> 4 April 1967 (Tuesday)
Left Museum 10.00 for Armadale to pick up Michael Morcombe. Margaret rang through to Katanning to tell the Beecks[?] that we would not leave Armadale until 10.30 at least. Wagin, fuel. Summerfields. Beecks pleased to see us, gave us an excellent lunch. Afterwards we went out to see the animals. Finished off the colour film on the Chychogale[?] inguifer[?] from Kalumburu. This animal was brought here by W.H. Butler as a juvenile & Ella has pictures of it. It is now completely different. Beautiful Roman nose characteristic of the species as well as most vivid hip and scapular[?] stripes, tail also beautifully marked with dark end of dural[?] stripes. The bottom end of the tail appears to be ringed like Xanthorus & one can see how the story of Xanthorus in Kimberley comes from. Took a lot of b&w + x at 64ASA on a separate strip of film. Also took a couple of "chuck-chuck" for Ella in evidence of how she is settling down. The chuck-chuck sound this animal makes is still very evident and quite like[?] any kangaroo noise that I am familiar with. The Beecks saw us off with a couple of watermelons (after being given the best rock melon I have ever tasted). Went through Katanning - Broomehill - Mt Barker ; turned West immediately after the town on the top of a hill down along the Porongurups and out onto the Albany-Border road. Continued down towards Albany until passed a large ?RSL hall on the right (the first building after we turn onto Albany Rd.) 2 miles later turned left on a road signposted to Kalgan R. - turn left onto river[?]road & then out in a dirt rd to Cheyne Beach at the top of the first big hill after Manypeaks township. Could not find John Kirsch's numbers in the late twilight. On to the settlement up past the Dibbier loc. in Point Lookout - up and over to spot overlooking Bald Island. Cooked & turned in in drizzling rain!
> 5 April 1967 (Wednesday)
Slept unusually well, woke up with headache & mosquito bites. 6.30 up - grey sky threatening rain. A heavy swell breaking on the shores and on Bald Island opposite. Got breakfast and repacked the rover. Photo [C302] of Bald Island. Sky clear and sunshine except out to sea. Drove back to Dibbier loc. at the settlement after packing up the camp. No sign of Kirsch or Baynes. The weather is clearing.
Drove down over hill to the settlement. About 1/2 mile from settlement investigated a disused (?)mulga ant's nest. Collected a small legless lizard, v. snakelike. Stopped at Dibbier loc. to take photos[C103-4] of locality looking away from the settlement, and one of a barbia[?] with granite tor in the background as possible scene for Ella. Seemed metal trap locality. This is close to a sniog[?] peg 68 or 88 on a corner of a block of the townsite. Paced distance to corner of nearest house 75*. Took photos b&w of the locality, Morcombe, 2 spp of Bulinia[?]. Banksia attenuata almost over - occasional flowering spikes only. B. baxteri coming into bloom, B. coccinea over (I have a photo of B. coccinea, the Albany or scarlet Banksia).[B. coccinea here flowers (Aug.?) Sept. - Jan. (1?Feb), B. alternata here Sept. & Oct - ? early April. B. baxteri spring to April or May] [b&w 1-7].Numerous small cins[?] in the sand. Drove out along the road to Manypeaks town, find the turnoff to Waychiniup Estuary marked by John, drove down, found John's camp, tent up but no note ; two sets of tracks leading from the road to the camp so he must have gone out again for some reason. Left a note for him, drove down to the Estuary. He had set a lot of Shermans . Back to his camp and met him there - they had some mechanical trouble & drove in to Manypeaks. Set up new camp & had lunch 15`15 hrs[C3,04,5,6] Manypeaks and swamp[?] idies[?] 3. cage traps set & three Aurans[?]. All sorted[?] unusual bait less meat. Dug out small snake out of ants nest. 15hrs on to the Dibbier loc. to set traps. Set 12 Shermans all baited universal bait took[C 7] in excellent weather. View down across Dibbier loc to Cheyne Beach, took [C 2,8] of one of the flower traps and also 3 b&w of sac.
