Steve Kacir's photostream  

A view of Davies Creek just above Davies Creek Falls in Davies Creek National Park right next door to Dinden National Park. We camped at a lovely site just opposite the road from this section of the creek. Unfortunately, it monsooned all over us while we tried to set up camp. That was also the night I discovered that the tent I had been loaned had dried caked mud (hard as rock) clogging the poles, making it impossible to insert the pins and assemble the tent. Luckily, Raja Stephenson saved me from drowning and somehow got the pins set. That was also the night I discovered that the tropics can be quite cold when there is sufficient rain. (Photographed at Davies Creek Falls in Davies Creek National Park, Queensland, Australia).

A first year subadult Metallic Starling (Aplornis metallica) already has the red eye of an adult bird, but the plumage is markedly different: brown above with a light belly and brown streaking. The structure is the same as the adult birds, but the plumage is different enough to make you think it could be a different bird. (Photographed just outside of Cairns, Queensland, Australia)

A small subadult Cane Toad (Bufo marinus) underscores the huge problem that this introduced species has become for Australia. Completely useless as biological control for scarab beetle pests of sugar cane, the Cane Toad has become a plague across Australia. During our two-week stay in Queensland, we saw the large adults every night we went spotlighting, and we encountered still pools teeming with Cane Toad tadpoles. A decent-sized predator in its own right, Cane Toads will eat anything they can fit into their oversized mouths. In addition to consuming Australian wildlife, the Cane Toads also have a deadly toxic poison within the glands found across the dorsal surface. If a predator tries to eat a Cane Toad, the venom kills the predator, making the Cane Toad a deadly introduced species on both sides of the food chain. While this little toadlet may look cute, it is a terrible plague for Australian ecosystems. (Photographed at Flecker Botanic Gardens & Centenary Lakes area of Cairns Botanic Gardens, Cairns, Queensland, Australia)

A male Metallic Starling (Aplornis metallica) displays frantically while his mate seems to lean her head against his chest. In the background, another starling balances acrobatically upon a branch while holding nest material in its bill. This photo captures the frantic activity of the colony in miniature. Imagine a couple hundred of these photos in a tree-like shape and you start to see the bigger picture. (Photographed just outside of Cairns, Queensland, Australia)

A Metallic Starling (Aplornis metallica) stands atop a nest still under construction. The activity level within this tree was mind-boggling. Trying to get just one bird in the frame was a challenge, finding one in the sun instead of deep in the shade of the tree was an additional challenge. All the while, Martin Cachard kept watch over us and warned us about getting to close to the ground under the canopy, so we could avoid picking up arthropod hitchhikers. (Photographed just outside of Cairns, Queensland, Australia)