans arrived in the late 1700s.

There are only a couple of terrestrial herps on the island but this place is so interesting and stunningly beautiful that I decided to prepare a "natural history" report to show some of the amazing sights of the island.

Lord Howe Island once was huge but now, it has nearly been reclaimed by the sea. All that is left is the small island of Lord Howe (11 km long), the adjacent Admiralty islets and about 23 kms to the east, Ball's Pyramid. This is a photo of a drawing of the island at the island's museum:

The main island of Lord Howe is dominated by the cores of an extinct volcano. These cores have formed the mountains known as Mt. Lidgbird (777m) and Mt. Gower (875m).

This is a shot of Ball's Pyramid (550m) from the western slope of Mt. Lidgbird. Ball's Pyramid is the tallest stack on the planet. It is an ominous looking place but is a refuge to both of Lord Howe's native reptiles.

Ball's Pyramid is also the site where the huge phasmid known as the "Land Lobster" was rediscovered in 2001. Prior to this, the insect was thought to be extinct as the result of the accidental introduction of Black Rats to Lord Howe in 1918. While I was on the island, I was lucky to meet a former ranger who was on the survey team that found the phasmid. He and others climbed the pyramid at night and found 5 on their first visit. They later returned and collected a few to establish a breeding colony at the nursery on Lord Howe. I cannot imagine climbing on that place especially at night due to the nearly shear slopes and unstable substrate! It is possible to view the captive animals at the nursery but I did not have time so had to settle for photos of specimens from the museum:

About 80% of Lord Howe has been set aside as a permanent preserve. Most of the island is forested.

Lord Howe Island is bathed by the East Australia Current so water temperatures range between 18C in the winter and 25C in the summer. These mild conditions have allowed coral reefs to develop and Lord Howe has the most southerly of all reefs. The reef itself is a mix of both hard and soft corals. It was colourful with many blue, purple and green outcrops. Fish diversity was much greater than I expected and I saw a number of fish that I have not encountered further north at the Great Barrier Reef. Butterfly Fish were particular diverse.

Ned's Beach
Ned's Beach was just a 10 minute walk from our accommodation.

The fish in this bay are protected and extremely tame. Meter-long Kingfish would swim right up to my feet in the shallows.

Bluefish are normally grey but they flush this lovely sky blue when excited. This one (left) was definitely excited by bread. The other fish is a Surge Wrasse and was an absolute rainbow of colours.

This morning glory was common on the dunes surrounding the beach. Ipomoea pes-capre (Convolvulaceae):

Sallywood (Lagunaria patersonia, Malvaceae) and a fern.

Sacred Kingfisher was a common native of the lowlands.

Ned's Beach is the area where Lord Howe Island Horned Turtle (Meiolania platyceps) fossils are found. These turtles are thought to have become extinct about 40,000 years ago. They were huge and almost the size of the Galapagos Tortoises.

Offshore Islets

Offshore Islands have provided refuge to a number of animals that have otherwise become rare or extinct on the main island due to Black Rats. I visited one of these to see some of the animals that once lived on Lord Howe.

Lord Howe Island Gecko (Christinus guentheri): These geckos were numerous on an offshore island. I also saw a single animal near accommodation right on Lord Howe itself. Christinus is a genus of cool-adapted geckos within Australia that are mostly distributed in the southern portion of Australia. It is surprising that this genus of gecko managed to reach the Lord Howe.

These little geckos exhibited an unusual behaviour. They would form a tight coil and place the large toes from one foot over their head and eyes. When coiled like this, they were very inconspicuous when on rocks and leaf litter of the forest floor.

A small red mite lived on the geckos. I wonder if these are harmless to the geckos like the mites that I see on Phyllurus (leaf-tailed) geckos?

Lord Howe Island Skink (Cyclodina lichenigera): I saw three of these skinks. This species is about the size of an Eastern Water Skink and is thought to have reached Lord Howe from New Zealand.

Wedge-tailed Shearwaters nested mostly on the offshore islands. They were mostly in their burrows when I visited the islet. They moaned continuously and the sound was quite eerie and almost human-like.

Lord Howe Island bush ****roach (Panesthia lata) -- common on an offshore island. These roaches are apparently extinct on the main island of Lord Howe due to predation by Black Rats.

Flat Spider (Hemicloea sp.) and a centipede

Brown Noddy

There was a nesting colony of Brown Noddies at the far end of Blinky Beach.

