You Yangs 2014
This page includes reports of visits and photos taken during 2014. For information and images added in other years please see the relevant pages, You Yangs 2016, You Yangs 2015, You Yangs 2013, You Yangs 2012 and earlier. For plants see YY plants.
4 and 6 December 2014
The 4th of December was a beautiful warm summer's day, perfect for visiting the You Yangs prior to our official BirdLife Melbourne Birding and Boneseeding day on the 6th. The ground was wet from recent rain and the ants, which are very numerous in the park, were furiously active with many winged ants emerging from holes in the ground (photos below). Dams were still low or dry, however. By the 6th of December there had been much more rain. Water lay on the ground in puddles and pools and in some dams that had been dry two days earlier. The normally dry creek beds actually ran with water, though 'trickled' might be a more appropriate word to use. The You Yangs Regional Park, being in a rain shadow and quite sandy, is usually very dry. The summer of 2010-11 is a notable exception, when there was considerable flood damage and the park was closed for several months afterwards while repairs were carried out.
Twelve enthusiastic people attended the Boneseeding day on the 6th. Although it was raining when we arrived and all was quiet, the rain soon stopped and the birds appeared. We spent a couple of hours around the Park Office, nearby dam and entrance area before moving on to Gravel Pit Tor (for Scarlet Robin, Mistletoebird and other small birds), Fawcett's Gully (for lunch), our boneseeding site (to work), and finally the Seed Garden (Eastern Flat). As usual we had to walk a long way into, or through, our site to find any decent boneseed plants, but managed to locate a few patches of reasonably large plants and pulled them out. The damp ground made this easy, even though the rain had only penetrated a few centimetres into the sandy earth. Many of the long boneseed roots are very shallow, presumably in order to access what water there is after rain.
A highlight was finding Diamond Firetails, including some young ones, in the Seed Garden. White-browed Woodswallows were nearby. It was good to see some Yellow Thornbills there, too. We heard Olive-backed Orioles a few times and then had good views of one near our site. It was being harassed by some smaller birds. The White-winged Choughs in our site have built another nest not far from the one we saw them using on our September Boneseeding day. Overall we recorded 55 bird species, 7 more than at the same time last year. On the 6th of December we saw a Koala and some Eastern Grey Kangaroos, and on the 4th there was a Black Wallaby as well as an Echidna in our boneseeding site.
Another report and more photos are on the BirdLife Melbourne Blog: https://birdlifemelbourne.wordpress.com/
A bird list is on the BirdLife Melbourne website: http://www.birdlifemelbourne.org.au/outings/site-lists/YouYangs%202014.html
Twelve enthusiastic people attended the Boneseeding day on the 6th. Although it was raining when we arrived and all was quiet, the rain soon stopped and the birds appeared. We spent a couple of hours around the Park Office, nearby dam and entrance area before moving on to Gravel Pit Tor (for Scarlet Robin, Mistletoebird and other small birds), Fawcett's Gully (for lunch), our boneseeding site (to work), and finally the Seed Garden (Eastern Flat). As usual we had to walk a long way into, or through, our site to find any decent boneseed plants, but managed to locate a few patches of reasonably large plants and pulled them out. The damp ground made this easy, even though the rain had only penetrated a few centimetres into the sandy earth. Many of the long boneseed roots are very shallow, presumably in order to access what water there is after rain.
A highlight was finding Diamond Firetails, including some young ones, in the Seed Garden. White-browed Woodswallows were nearby. It was good to see some Yellow Thornbills there, too. We heard Olive-backed Orioles a few times and then had good views of one near our site. It was being harassed by some smaller birds. The White-winged Choughs in our site have built another nest not far from the one we saw them using on our September Boneseeding day. Overall we recorded 55 bird species, 7 more than at the same time last year. On the 6th of December we saw a Koala and some Eastern Grey Kangaroos, and on the 4th there was a Black Wallaby as well as an Echidna in our boneseeding site.
Another report and more photos are on the BirdLife Melbourne Blog: https://birdlifemelbourne.wordpress.com/
A bird list is on the BirdLife Melbourne website: http://www.birdlifemelbourne.org.au/outings/site-lists/YouYangs%202014.html
Above: Ants seething from a hole in the ground on one of the tracks near the Park Office.
Different ants from a single colony can be seen above: large, black, winged females; smaller, black, winged males; and similarly small, wingless, red-headed workers. CSIRO has a very informative website devoted to Australian Ants: Ants Down Under http://anic.ento.csiro.au/ants/
Above: an Echidna searching for ants in the BirdLife boneseeding site.
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Above: Soldier Beetles Chauliognathus lugubris foraging. They consume insects, pollen, nectar and leaves. More information about Soldier Beetles is on the CSIRO website What bug is that? http://anic.ento.csiro.au/insectfamilies/biota_details.aspx?OrderID=25407&BiotaID=26458&PageID=families.
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Above: an immature Jackie Winter seen near the Park Office. Unlike adult birds, its front was mottled. Its tail showed the distinctive white sides and dark centre of the adult.
