Tanya Loos
One of the delights of living in the bush is the sounds of the wildlife at night and how these sounds change over the seasons.  Now that it is end of winter/ early spring and the first wattles are coming into flower, the breeding season has well and truly kicked in and I have heard several species calling on these cold nights…
A couple of weeks ago, while I was outside waiting for our little poodle cross, Valli, to do a night-time wee (on a lead of course) I heard the tiny and very spirited ‘yap yap yap’ of a sugar glider. Sugar gliders (also known as Krefft’s or Inland Gliders) make this yapping call to keep in touch with other members of their family group and as it rings out across the treetops it sounds like an extremely tiny dog.
Our local frogs are in an amorous mood! The frog chorus changes as the weather warms up – at the moment it is the rolling symphony of ‘creeeeeeee cree cree’ of the Southern Brown Tree Frog Litoria ewingii. Later the much larger pobblebonks or Eastern Banjo Frogs will join in with a resonant ‘bonk bonk bonk’ call. The frog chorus must be one of the happiest sounds – it means there is water available and therefore life! Only the males call – while the females listen carefully to the males and select their mate from the chorus.
Southern Brown Tree Frog call:Â https://www.frogid.net.au/frogs/litoria-ewingii
Last Friday I returned from a friend’s art gallery exhibition opening in Ballarat and as I got out of the car I was greeted with the welcome sounds of the frog chorus. But then, at intervals of about 15 seconds I could hear the double note ‘woot woot’ of a Powerful Owl in the distance! Breeding season began in late May to June, so this individual may have nestlings back at the roost tree!
Powerful Owl call: Â https://xeno-canto.org/134386
Another thrilling night sound we have heard recently is the guttural roaring and bellowing of a male Koala. Their calls are very loud and extraordinarily long and travel far through the forest. Like big male deer, the bigger the Koala, the more resonant the sounds, as the bellowing sound increases with a larger chest capacity. The male is telling all his ladies in the area that he is patrolling through their respective territories, and that breeding season is just around the corner!
So that is a veritable orchestra of night music – but then just the other night we could hear the rapid ‘ooom ooom ooom’ of a Tawny Frogmouth calling! August is the start of breeding season for these wonderful birds. They mate for life, and both male and female take equal roles in the raising of their cute fluffy chicks.
Tawny Frogmouth call: https://xeno-canto.org/677959
Have you heard any calls at night you can’t identify? Record them on your phone and send them in and I will see if I can work out who is calling on your patch…
Tanya Loos is a local naturalist, author and environmental consultant who loves to work in the environmental not-for-profit sector. She is the author of “Daylesford Nature Diary” available from her website or from Paradise Books in Vincent Street, Daylesford.
Have you got any nature questions for Tanya? Send them in!Â