Masked Booby

Mutton Bird Point was the nesting site of many pairs of Masked Boobies.

The natural habitat has been most altered near the south end of the island. This is the area that was initially settled by Europeans in the early 1800s. Here, many of the exotic Norfolk Island Pines were planted and some of these are now huge trees.

These trees are a favourite nesting site of the lovely White Tern. I saw large numbers of these nesting in the trees sometimes within a meter or two of the ground. They don't actually build a nest but lay their egg in a slight depression on a branch. White Terns would attempt to drive away other birds such as Pied Currawongs that flew near their nests.

Emerald Ground Doves were often seen as they walked along the forest floor:

At night, one of the most conspicuous birds was the Flesh-footed Shearwater. These birds nest in burrows and would return at dusk. Once it was dark, they were very noisy. Their call vaguely sounded like "pick me, pick me!". They departed before sunrise to return to feed from the ocean.

Arthropods and Gastropods of the area included the following:

... a burrowing cricket:

... wasps:

... huntsman (abundant!) and a long-horned borer:

... these two large slugs were twisting around each other and slowly dropping to the ground while suspended by a thread of slime:

Regards,
David

 

[Thor Hakonsen]

Amazing, and educational as always David !!

 

[snave_relyt]

Those slugs are mating FYI.

 

[Hilde]

Another amazing post. Thank you so much
That road sign is good, I really like it.

I wonder if the geckos cover their eyes to shield them in case of attack, or to cover them since they'd be fairly easy for a predator to notice.

 

[DDReptiles]

Wow, what a beautiful looking place!! Good to hear its mostly protected as well

Those Christinus kinda look like a Bavayia.

 

[PassPort]

Those Christinus kinda look like a Bavayia.

I was thinking they looked similar to both Bavayia and Hoplodactylus.

 

[Tariq Stark]

David,

That's it...I'm coming to Australia too! Christinus guentheri...wow!

Tariq

 

[MaX06]

What a fantastic country you are in
I love the Christinus pictures too

 

[moloch]

Thanks, everyone.

snave, I thought that might be the case but did not know for sure.

Hilde wrote:

I wonder if the geckos cover their eyes to shield them in case of attack, or to cover them since they'd be fairly easy for a predator to notice

That sounds likely to me. On another forum, someone suggested that the gecko was saying "NO MORE PHOTOS!!!".


Derek and Passport, I can see the resemblance to Bavayia. These Lord Howe Island geckos were much more robust than their mainland counterparts.


Here is another set of photos from the island. No more geckos but the place is just so beautiful.

MOUNTAIN WALKS
Goat House Walk, Mt. Lidgbird
This walk provided a good introduction to the montane plants and also was good for demonstrating what the longer Mt. Gower trek would be like. The trail commenced in the lowlands and then followed a ridge to the first line of cliffs of Mt. Lidgbird. The Goat House is an overhang that forms a natural shelter.

The trail passed through tall rainforest. Scalybarks (Syzigium fullagarii) were numerous trees and often had buttressed ****s.

The endemic Pandanus (Pandanus forsteri) was numerous near the start of the track.

Further along, Curly Palm (Howea belmoreana) became abundant.

After climbing for an hour and a half, we reached the Goat House. The view over the northern portion of the island was great.

I found a small trail that continued around to the southeastern slope of Mt. Lidgbird. This area was beautiful. It was cooler and probably received greater rainfall. As a result, the plant life changed dramatically.

Here are a few of the plants from Mt. Lidgbird.
Mountain Rose (Metrosideros nervulosa) had just commenced flowering.
Dracophyllum fitzgeraldii (Epacridaceae) -- the tallest of all the Australian heath plants.

Tea Tree (Melaleuca howeana) -- an endemic that is one of the "Aussie" contingent
Mountain Daisy (Olearia balli)

Lidgbird orchid (Dendrobium sp.) -- I saw many of these small orchids on the rocky cliffs of Mt. Lidgbird.
unknown
Pimelia congesta
Westringia viminalis

Golden Orb Weavers were common spiders. Some of these were large.

Summit Trek, Mt. Gower
The high point of my visit was climbing Mt. Gower. The walk is not all that long but it proceeds from sea level to 875m. The upper section of the walk is particularly steep so the climb is an all-day event. My climb began at 7am and completed at 5:30pm. Walkers can only climb with a guide and weather permitting, there are one of two excursions each week.

