Shanna Bignell - Belli Park, Sunshine Coast

In late 2016, my husband Nathan and I moved to a small acreage at Belli Park in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. We’ve been delighted by the biodiversity here; however, the land is quite degraded and we’re actively working to rehabilitate it and achieve Land for Wildlife accreditation. Most of these photos were taken on our property, but a couple were taken in our street.

On a personal note, I really love the idea of the Kaufman’s Challenge. I started photographing and researching animals/plants in 2012 when I was going through a very difficult time – and the newfound connection with nature through photography really helped me get through that period. I joined an online Citizen Science project called Project Noah (www.projectnoah.org) and I haven’t stopped photographing since! I truly think that this sort of project is one of the best ways for people to connect with our environment, and to become inspired to actively protect it. J

Shanna Bignell

 Longicorn Beetles (or Long-horned Beetles) have extremely long antennae. There are many species of Longicorn Beetle but I think this one is a Rhytiphora species from the subfamily Lamiinae. 

On New Year's Day I came upon a family of Tawny Frogmouths (Mum, Dad, and two babies) in a tree in our backyard. They stayed for a couple of weeks before moving on. These beautiful nocturnal birds are often mistaken for owls.

Noisy Miners are bold, boisterous honeyeaters. Anyone who lives with Noisy Miners around will be familiar with their loud alarm calls! This one was bunking down for the night in a flowering Leichhardt pine.

Blue-faced Honeyeaters are common on the Sunshine Coast (they're often seen stealing sugar packets at cafes!) and are pretty unmistakable with their bright blue faces. However, juveniles - like this one - have yellow or green faces. The blue eye patch doesn't develop until the bird is fully grown. 

This bright yellow dragonfly was resting on a vine in our vegie patch. There are several dragonfly species on the Sunshine Coast with bright yellow females, but I can't find a firm ID on this lovely lady.

We came across this vibrant Green Tree Snake in our backyard. He looked a bit peevish... I'll put it down to the bees that were buzzing around his head! Green Tree Snakes are not venomous and are lovely to have around.

Waiting for the postie! We're lucky to have numerous wallabies living in our neighbourhood, but we're not 100% sure what type they are. We think these ones are Red-necked Wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus), the most common species of wallaby in Queensland. 

According to the CSIRO, Australia has around 22,000 species of moth, only half of which have been described. This can make moth ID really difficult! I have spent (literally) hours of searching to find an ID on this leafy-looking moth that was in my laundry, with no success. I admit defeat.

This Cattle Egret was with 4-5 others hanging around the cattle in our neighbour's paddock. These opportunistic birds eat the insects and worms that the cattle disturb with their feet, and they will also sit on cattle to look out for insects. 

The Brown Tree Snake a common nocturnal species with a slim body and a relatively large head. This one is a baby, and could grow up to 2m. Native to eastern and northern coastal Australia, eastern Indonesia, and PNG, this species was accidentally introduced to Guam shortly after WWII and, with almost no natural predators there, it has gone on to decimate the island's population of native birds, small lizards and small mammals. It's responsible for the extinction of no less than 12 of Guam's native bird species - so awful! Here, however, like all our snakes, brown tree snakes are protected, and an essential part of our ecosystem.

We have a flock of Australasian Figbirds that regularly visit our yard to feed on figs, palm fruit, and other fruiting trees. The males are very striking with their bright red eye patches.

Pheasant Coucals are large, ground-dwelling cuckoos. This one was perched on our neighbour's chimney for quite some time - long enough me to run inside, grab the camera, and get back before it flew on! Pheasant Coucals form lasting pairs and, unlike other Australian cuckoos, build their own nests and raise their young themselves.

Here's something you don't see every day - a Lace Monitor laying her eggs! My husband noticed this lacey digging a hole in an active termite mound on a tree in our backyard and, by the following afternoon, she had made the hole big enough and had settled in to lay. Lace monitors lay 6-12 eggs in a clutch, and leave the termites to seal up the eggs inside the nest. The baby lace monitors are unable to escape the nest themselves after hatching; somehow, when the time is right, an adult lace monitor (presumed to be the mother but it's not known for sure) will come back and dig the babies out. I hope we see that when it happens!

It took me four months to get this photo! The very first day we went to look at our new house, I saw a Green Catbird in the yard. After we moved in, I heard its strange catlike call numerous times, and even saw it  once or twice, but it wasn't until I busted it pecking at its reflection in my car window and wailing at itself that I managed to get a shot. Green Catbirds are part of the bowerbird family, but they don't build bowers - the males pair monogamously with a female, helping her to defend an all-purpose territory.