6 September 2014
This early spring, blue-sky sunny day was perfect for our BirdLife Melbourne You Yangs Birding and Boneseeding visit; how lucky we were. Our usual activities were curtailed today so that those of us who had to leave early could still spend time pulling out boneseed plants at our site. Birds were active and noisy near the Park Office, and we did stay there for more than an hour, but then drove directly to our allocated site without stopping at some of the usual spots. We hope to make up for that next time. Although most of our site is boneseed-free, there are plenty of large, healthy plants near its borders, so we concentrated on those. Some had begun to flower. It was nice to see Greenhood Orchids growing in cleared areas as well as numerous foraging circles created by Painted Button-Quail. We didn't see the birds that made the circles, but starting with 16 people, we managed to record 64 other bird species for the day. After I left, the remaining participants found Speckled Warbler, Diamond Firetail, Jacky Winter, Crested Shrike-tit and more, but at least I saw Black-chinned Honeyeaters, families of White-winged Choughs and three species of Lorikeet earlier in the day and heard the lovely calls of Fan-tailed Cuckoos all the while when we were boneseeding.
A list of birds is available on the BirdLife Melbourne website http://www.birdlifemelbourne.org.au/outings/site-lists/YouYangs%202014.html
Another report and more photos are on the BirdLife Melbourne blog http://birdlifemelbourne.wordpress.com/
A list of birds is available on the BirdLife Melbourne website http://www.birdlifemelbourne.org.au/outings/site-lists/YouYangs%202014.html
Another report and more photos are on the BirdLife Melbourne blog http://birdlifemelbourne.wordpress.com/
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Above left: area to the east of the Park Office and dam; two Laughing Kookaburras at the top right of the picture lived up to their name. Above right: the dam to the east of the Park Office.
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Above left: flowering boneseed plants towards the edge of our site. Above right: circles of ground made bare by Painted Button-Quail foraging in our site (i.e. their site).
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Above left: part of our site where native Drooping Cassinia Cassinia arcuata plants now grow in the understorey instead of boneseed plants. There is a White-winged Chough nest towards the top left of the photo. There was a bird sitting on the nest at the time, but it's just a bit small to see in the picture. Above right: Greenhood Orchid growing in our site.
16 August 2014
On a BirdLife Melbourne Photo Group outing to the You Yangs, I heard complaining noises from small birds in the canopy above. As I looked up, a Southern Boobook flew out of a dense tree and landed in a nearby eucalypt. It posed for some time, then flew away.
7 June 2014
Our early-winter BirdLife Melbourne Birding and Boneseeding day followed the usual plan. Twenty participants met in pleasant sunshine near the Park Office, where we quickly found the local Tawny Frogmouths exactly where we saw them in March. More unusual was the sighting of a Brown Treecreeper and excellent views of foraging Black-chinned Honeyeaters. Other species here included Golden Whistlers, Crested Shrike-tits and Varied Sittellas. The highlight at Gravel Pit Tor was a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles floating overhead. After lunch at Fawcett's Gully we proceeded to our boneseeding site. We pulled out numerous weeds near a bicycle path that is being constructed at the back of the area near the dry creek bed. It's amazing what an impact an hour's hard work can make. Evening closes in so quickly at this time of year, but we managed a walk in the nearby Seed Garden before dark. Among the species we found here were the first Flame Robins, Jacky Winters and Grey Fantails for the day.
This June Birding and Boneseeding visit to the You Yangs was the 400th listed outing on the BirdLife Melbourne website http://www.birdlifemelbourne.org.au/outings/
For a list of birds recorded on the day look under the 400 column here: http://www.birdlifemelbourne.org.au/outings/outings-381-400.html
I have sent a more detailed report of the day to the BirdLife Melbourne Blog at http://birdlifemelbourne.wordpress.com/
This June Birding and Boneseeding visit to the You Yangs was the 400th listed outing on the BirdLife Melbourne website http://www.birdlifemelbourne.org.au/outings/
For a list of birds recorded on the day look under the 400 column here: http://www.birdlifemelbourne.org.au/outings/outings-381-400.html
I have sent a more detailed report of the day to the BirdLife Melbourne Blog at http://birdlifemelbourne.wordpress.com/
Jacky Winter sitting on a farm fence to the east of the park.
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Tawny Frogmouth perched where we saw it on 1 March
(see below). |
The Tor from the path near the Gravel Pit Tor car park beside Great Circle Drive.
New Holland Honeyeater in the Seed Garden near our
boneseeding site. |
The familiar shape of a Wedge-tailed Eagle flying above
the Tor. |
Pin-cushion Hakea Hakea laurina in the Seed Garden. This species was planted here some time ago and being from the
south of Western Australia is not endemic to the area. However, the flowers are much used by birds such as the New Holland Honeyeater, above.
south of Western Australia is not endemic to the area. However, the flowers are much used by birds such as the New Holland Honeyeater, above.
31 May 2014
I spent a very pleasant day at a few different locations in the You Yangs, but the main reason for my visit was to check our official BirdLife Victoria boneseeding site to see what we should tackle on our boneseeding day next Saturday 7th June. A new bicycle path is being constructed near what we think is the eastern boundary of our site, though we are not quite sure exactly where its edges lie. Unlike the main part of our site, which is virtually boneseed free, there are some quite sizeable boneseed plants by the bike path. It would be good to remove as many as possible on our next visit.