> 6 April 1967 Thursday
Left camp 0610 hrs. Visited traps in swamp, 3 cage 3 box. bait gone in one box, door impeded in closing by sedge, rebaited. On to Dibbier loc. at settlement. Nothing in the special Morcombe traps although one had been found & escaped from. The Shermans contained 3 [Rattus]fuscipes and a Mus musculus kept fuscipes alive [add to fuscipes collected by John Kirsch & Alex B.] [Mus musculus WR124] male preserved in formalin. In addition to the fuscipes collected by John (-2 at the bridge across the river/ sedges, eucalypts etc. 1 near the Cheyne Beach main road / Waychiniup track feature[?] in Banksia : 2 at the Estuary in sand : 1 in the hills above the estuary in heath[?]). They got 2 flowyies[?] ( 1 in heath at the estuary : the other across the bridge in a swamp to the north of the track. 20ft above the edge of swamp in Banksia) bait in all cases momeral[?]. Walked in swamp close to camp & found lots of small marsupial[?] trails. Drove down the Waychiniup Estuary, photos of estuary and of typical habitat. Lifted traps, 1 fuscipes caught in the course of the morning i.e. between 7am and 11am. Photos of habitat and also of the Manypeaks skyline [C--] and b&w for background for Ella for a fuscipes picture. In afternoon: drove to Cheyne Beach with all the traps pulled from estuary and set 16 at the cove overlooking Bald Island (Northern end) in v. dense. B. attenuata and low scrub i.e. about 3ft6 to 4ft. Then drove back to camp and set the full set of cage traps in the big swamp near the camp. Took photos.
> 71 April 1967 (Friday)
Up at 6.00 and then did the cage traps with John. No luck. Drove up to the coast at the Cove. No luck legend re R. fuscipes and then back to the Dibbier loc. where 8 traps set. No luck there. The other sets of traps set by John and Alex caught 9 R. fuscipes. Talked over the problem caused by all the R. fuscipes - all held in a single holding cage and fighting all night. Decided that Alex & John must go back to Perth as soon as.
Walked along the trap lines and smeared each trap door and (trigger of breakbacks) with honey. Egenia in breakback caught small Denisonia crossing track in the sandplain at Dibbier loc. Olive brown scales edged sepia, russet on belly, steel blue cap in head, black nape entirely crend on eyestripe and black "moustache", bill yellowish buff band behind nape and myto white line & throat wjth faint grey"scribbles" Scales 15.
> 8 April (Saturday)
0600 up at dawn to visit traps. Worked over the swamp and found most traps set off but nothing in them. Obviously something is getting into the bait and then out through the mesh. Almost certainly R. fuscipes. Isoodon obesulus [WR128], light brown in colour, take home alive, only damaged nose slightly. Lifted all the traps and will move them over to the bay beyond Bald island. Drove down to Dibbier loc. Nothing in the 8 traps set around the B. attenuata. Walked out the line set as transect. 1 live R. fuscipes, 1 Mus musculus, and 1 Tarsips spenceri [?]. Remarkable and totally unexpected. Probably attracted into the trap by honey smeared on the door of the Sherman. Seems to be a female, will take it back to Perth for Morcombe to photograph, John to bleed [?] and David Haymes to culture spleen etc., cells for chromosomes.
Went on to the bay beyond Bald Island where we had previously camped and walked out the line of maps traps. Collected 1 R. fuscipes [WR125] and 1 Mus musculus [WR126] dead.
[WR125] R. fuscipes ....female ... loc. Bay north of Bald Island
[WR126] Mus musculus ....female... loc. Bay north of Bald Island
[WR127] male ... loc. s. of settlement Cheyne Beach, nr Mt. Manypeaks.
Until lunch time prepared specs. while John & Alex packed up to go back to Perth. They got off anyway much urgent about packing what where by 12.30. Had lunch then took all traps out to the bay overlooking N. end of Bald Island and set the 10 live traps - cages - as a continuation of the line of breakbacks. This because of very fresh quokka droppings among the sand, also found a v. fresh and peculiar smelling goammen[?] system in the middle of a small gale [?] thicket on the headland. Set the 4 Shermans which Alex had from his week set to be set in the swamp.
Got 1 Lygosoma out of the breakbacks. There are 10 of these set in the series. Then drove back to Many Peaks to have a shower at the garage there and phoned Margaret to tell her that the boys could be in.
Back to the traps in the dusk to check baiting. Great excitement an Apicalis f. in the series which we had set up the valley above the Dibbier loc.. Caught in Sherman baited with universal[?] & honey on the door, finished off checking the rest and then drove post haste to Many Peaks to tell Margaret to tell the boys when they arrived. Did it in time. They had not yet arrived. Drove back to the camp, found it with difficulty in the dark. Put the Dibbier into the camera bag for the night - then unhappy because of lack of air - in the end suspended it from the dashboard ! and locked the Landrover !! Earlier safest place to transfer the Dibbier from trap to bag was the public phone box at Mt Many Peaks.
Isoodon [WR128] Collected at Cheyne Beach - Mt Many Peaks Area. Swamp near
camp. male, total length 440, H & B 292, T.V.155, E 28, Hf.56.
