I think we all know what it is like when a plan does not turn out as expected. That happened to me on a weekend in March 2021 but I had a whole new experience so I was not that upset. I found myself photographing beside Mount Franklin Road when I should have been following it to my planned destination. Canberra had experienced some heavy rain the weekend before so I checked the ACT service page to see if there was any news on the status of Mount Franklin Road, was it open or closed. Unfortunately, there was no information so I had to take my chances. That Sunday, 28 March, I drove towards my objective to the south-west of Canberra, ever hopeful that the dry weather over most of the week would mean that the roads were safe and open. The first, and clearest, indication that was not the case was when I turned onto Brindabella Road where a sign post gave the status of the surrounding dirt roads and Mount Franklin Road was closed. Being incredibly optimistic, and having already traveled half-way to the destination, I pushed on, only to find that the Mount Franklin Road was indeed closed, with a locked steel gate across it to emphasise that point. However, there was still bush around and the closed road meant that I could walk along its dirt surface without fear of being run-over by a car, so I grabbed my camera bag to go for a hike in order to see what subjects there were. I ended up having a fantastic morning, mainly with macro subjects. At times I found myself lying in dewy grass, my head buried in a shrub trying to get the right angle for a shot and thoroughly enjoying the experience. I also had a chance to use my drone to shoot some pictures of the Murrumbidgee River in flood. I hope that you like the pictures below.
After parking my car off the narrow dirt road that was Brindabella Road at that point, I ducked under the locked orange metal barricade and started to walk along the quiet Mount Franklin Road. I had no real plan, I just figured that I would walk until I found some subjects. While it was a coolish morning, the sun was up making the ambient temperature pleasant enough. The road was well maintained, with an even dirt surface that was well-graded. Once I was past the section cleared of trees under the powerlines the bush came right up to the side of the road. Possibly, after almost a kilometre, I saw where there appeared to be an old road or trail meandering up a hillside to the left of the main road but paralleling it. I decided to take that trail because it was slightly more open but with small, inviting shrubs and trees dotted along it that could hold interesting creatures. At that point where the two trails met there were also some ferns that attracted me. Australia has about 400 species of ferns and I won’t even try to guess what the species was. It was a bit strange to see these plants out in a relattvely open spot because they normally prefer the shade or understory but they were growing on a slope so may be they missed the harshest sunlight. When I was photographing those plants the morning dew was still damp on the fronds. Looking at the pictures later I realised that I probably should have used a polariser to reduce the glare but that was a learning point for next time.
Fern
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 160, 100mm, f/10 and 1/200 SEC])
Near by a small eucralyptus sapping was growing well, staking a clam to a bit of open land where it too could grow to be an impressive sight one day. The tree also had a wealth of animal life on. The first creature I noticed was a hairy caterpillar still with some morning dew on its hairs. While photographing that small creature I started to notice other life in that growing tree.
Hairy caterpillar with dew droplets
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 1000, 100mm, f/16 and 1/180 SEC])
One of the fist things that I noticed were some Pulvinaria scale insects on the sapling. There were lines of them along one of the stems of the tree. There are about 80 species native to Australia, none of which are considered pests. I am speculating the reason for that fact is that co-evolution with native plants meant that the balance between insect and plant was being maintained, where as introduced species of scale insects probably have evolved in a way that makes them harder for native plants to resist.
Scale insect on a Eucalyptus sapling
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 640, 100mm, f/10 and 1/200 SEC])
My favourite find of the morning were the Acacia Tree Hoppers (Sextius virescens.) that I noticed while looking at the caterpillar. I noticed a slow moving green triangle travelling up a stem, with black ants scurrying over the bug. The bug reminded me of something out of a science fiction movie, even the way that it moved without any heed to ants climbing all over it. The tree hoppers feed off sap, producing honeydew as a by-product that the ants can consume. In return, the ants protect their sources of easy honeydew from potential predatory small creatures. Despite slow, deliberate apparent plodding of the tree hoppers, the sources that I read agreed that they were good jumpers. The tree hopper in the photo continued moving up the stem past the new shoot, all the time with ants moving over it. There was also a second one on the same stem but above the new shoot. It decided to turn around and park head first into where the shoot was growing.