A Yellow-rumped Thornbill paused for a
moment. It was foraging in a tree at the corner of a paddock next to the park. |
This Scarlet Robin perched nearby when I was eating lunch at the Lower
Picnic Ground. |
Some of the boneseed is already flowering.
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One Eastern Grey Kangaroo stayed to watch me when the others in its
mob jumped away. This was in the Seed Garden (East Flat) near our boneseeding site. |
A eucalypt trunk in our boneseeding site.
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Numerous White-winged Choughs foraged together or preened each other
in our boneseeding site. It was wonderful to see the large flocks and hear the mournful cries of these interesting social birds. |
1 March 2014
This was the first BirdLife Melbourne Birding and Boneseeding visit for the year. We arrived to the sound of a multitude of bird calls. The loud screeches and buzzes of lorikeets dominated. We identified a few Rainbow Lorikeets and numerous Musk and Purple-crowned. We were fairly confident that some of the smallest and fastest-flying were Little Lorikeets, but the sky was grey and their colour impossible to see. Needless to say, the eucalypts were flowering prolifically. As usual we birded near the park entrance, at Gravel Pit Tor and at our regular lunch spot, where there is now a sign that says Fawcett's Gully.
In the afternoon we decided to revisit an area along Branding Yard Road, north of our usual boneseeding site, where we had pulled out some large plants a year ago. Miraculously, no new seedlings had grown there. Much of the You Yangs is extremely dry at present, so that is probably the reason. Buoyed by success, we went a little further west along the road and tackled another stand of large old boneseed plants. Afterwards we rewarded our hard work with a walk around the Eastern Flat area (the Seed Garden) where we saw more lorikeets and happily added Diamond Firetail, Jacky Winter and Rainbow Bee-Eater to our list. Our total number of bird species for the day was a nice round 50. We didn't count the number of boneseed plants we removed.
In the afternoon we decided to revisit an area along Branding Yard Road, north of our usual boneseeding site, where we had pulled out some large plants a year ago. Miraculously, no new seedlings had grown there. Much of the You Yangs is extremely dry at present, so that is probably the reason. Buoyed by success, we went a little further west along the road and tackled another stand of large old boneseed plants. Afterwards we rewarded our hard work with a walk around the Eastern Flat area (the Seed Garden) where we saw more lorikeets and happily added Diamond Firetail, Jacky Winter and Rainbow Bee-Eater to our list. Our total number of bird species for the day was a nice round 50. We didn't count the number of boneseed plants we removed.
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Two Tawny Frogmouths, sitting in contrasting shapes and wearing different colours, rested one above the other in the
same tree.
same tree.
Part of the Gravel Pit Tor track where most of the understorey consists of boneseed plants. Many were brown,
presumably due to the extremely dry conditions.
presumably due to the extremely dry conditions.
Rock near the Gravel Pit Tor track. It might make a good shelter.
Curling seed pods of Hickory Wattle Acacia implexa.
Gravel Pit Tor area. |
Dry boneseed plant in the Gravel Pit Tor area.
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Dry area opposite our lunch spot, Fawcett's Gully.
For the record: the new sign. We wondered who Fawcett was, so I
enquired. The sign is new, but not the name. It has been used for the gully for some decades. Fawcett was the name on the licence of the gravel extraction company that worked there between the early 1950s and mid 1970s. |
Orange coloured tree trunk opposite Fawcett's Gully. There are many trees with trunks of this colour in the You Yangs. They look like eucalypts or similar. I don't think they're a local species. I wonder what they are.
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A view across the Eastern Flat area. We have referred to this area thus, by its location and topography, for some years,
but the park rangers know it as the Seed Garden. The area was used by the Forest Commission from as early as the
1930s for growing various eucalypts for their seed. The Geelong Field Nats was involved in replanting the area after
the devastating fire of January 1969.
but the park rangers know it as the Seed Garden. The area was used by the Forest Commission from as early as the
1930s for growing various eucalypts for their seed. The Geelong Field Nats was involved in replanting the area after
the devastating fire of January 1969.
Trunk of Drooping Sheoak Allocasuarina verticillata
reflects the pattern on the thin branchlets. |
Drooping Cassinia Cassinia arcuata healthy in
the dry conditions on the Eastern Flat. |
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Pale pink, white and deep pink flowers of Flowering Gum Corymbia ficifolia (probably). The trees are are native to Western Australia.
As a low branch of one of the above Corymbia trees blows in the wind, it sweeps the ground beneath it and keeps it
clear of the large dry fruits.
clear of the large dry fruits.
19 January 2014
I made a brief visit in the afternoon on my way home from Mt Rothwell. I was pleased to see an adult and two young Tawny Frogmouths and took several photos.
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The two young birds above have not yet learnt to sit so that they resemble a branch.
The adult at the left is in a more typical Tawny Frogmouth pose. 
Above: Tawny feet and patterned feathers.
Below: the two young birds again. |
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