It's Just A Dry Creek Bed.............?

It's Just A Dry Creek Bed.............?

The Western Rivers Carer invites you to look carefully at this photo (taken last week) of a dry creek bed which is located near Longreach, Queensland. It all appears at first glance, to be a lifeless and parched belly of a creek bed that would only support animal life when the waterhole has filled.

Think again.

This creek bed is currently home to a myriad of animals, and one of the most amazing creatures that can be found here comes in the form of a frog. In the deep, dark underground many frogs cocoon themselves into small burrows, and hibernate until rain falls. Once rain has fallen, they come out and make their fabulous croaking noises and quickly find themselves a mate. The tadpoles then quickly grow into frogs, and hopefully another cycle of breeding is completed before the temporary pool of water dries up, and the frog recedes back into the deep, dark underground again.

The hard luck story for these plucky survivors of the semi-arid zones is that they may become part of the food chain, as they are snapped up by plethora of other animals that are quickly drawn to this aquatic environment. The waterbirds that assemble can be a breathtaking sight to behold, and they too feed abundantly when waterholes and creeks are full.

All is not what it seems, and it behoves one to carefully consider the secrets of a dried waterhole or creek bed!

Thylungra Waterhole

Check out the top photo of the magnificent Thylungra Waterhole in the Cooper's Creek catchment, between Quilpie and Windorah. This photo was taken on the 24th June. The Western Rivers Carer stopped by the waterhole on the 10th November, 2009 and took a photo from the same spot.

Our spectacular channel country waterholes rely on our monsoonal troughs to come through each year, to provide us with summer rain. The Australian monsoon season typically starts in late December, and ends in March, and it is known as the 'wet season' in Northern Australia. The strength of the monsoons can vary from year to year..............and it is this variable that determines the boom and bust cycles of the Channel Country rivers, and associated waterholes.

Here in Western Queensland, we greet the arrival of the equatorial trough that generates heavy rain with much enthusiasm. Could those full clouds in the second photo be an indicator of a great wet season for 2009/2010??? Thanks for stopping by to check out Thylungra Waterhole.