Day 6 Australia: Hervey Bay to Rockhampton

There was a HUGE rainstorm this morning from about 4am to 7:30am, so we lost valuable birding time in cooler weather (dawn is by far the best time for birding in general).  I have to admit though, it was nice having an excuse to lay around in my pajamas a little longer.  We have entered a geographical that has almost no parks for birding - as well as nothing else related to civilization.  This area of Queensland is mostly dense deciduous forest or large agricultural plots.  

Total Australia species so far: 90 (14 of which I've seen in other countries)

The only bird I got an ok picture of is this Whistling Kite
that flew across the road and Avi instinctually pulled over
so I could jump out in time to identify it.

Eastern Bearded Dragon

A Cane Toad - story at the end of the post if you don’t
know why it’s famous.

I don’t know how was more startled when we rounded
the corner in the woods.  He’s about 6’ tall.

The Cane Toad story:

Cane Toads were brought to Australia in the 1930’s from Central America as pest control for beetles that were destroying sugar cane crops.  Unfortunately, the toads did not have any predators here, so their populations grew like wildfire.  The government is struggling to control the spread which now includes the upper half of Australia from coast to coast.  Sadly, the toads produce a toxin in their skin that is lethal to predators, so some populations of native birds and animals have been declining.