Nature Journaling in Currumbin Valley

A few weeks ago I visited Currumbin Valley in the Gold Coast Hinterland,  Queensland which is one of the most beautiful places I have been to.  The  drive through the valley was stunning with canopies of green trees over-hanging the narrow  roadway which wound its way past  homesteads, scattered along this scenic drive.  It was a beautiful sunny Sunday morning  with hardly any other traffic on this secluded twisty road.  I had my binoculars, sketch books and camera gear with me, ready for a photo shoot adventure.

I started my walk at a Creek where I parked my gear on a wooden bench and noticed that there were lots of dragonflies and damselflies skimming above the water.  I was lucky enough to get a few good macro shots of the obliging critters who rested on stones, reeds and flowers, sunning themselves on this glorious morning.

Nature Journal - Scarlet Percher Dragonfly - a vivid red colour all over and very striking

Nature Journal - Redrump Wisp Damselfly - tiny with a noticable bright red tipped tail.

As I was sketching and taking photographs, I could hear a cacophony of birds in the nearby trees of the rainforest but there was not another soul about and the quiet serenity of the rainforest is very special - I had the whole creek to myself and the morning sun was getting hotter.  I was so engrossed in what I was doing that I didn't see him at first.  He was quietly perched on the far side of the creek, fanning his wings, then preening himself and watching me from afar.

A juvenile little pied cormorant

This little fellow then flew over to a tree log which was positioned over the pond and he proceeded to groom himself right in front of me without a care in the world and he was completely unphased by my presence or the camera.  I was moving slowly the whole time though making sure not to startle him and he allowed to get very close.  He was quite small and I had suspected that he might be a youngster.  It was a very special moment and to be completely alone with a wild creature of any kind is an amazing experience, especially when they trust you.

Such a beautiful bird and you can tell he is a youngster by the dark plumage above the eye and his head feathers were sort of fluffy.  Here he is right in front of me, fanning his wings and drying them off.

He was constantly on the alert and looking around him and in the water the whole time then he seemed to be aware of my presence and looked straight at me but was not alarmed and continued to be on the look out for food or predators by the Creek.

Nature Journal of the Little Pied Cormorant

After checking out potential predators, grooming and drying off his wings in the mid morning sun, my juvenile friend then flew down to the pond to find some tucker and he kept ducking and diving - this bird has the most peaceful, idyllic, undisturbed habitat and he is so lucky to be in this gorgeous rainforest environment with plentiful water, food and potential mates. I thoroughly enjoyed the quiet time we had together but I decided to leave him to find his food and move on in my rainforest walk.

There was a really strange insect who kept appearing along the Creek and when I got close he seemed to be "walking on water" with very long legs.  I have never seen this insect before and did not have a clue as to what he might be.  He certainly impressed me with his ability to walk on the water without disappearing below the surface so it piqued my interest and I tried to get as close as I could to him in order to identify the critter.

Nature Journal of the Water Strider

After doing some research I discovered that this pond walking critter is a water strider or pond skater which is a very apt name considering what I saw him do and walk normally as if there was no water under his long legs!  He seemed to float above the water and dart across it which was fascinating to witness.  How lucky this fellow is to live by a Creek and to hunt insects in and near water without having to actually enter the water of view the water as an obstacle.

Gorgeous ferns along the banks of the Creek as I continued my walk and when I got to a particular point,  further along the Creek, there were lots of butterflies who kept fluttering around and above me and then one rested on the ground very near me so I grabbed the opportunity to record him in my journal. I had no idea what kind of butterfly this was as normally butterflies do not simply rest in front of you, let alone stay long enough for a photo shoot so I was a bit unprepared but ready to meet the challenge and as I scurried around changing to a macro lense, the butterfly was still content in the same place!  I always get a bit nervous and trigger snappy when I see rare opportunities like this with the problem of rushing my shots, knowing that "the moment" will disappear in a millisecond.  I began to relax as this female butterfly seemed intent on keeping me company for a while and posing for the odd moment or two.  Thank you Mam!

Nature Journal - The Common eggfly butterfly

As I continued my walk along the Creek, there were these magnificent red flowers along the banks and I had to precariously balance on the periphery of the Creek bank to get a decent shot. There were also a few toadstools nestling amongst the damp, glistening  grass blades with perfectly shaped little hats.

I eventually wandered away from the Creek and trudged up along a steep and narrow, well worn, tree canopied path accompanied all the time by the pleasant bird songs including the occasional owl hoot but the owls must have been perched way up in the high tree hollows because I could not see any.  Hot and sticky from the climb, I was rewarded by arriving at a large pond and to get there, the track was downhill.  Long reeds, swaying grasses and colourful flowers lined the banks of this gorgeous pond and I immediately spotted a laughing kookaburra who greeted me as I arrived with his raucous laugh.

This kookaburra ended up following me for the rest of my walk and he flew from tree to tree, just in front of me all all the way as I took in the gorgeous flora and fauna in his domain.  I looked up behind the trees to the misty hills in the background and low cloud was still shrouding the cool blues and greens of the steep cliff face.  Lots of wild flowers lined the pond in magnificent hues attracting insects who fed on the nectar and pollen and drank from the fresh dew drops of  late morning.

A Wanderer Caterpillar is happily munching on this plant.

I wandered further along this gorgeous pond and saw a pair of  pacific black ducks who were feasting on the green plant life by the pond. I have never seen ducks eat plants before.  My kookaburra friend led me deeper into the rainforest alongside the pond and I caught a very quick glimpse of a king parrot in the high tree tops above me and listened to the shrill chorus of  rainbow lorikeets in the nearby trees.

A pair of pacific black ducks

More and more plants and seed pods intrigued me as I tread alongside the swimming ducks and the variety of colours and smells invaded my senses as I quickly sketched and photographed them.  Insects would appear from nowhere of all shapes and sizes, often sharing flowers with others.

You can just see a well camouflaged flower spider on these two milkweed flowers.

Dandelion Seed and Blackwood

All of a sudden, my kookaburra companion flew higher up to tree branches on the other side of the pond and I could hear the soft screeches of his hungry youngsters.  Fantastic wildlife behaviour in their natural habitat and it was almost as if he was leading me to his family and introducing them to me.

Dew drops on milkweed flowers.

This is a stunning place and I certainly will never forget my bush trek here and all the flora and fauna which were new to me and I have recorded in my nature journal.  My favourtie moments were the fleeting friendships of the cormorant and laughing kookaburra.