Dates:
• Friday 6th November to Sunday 15th November 2020
• Accommodation in and around the field centre is booked for this period, members may arrive/depart anytime within these dates.

Contact:
Please contact Kelly Nowak – AHS field trip co-ordinator – to book your spot on the trip.

Accommodation:
• Ledknapper field studies centre (Belah quarters) – o 4 x rooms with 2 x single beds – these open onto the verandah outside. o 2 x shower & 2 x toilets o 1 x kitchen with two medium sized fridges & all cooking equipment o 1 x large gas BBQ
• There is unlimited area to camp outside the building. This is mostly dirt rather than grass. Also a small verandah for swags etc.
• If it rains the ground will become very muddy so bring appropriate ground sheets etc.
• Please bring your own linen, towels, swag/mattress, doonas, pillows, blankets & food.
• The property has a living room, kitchen, 2 x bathrooms, air conditioning and covered barbecue area with gas barbecue, fire pit and picnic table.
• The kitchen has a stove, fridge, microwave, toaster, kettle, cutlery and pots/pans.
• Drinking water is not available at this property so you’ll need to bring your own supply.
• There is no television at the property.
• Guests are required to take all rubbish with them on check out.

Activities:
• Daily herping trips into Ledknapper NR & Gundabooka NP, these will be decided on the day with the group – an AHS licence holder must be present.
• Night time trips, same as above – bring herping torches & headlamps.
• Lots of photography
• Birdwatching
• Fishing
• Walking
• Relaxing

Getting There
• Approx 10 hours drive to Bourke. We suggest staying at the Nyngan Tourist Park, on the Bogan river, as a halfway stop & some birdwatching. Cabins start at $110 per night for 2 people or $140 for 8 people. http://www.nynganriverside.com.au/tourist-park/

From Bourke:
• Drive north from Bourke on the Mitchell Hwy for approximately 36km and turn right onto Twin Rivers rd,
• Continue along Twin Rivers Road for approximately 29 km
• Turn left onto Wilganea rd, travel approx. 13.8km.
• Turn left in approx. 13.8 km (unnamed road), veer right at the T- junction (approx. 3.4 km).
• Turn left in approx. 3.2 km onto Powerline fire trail. Destination on the right. Road quality Check the weather and road conditions before you set out as roads may be closed.
• Unsealed – from the start of Twin Rivers road. (approx. 50 km).
• Not sure of road condition, suggest 4wd or high clearance vehicles only. If wet 4WD only.

The AGM will be followed at 8:30pm by a screening via Facebook watch party from last year’s AHS 70th anniversary event. We will be showing Steve Wilson’s talk on the early days of AHS, herpers & herping in Australia in the 70s. Please refer to our Facebook page at 8:30pm for the screening.

Stay tuned for more details

The field trip commences at 7pm on Friday 27th March and concludes at lunch time on Sunday 29th March. The purpose is to survey for reptiles and frogs (please be aware that most of the surveying is done after dark on the Friday and Saturday nights, staying out beyond midnight, and sometimes this can extend very late into the night).

Most surveying is done by driving dirt roads in National Parks in the area to look for herps. While we encourage families to be involved we also recognise children may not be able to tolerate the schedule and ask parents to plan for this. Much of the day is spent recovering from the late nights! There’s plenty of free time to go to the beach, drive into town for supplies, go for a bush walk etc. However we do also investigate suitable locations during the day such as rainforest areas. The exact locations and times will be organised when we get there to account for weather etc.

Accommodation consists of shared bunkhouses (4 or more bunks in each), an ablutions block, well equipped kitchen with several fridges, and outside covered areas including a wood BBQ. The lawn areas can also be used to pitch a tent. Sometimes there are other researchers staying, but generally we have the field station to ourselves.

The field trip operates under the AHS Scientific Licence, for the purpose of surveying for herpetofauna. This means we have to record all reptiles and frogs found.

The licence has a number of conditions including, but not limited to:

• Being a currently financial member of the AHS
• Size of group (max 20 including 2 leaders)
• Being with one of the leaders while surveying
• Everyone needs to follow the code of conduct to which you will be briefed.
• In particular there is to be no handling or interference of herpetofauna without the permission of one of the leaders and there is to be no handling of dangerous elapids by anyone.

Please contact Kelly Nowak and Frank Valckenborgh to reserve your spot! Once the final attendees have been booked in, they will receive further information regarding location address, what to bring etc.

Kelly: kellynowak29@gmail.com – ph: 0410 588 187

Frank: frank.valckenborgh@mq.edu.au

Cost: $50 adults – $25 High School students – $15 Primary School students – Preschoolers are free. A group BBQ on the Saturday evening is included!

Australia’s current turtle fauna comprises six species of marine turtles, 27 species of freshwater turtles (all from the family Chelidae) and one estuarine species (Pig-nosed Turtles). But these turtles are modern species and are very different from the ancestral turtle groups that once dominated Australia. For example, 100 million years ago, the inland of Australia was covered by a great sea and contained turtles, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, sharks and other strange marine creatures. The marine turtles that swam these seas are not related to the marine turtles of today. On land, tortoise like-Spookchelid turtles dominated while freshwater chelids were an uncommon component of the fauna. Over the millennia, turtle groups flourished and died out. The turtles that we have today are the survivors of the last great ice ages that almost removed turtles from the Australian landscape.

Nomination forms for the committee will be made available to all members ASAP. Please complete & return the nomination form prior to the meeting if you are nominating yourself or someone else for a position on the committee.

You must be a current financial member to be on the committee (don’t forget memberships expired end of April!)

The 2019 edition of the Red Bellied Courier is now also available & can be picked up on the night by financial members.

We will also be holding the annual auction with plenty of items available!

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Guest Speaker: Mitchell Hodgson

Mitchell Hodgson is an enthusiastic reptile keeper that has kept and bred a wide variety of Australian native lizards. Mitchell’s primary interest was in keeping small dragon species, however over the years his keeping interests have expanded to geckos, skinks, varanids and snakes. His interest in keeping pet lizards ultimately led him to pursue a PhD focusing on lizard behaviour and physiology. Mitchell’s presentation will be a collection of thoughts and observations about keeping lizards (and maybe some snakes!). He’ll be sharing some of the more useful tips and tricks he’s come across so that keepers can get more enjoyment out of keeping their animals. Expect to hear about things like what underrated species make great captives, how to lessen your maintenance with bioactive enclosures and how to make things a little easier for yourself the keeper!