The trail commenced about 1.5 km from the cliffs.

It passed through dense Kentia Palm forest with Banyan Trees at the base of Mt. Lidgbird.

After reaching the cliffs, there was a steep climb and then a walk along a ledge that is 90m above the rocky shore. This section was safe with ropes and our group size never changed.

After an hour or so of a slog up the hill, we reached the saddle between Mt. Lidgbird and Mt. Gower. We stopped at a creek that is home to two species of endemic crustaceans. I found many of the 2cm long shrimp (Parataya howensis) but could not find any of the tiny black crabs (Hymenosoma lacustris):

The trail became steep above the saddle. Ropes were in place across the most difficult sections so again, it was quite safe. Only one person could use a rope at a time so this gave me plenty of opportunities to take photos (and catch my breath!).

Finally, we reached the summit where we stopped for lunch. The view over the lagoon was gorgeous.

From the Gower summit, we could look back and down at Mt. Lidgbird.

The top of Mt. Gower is a plateau that is covered with mist forest. The forest was dense and most plants were covered with mosses, lichens, ferns and orchids:

Mt. Gower's mist forests are the result of clouds that often envelope the summit:

The Mt. Gower plateau is the main nesting locality for the Providence Petrel (a.k.a., Solander's Petrel). We saw many active nesting burrows but no adult birds. They are autumn/winter nesters that arrive back on the island in March each year. At that time, the adults are extremely inquisitive and fearless. Our guide said that if you shout or make loud noises, the birds will plummet through the canopy and land on the ground around you to see what is making the racket. On my visit, there were young birds in the burrows but the adults were out feeding over the sea. They don't return with their catch until nightfall.

The beautiful Gower Pumpkin Tree (Negria rhabdothamnoides) only grows on the upper slopes of the mountains. It is an arborescent member of the African violet family (e.g., Gesneriaceae).

unknown,
urticaceae

Lordhowea insularis -- I really the "original" latin name of this composite.
Island Apple (Dysoxylon pachyphyllum) had cauliforous fruits.
Wedding Lilies (Dietes robinsoniana) had flowers that lasted only a day. It also has a bizarre distribution. The genus is only found on Lord Howe Island and in southern Africa.
Mountain Rose (Metrosideros nervulosa) have showy flowers. This genus is widespread across the islands of the South Pacific. Some of you may know a relative from Hawaii ("Ohia") that is popular with the Hawaiian Honeycreepers.

Kava plants (Macropiper hooglandii) were common in the understorey of the Gower plateau. These plants apparently do not have the same effect as the species that is so loved in Fiji.

Mt. Gower is known for its diverse and endemic ferns. Here are photos of a few of the species that I saw while climbing to the summit:

There are four species of endemic palms on Lord Howe Island. For those interested in palms, there is a good article with island photos at this site:

http://www.lordhowe-tours.com.au/docs/Lepidorrachis2.pdf

Kentia Palm (Howea forsteriana) -- these palms were abundant in the lowland areas. They are grown commercially for use as an indoor ornamental.
Curly Palm (Howea belmoreana) -- most common on the lower slopes a little above the Kentia Palms.
Big Mountain Palm (Howea canterburyana) -- only grows on the mountains above 400m.
Little Mountain Palm (Lepidorrhachis mooreana) -- restricted to mountaintops.

Rock Orchids were abundant on the slopes of Mt. Gower.
Bush Orchids (Dendrobium macropus) 1, 2, 3. These orchids were flowering in the lower and mid-elevations.
Dendrobium moorei 4, were common on trees at higher elevations.

]

Pied Currawong were bold and inquisitive birds. These are an endemic race with a larger bill than those on the mainland. Their call was much the same as what I hear in Wollongong but their song was different. These would sing with a rich, organ-like tone that resembled the song of Black Butcherbirds up in the tropics of northern Queensland. Most of the Currawongs were banded as part of an ongoing population study.

Golden Whistlers are also represented by an endemic race. These birds were common in all forest types from the lowlands to the top of Mt. Gower.

We are so lucky to still have Woodhens. These big, flightless rails declined to 22 individuals in the 1970s. After that, the Lord Howe Island Board set about trapping feral cats and these pests are now eradicated. As a result, the Woodhen population has flourished and there are now more that 200 of these distinctive birds. I was quite surprised by their "songs". They sounded much like the screeching of a falcon. While calling, they would hold their checkered wings partially opened and drooped. They were not at all wary and I usually could approach to within a few meters of the birds. It was quite amusing to watch them run. Their toes seem to be too big so they awkwardly "goose-step" when scampering away.

