Top 10 wildlife experiences in the Southern Downs
Fill up your ultimate Australian fauna and flora bucket list as you explore the Southern Downs and come face-to-face with the rare and iconic wildlife that call QLD’s Wild Country their home.
1. Leyburn jewel butterfly
Photograph copyright Michael F. Braby, Associate Professor, Australian National University
The Leyburn jewel butterfly (aka bull-oak jewel butterfly) is only found in small patches of bull-oak woodland near Leyburn in the Southern Downs and on a private property in Goondiwindi. The butterfly’s lifecycle is part of an extraordinary ecosystem that is so delicately balanced, it is remarkable it exists at all. Ants protect the caterpillars in return for a sweet substance that the caterpillars exude. The ants and the butterflies are sustained by the nectar of a mistletoe plant that grows on the bull-oaks and other trees from seeds deposited by mistletoe birds. The mistletoe plant is also home to other beneficial insects that keep all the nasty bugs away.
The Leyburn jewel butterfly (Hypochrysops piceatus) is considered by some people to be the “rarest butterfly in Australia”. Sadly, it is also the third most likely to become extinct in the next 20 years. Your best chance of seeing one is during the afternoon in late summer and autumn.
2. Coxen’s fig parrot
Coxen’s fig parrot (Cyclopsitta diophthalma coxeni) is an incredibly endangered subspecies of the double-eyed fig parrot. There are thought to be less than 50 left in the wild. If you are looking at a small round bird with a short tail that is predominantly green with a yellow band on each side and patches of red and pale blue on its face and wings, there is a good chance you are looking at one of the very few remaining Coxen’s fig parrots.
3. Dalveen blue box
Photograph courtesy of Stanthorpe Rare Wildflower Consortium
Dalveen blue box (Eucalyptus dalveenica) is one of the Granite Belt’s most threatened plant species. It was discovered only in 2019, after researchers from the University of New England showed it differed genetically, chemically and morphologically from the more widespread northen blue box (Eucalyptus magnificata). In a recent survey, Stanthorpe Rare Wildflower Consortium found only 340 Dalveen blue box trees, spread mainly over three private properties in the Dalveen area.
4. Giant barred frog
Also endangered, the giant barred frog (Mixophyes iteratus) is Australia’s second largest species of frog, growing up to 120mm in length. Despite their size, they are hard to spot because their mostly brown complexion with gold and black blotches offers them excellent camouflage. The call of the male has been described as a deep guttural grunt. That sound may be the first hint you will get that one is nearby. You are most likely to find giant barred frogs near tumbling rainforest streams and slow-moving rivers. They are not known to favour still water environments.
5. Platypus
We think the only people who don’t want to see a platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) in the wild are those that haven’t heard of them. I mean, when you hear there is a small furry creature that has a duckbill, webbed feet, a broad flat tail and is as cute as a button, how can you resist?
6. Albert’s lyrebird
Did you know that the lyrebird got its name because of the male’s impressive tail which is shaped like a stringed musical instrument called a lyre? Albert’s lyrebird (Menura alberti) is famous for its ability to mimic the sound of almost anything, including other birds, car alarms, chainsaws and even camera shutters. Albert’s lyrebird is a ground-dwelling bird that forages for food in the leaf litter on forest floors. It mainly eats insects and other invertebrates that live in the soil.
7. Black grevillea
Photograph courtesy of Ian Milinovich from Stanthorpe Rare Wildflower Consortium
With distinctive black flowers, the black grevillea (Grevillea scortechinii) is a sprawling shrub being 0.8 metres tall and 1.2 metres across and is thought to be bird-pollinated, with its seeds possibly dispersed by ants. It is only found on the Stanthorpe Plateau where it grows in the very distinctive granitic, sandy-loamy soils. The majority of the plants now occur in highly disturbed cleared areas along roadsides, railroads and drain lines. It is listed as critically endangered and there are estimated to be only 1,200 individuals left in the wild.
8. Southern spotted-tail quoll
The southern spotted-tail quoll (Dasyurus maculatus maculates) is the largest carnivorous marsupial on the Australian mainland. It is a similar size to a domestic cat. Its fur is reddish brown and its back and tail are covered with distinctive white spots. The territory of a southern spotted-tail quoll can be up to 5,000 hectares and they have been known to move several kilometres in a single night.
9. Eastern bristlebird
The endangered eastern bristlebird (Dasyornis brachypterus) was given the bristle part of its name because it has distinctive dark whisker-like bristles around its beak. This little larrikin enjoys running around on forest floors singing loudly and melodically. The eastern bristlebird is a dark cinnamon-brown colour and is well camouflaged in the low, dense, ground or understory vegetation in which it lives and builds well-concealed globular (dome-shaped) grass nests 30 centimetres above the ground.
10. The Moss Gardens
Photograph by Glenda Riley
In The Moss Gardens, the cool temperate rainforest environment are blanketed in moss and dripping with lichen. Walk only 25 metres along the 100 year old rabbit proof fence to view hoop pine, kurrajong and silky oak trees. Extend your walk 50m along the undeveloped track for a pleasant view of Wilson’s Peak and White Swamp. The Moss Gardens can be found on The Falls Drive from Killarney.
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