Tuesday21 July 1953 Bottom Cqmp Happy 17th birthday "Dory"! Hope you are having a fine celebration at our Wentworth farm. Can hardly believe you are so grown up! We'll try to give you many more happy years. Almost blanked today--David had a young q "native cat" in trap. About noon Len's boys brought in a live Bandicoot on a pole (had lost its tail). Ken left for Biniguni in A.M. taking mail with him. He sent 2 carriers up to camp this P.M. with extra meat. They took my knockdown box full of Middle Camp specimens down with them. Sunny A.M. but threatened rain all P.M. A leisurely day--shave and bath. Going bat shooting now. Hope to get my 100th specimen. Ticked a Hipposideros but, after hanging up for a few seconds in small tree, flew away. Collected a banded tail Gecko for Geoff--2 species now. Found a wild fig tree where Macroglossus was feeding. Kept firing at them until all shells gone. The day ended at 999. Will try again tomorrow night. Wednesday 22 July David had a native cat in rat trap! 3 Rattus also came in. 1003 specimens 4 months to the day after the start at Wenapi. A blue sunny A.M. Took picture of Geoff at his work bench, and one of trees and sky. Heavy overcast all P.M. Moon out tonight. Moved my steel traps & 10 M.S. to location up hill. Spent 3 hours in the dry streamed trying to collect small blossom bat. Finally coll. 1 but he is badly shot up. Back in camp I found a huge flying Fox that David had collected. Have never seen such a monster. Now have 17 species for this camp but only 38 specimens. Kim gave us a new dish for lunch--sausage rolls- excel lent. A troop of Hornbills (7) flew over camp in A.M. Their wings make a tremendous whirring. Had a yellow-bellied skink in trap. Shot another Gecko tonight and coll. 2 tiny frogs. Thursday 25 July Had a Bandicoot in my new meat set. 2 Rattus and 2 Pogonomys also came in--the latter found in small holes high in large trees. Flower-flower boy, Niko, 1,& David who had a Giant bat hung up in big tree, the other. A good day for this camp. Both bats measured over 5 feet in wing spread (5'4" & 5'6")--large heads with small ears and big eyes. Body fur yellowish-brown--muzzle covered with a greenish pollen. Took pictures of boys & myself holding bats to show span. Spell from jacking. Short heavy rain before supper. Geoff wrapped frogs today-- a few over 200--a fine collection. The boys have been collecting every night for a week. Scratched my scrub itch for a while, read & had a good night's sleep. Friday 24 July Only 1 Rattus. Made up the 2 Giant Bats--each takes a board by itself ! Will have to carry pinned in coll. trunk to Biniguni camp--they won't dry before Monday. Have rigged my wire trays over lamp in tent today to dry specimens. Wrapped a few. Len collected at water fall. Rained off and on all day-- general bad weather, not low clouds. Thin clouds drifting in tonight--moon trying to break thru. Jacked for 1/2 hour tonight--conditions poor. Shot another band-tailed Gecko (#795). Kim baked a good apricot pie for dinner-- fine crust. Have been trying for the last hour to catch a frog just in back of tent. He calls every wet night. Noticed that he had a 7 minute call period. Just as the red-bellied frog, that I first found at Top Camp, calls from a position in the humus so does this one. Finally caught him(#794)--dull olive brown--2" long--big bellied. New for collection.