I only saw these flies with strange orange eyes at the summit of Mt. Gower. Here, they were enjoying the delights of fresh Woodhen excrement.

I found these beetles to be very interesting. They appear to be flightless and all that I observed lived high up on the slopes of Mt. Gower. Most were feeding on the flowers of a kava. I am not certain of the family. Any ideas? I have seen both flower beetles and blister beetles that look something like these. The local name was the very nondescript "Summer Bugs". The ridges on the abdomen of the female are so odd.

Banded Land Rails were common birds. Unlike the Woodhen, these were wary and quick to flee to cover.

NORTHERN LORD HOWE
Malabar Lookout

These are some of the little Admiralty Islets that are visible from Malabar Lookout. They all had massive colonies of seabirds.

Grass Skinks (Lampropholis delicata) are an introduced species that has flourished on the main island despite the rats. It was interesting that these little skinks appear to have no trouble with the rats. Maybe this is because the are small and diurnal whereas the Lord Howe Island Skink is larger and nocturnal.

Lord Howe Island has the largest nesting colony of Red-tailed Tropicbirds in the world. October is the month when these birds nest and they were everywhere along the cliffs. I loved to sit at Malabar Lookout and watch these birds fly gracefully back and forth along the cliff face. Sometimes, they would display. The first photo below shows the display posture where they lower their long red tail streamers. On occasion, several birds would interact. They would catch thermals, spiral upward and then drop again while holding their tail streamers downward like this. It was an interesting sight to see multiple birds looping around and around while calling harshly. I also saw synchronized flying by a few pairs.

Sooty Terns were the most abundant seabird on the island. They nested in a variety of habitats that included grassy pastures, rocky hilltops, beaches and offshore islets. These birds would swoop at me when I was near their nests but I never was actually hit by their bills.

Here are a few of the plants that grew near the Malabar Lookout.
Christmas Bush (Alyxia ruscifolia) -- pretty shrubs with orange fruits.
Hopwood (Dodonea viscosa)
Exocarpus homalocladus
Jasmine (Jasminum sp.) -- these had the lovely fragrance of the cultivated varieties.

Orchids were numerous along the cliffs between Malabar and Kim's Lookouts. Some of these were flowering. I think that all of these were Bush Orchids (Dendrobium macropus):

I saw a few Lepidopterans on the ridgetop. These included:

• Australian Admiral
  Common Grass Blue
  Painted Lady
  and an elegant Moth

Our week long trip went fast and all too soon, it was time to leave.

My wife, Angie, and I.

 

[John_Woodward]

The pictures you have posted are absolutely amazing. it is people like you that make me find time for the site in my busy schedule these days, I am in awe of the places you "take us to" through your photos. Keep up the good work!

 

[moloch]

Thanks, John.


Here are a final few photos from Lord Howe. My wife and I cannot wait to return again someday to experience this place of wondrous beauty.

Mt. Gower and the lagoon:

Coral reef at Ned's Beach:

Sooty Tern hovering a little below Malabar Lookout. The cliffs at Malabar were 200m high and almost vertical. The small white birds far below are Red-tailed Tropicbirds.

The water The was so clear that I could see Green Turtles as they swam along the reef. One afternoon, I saw a large Tiger Shark slowly cruise by not far from shore.

This is a shot of the graceful, synchronized flight by a pair of Red-tailed Tropicbirds. It was amazing to watch them swoop and turn in unison.

I watched a male White Tern dance and sing to his partner. He landed next to what I assume was the female and slowly bobbed his head while softly cooing. He took tiny steps and would turn sideways to the female. His tail would brush her and then he would slowly move back until his body was parallel with hers. When another bird (I assume another male) approached, both birds reacted angrily.

White Tern on its "nest", just a flattened spot at the base of a branch in this Norfolk Island Pine:

"Goose-stepping" Woodhen. They were so funny to watch ... not exactly the grace and speed of other rails.

Flesh-footed Shearwater "singing". They would lower their head so that their bill was just above the ground and then begin with their "pick me, pick me!" calls. ... looks like she is considering his proposal.

Regards,
David