The Ultimate Fraser Island Frog Blog


Ranger Nick reporting here.  Recently the resort team were lucky enough to host Dr Jean-Marc Hero  on Fraser island.  Dr Hero is an ecologist and associate professor from the Environmental Futures Centre (Gold Coast campus of Griffith University) and visited the world’s largest sand island in October to share his considerable expertise in amphibian ecology.

Dr Jean Marc Hero in action in the wallum
Dr Hero joined myself and the Ranger team at Kingfisher Bay (as part of our Special Guest line up) to share his experiences with frogs of eastern Australia and his knowledge on global amphibian declines. Having conducted fieldwork in Australia, Brazil, Fiji and Nepal, Dr Hero has been on the forefront of research into amphibian declines – including the decline of stream-dwelling frogs in relatively undisturbed habitats (due to disease and climate change) that have been observed around the world - and presented a fascinating talk aptly named ‘Global Amphibian Declines.’

It’s no secret that over the past 30 years frogs have suffered massive declines and extinctions worldwide and that these declines are linked mainly to habitat loss, fungal disease and climate change.

As soon as the Saturday night formalities were over, it was off in to the wallum at the front of the resort, with several guests and rangers in tow for a night nature walk and to see some of our amphibian friends in action.
 Dr Hero had mentioned during his presentation, that frogs have been identified as the vertebrate group at the most risk of extinction - proportionally they have more threatened species than birds, mammals or reptiles.

As we walked through the scrub – with the sound of frog-song in our ears – we reflected on the fact that more than 200 species have been reported extinct (six of these species from Australia alone) since 1979, and a further 2,000+ species have been reported as ‘in decline’… it’s pretty staggering stuff to digest!

Did you know that the way to tell the difference between male and female frogs is to look at their throats? 

A Wallum Rocket Frog on Fraser Island
Males have a dark patch and females are paler in colour. This identification technique also worked a treat on a Cane Toad that Dr Hero found down near our resort helipad. The Cane Toad (Bufo Marinus) – also known as a Marine Toad – is an introduced species that is native to Central and South America and, because of its voracious appetite, was introduced into Australia as a method of agricultural pest control.

Ironically, the Cane Toad is now considered a pest and an invasive species in many of the introduced regions in part because the Cane Toad has poison glands and the tadpoles are highly toxic to most animals – including native predators – when ingested.

Back on the frog trail, Dr Hero told us how frogs share ecosystems by utilising a range of breeding sites ranging from stream to ponds.  Some species actually avoid water altogether and lay their eggs in totally terrestrial environments.

In the coastal wallum habitats of mid-eastern Australia (and on large sandy islands like our own Fraser Island) there are a unique group of ‘acid frogs’ which only breed in the highly acidic waters of these habitats. Despite the cooler spring weather, we were lucky enough to see and / or hear three of Fraser Island’s four Acid frog species - the Cooloola Sedge Frog (Litoria cooloolensis - see below), the Wallum Sedge Frog (Litoria olongburensis) and the Wallum Rocketfrog (Litoria freycineti - pictured above).

The tiny - but loud - Cooloola Sedge Frog on Fraser
I have to say Mother Nature has a sense of humour and our visitors were amazed that such a BIG noise could come from such a tiny throat.

During Jean Marc’s Sunday night presentation, he discussed the amazing biology of amphibians and how so many species co-exist on Fraser Island. Due to a technical glitch, Dr Hero was unable to use all of his sound recordings to show the ways frogs sharing acoustic space - only male frogs call to attract female - by using different frequencies; female frogs have hearing that is finely tuned into the specific frequency of male for the same species… but with so many amphibian friends in and around the resort grounds, we were able to see them in action for ourselves.

We hope you tune in next month to find out what our feathered, furred and frog friends have been up to on Fraser Island. This is Ranger Nick signing off.

Spring Has Sprung On Gorgeous Fraser Island

Ranger Amelia here – back and refreshed from holidays – and with a month’s worth of birdie happenings for you.  Spring is certainly here and Fraser Island’s Weeping Bottle Brush is in full bloom – adding red, yellow and pale greenie-gold splashes of colour into the Wallum heath at the front of Kingfisher Bay Resort.  The Rough-barked Tea Tree and white-flowering Wedding Bush (it’s perfect for spring brides) also add to the kaleidoscope of colours.

Spring has sprung in the wallum at the front of the resort
This month as we've headed out on our early morning bird walks, we’ve welcomed its first new spring arrivals into the Kingfisher Bay fold. Sightings of nestlings are abundant and both the mum and dad birds have been working overtime keeping the kids happy and fed.

When it comes to nesting season, resort real estate – with optional bay views - is super important.

Our Welcome Swallows (easily identified by their metallic blue-black feathers on their breast and belly, with a touch of rust on the forehead, throat and upper breast) have several ‘choice’ locations along B-wing (in the hotel wing) and underneath the Kingfisher Bay Jetty already picked out; some have up to five nestlings in residence.

Our local Grey Shrike Thrush alpha male has been busy serenading his new lady and is about to welcome triplets any day now (We’re pleased to report that mum is doing very well).   These drab coloured birds generally mate and remain together for life and generally inhabit the same areas throughout this time – so they’re a common sight at the resort – we even had one usurp the angel at the top of our Christmas tree in the resort’s foyer last year. Both birds share the nest-building and incubation duties and both care for the young birds.

Have you spotted a bird back home that you’re finding it hard to identify?  Check out Birds in Backyards' online bird finder – it’s a great resource tool.

A Red-backed Ferry Wren is spotted
If chilling out was on the agenda this month, then guests relaxing by the pool would’ve encountered our ‘fire-birds’ or Red-backed Fairy Wrens (pictured right) frolicking in amongst the foliage. Our little male has blushed up; with his back patch and upper tail patch animated red. Shoulders up and tail feathers wagging, he is as vibrant as any disco dancer - bobbing in and out of the bushes and generally showing off to the ladies.

And for all those bird nerds out there – we’re pleased to announce we’ve spotted a Spotless Crake (Portzana tabuensis) in the resort Wallum. With only the one sighted at time of writing, he (or she) now joins our other freshwater denizens, such as our Lewins Rail and Dusky Moorhen, on our ever growing twitcher list.

On the water, eagle-eyed guests have been treated to some amazing displays from our Humpback Whale visitors.  Guests on a recent 2pm ferry from Kingfisher Bay to River Heads were lucky enough to see a mother and calf showing off in the calm waters of the Great Sandy Strait. Check out the pic on our Facebook page.

And some FINtastic news since last month’s blog-  Hervey Bay’s very own patron Humpback Whale,  Nala, was sighted last week with a new calf in tow.  Mum and bub are doing well with amazing daily interaction with guests aboard Quick Cat II - the action takes place a short cruise from Kingfisher Bay.

Having a WHALE of a time in Hervey Bay
Nala is famous for her friendly nature and tail extensions, so she is a researcher’s dream. As of yet, her bub has not been named and suggestions are coming in thick.  If you wish to join in the fun please send in the suggestions to the Fraser Coast Chronicle, who are running a naming competition.  Names have to be good for either boy or girl as we don’t know what we have yet.

As you can probably tell, we absolutely love Spring on Fraser Island… and look forward to bringing you more from our resident furry, feathered and finned friends in next month’s blog.  This is Ranger Amelia signing off for now.

A bundle of joy for our resident blogger...
The Kingfisher Bay Resort team would like to wish Ranger Amelia, and her partner Chris, the very best of luck as their gear up to welcome their own new arrival into the world.  Congratulations guys!