Acacia Tree Hopper with attendant ants on a sapling
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 1000, 100mm, f/16 and 1/180 SEC])
I saw a number of Red-necked Wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus) in the long grass along one side of the road. They were looking at me the whole time. They were very skittish, and even though I was not walking towards them but past them. Apparently, If they felt I was passing too close they would hop quickly into the bush. The one in the picture was a young joey who was very curious about me, staring intensely at me. It still had that immature look with the slightly shorter arms than an adult. It was looking so intently at me that it missed the adult beside it quietly open up more distance between itself and me.
Red-necked Wallaby in the long grass
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 160, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/320 SEC])
Walking back towards the car, another small tree caught my eye because of the growths on its leaves. The ball shaped objects were possibly the galls of a Gall wasp. I took a picture from the front with the sun nicely lit the scene from over my shoulder. I then buried my head in the lower branches of the small tree so that I could photograph the underside of the leaf without ripping it from the tree..
Gall wasp galls on a dew-dampened leaf
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 320, 100mm, f/10 and 1/250 SEC])
The underside of the leaf
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 1000, 100mm, f/10 and 1/250 SEC])
It always happens that while I am photographing one captivating subject, another interesting creature will get my attention and I am conflicted as to what I should be photographing. That is what happened with this small Crane Fly that landed on a plant stalk while I was photographing the gall wasp above. The fly then started climbing up the stalk at which point I felt I had better return to the galls.
Crane Fly
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 320, 100mm, f/10 and 1/250 SEC])
Walking along the road, the bush on one side seemed to have Grey Fantails (Rhipidura albiscapa) along its length. They were making their melodious calls while flying in and out of the vegetation. One paused long enough on a branch that allowed me to get some photos.
Grey Fantail
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 160, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/320 SEC])
While walking back I notices a group of sawfly larvae wrapped around the stem of a eucaplytus sapling like some thick twine. There was small movement among the group but they mostly stayed still. This grouping was a protection mechanism where the group was stronger than the individual. Some species have the ability to squirt a painful liquid made from the sap of the host eucalyptus tree. Multiple sawfly producing a barrage of shots is more of a deterrent than a single animal. This group of insects get their common name from the saw like egg tube the adult female has so that she can lay eggs into a convenient plant.
Sawfly larvae
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 100mm, f/11 and 1/320 SEC])
Detail of the group
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 320, 100mm, f/10 and 1/160 SEC])
This isolated termite mound was off to the side of the track when I was getting closer to the locked gate. I just liked the picture because of the colour contrast, although I think that the background was too busy.
Termite mound
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 400mm, f/10 and 1/320 SEC])
After the termite mound I knew that it was time to head home but I also knew that I would have to cross the Murrumbidgee River at Cotter over a narrow bridge. I thought that the flooded river could make for an interesting subject from my drone. I crossed over the single lane bridge where a traffic light was used to regulate the flow of traffic. Once across I slowed into a convenient pull-off opposite the pumping station. The brown, churning river was still up, its chocolate surface marked by lines of turbulent, irritated white. Event the brown of the river was a point of conflict, with the different tones of brown that were so marked between the larger Murrumbidgee and the smaller Cotter River. The rivers did not mix immediately with the contrasting colours continuing as separates colours under the bridge. I tried to time a photograph with cars crossing the bridge, being particularly happy when several blue cars cross, standing out from the dull-coloured road. Down river, there was a reminder of the strength of the flood waters where a tall, healthy Casuarina had been knocked flat over by the river. The tree now laid along a bank, the water rushing under some of its branches, and its roots seizing part of the sand like an anchor. The surrounding vegetation had also been pushed flat, easily showing the flow direction of the flooded river.
Conflux of the Murrumbidgee River (left) and the Cotter River (right)
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 100, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/1250 SEC]
Bridge over it at Cotter Crossing
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 100, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/1000 SEC]
Casuarina tree knocked over by the river
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 100, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/1600 SEC]
With my drone shots completed I knew that it was time to head home. I had gone further and been out longer than I usually was but I thoroughly enjoyed the morning. I really had a great time with the macro photography I was able to do, as well as the drone shots of the turbid Murrumbidgee River. The trip had not been what I initially planned but that destination was still there for next time. This trip had been a lot of fun and had shown to me just how much life was around, even just on the side of a nondescript dirt road between home and my planned destination.
Thanks for reading this post and thanks also for looking at my photos. I hope you come back again to read more about some of the wonderful natural things that the Australian Capital Territory has on offer. All the best until the next post.