The words You Wang in the local indigenous language mean something like: “big rock in open ground.” They are in a large granite range, part of the extensive volcanic remnants prevailing in mid west Victoria, and are just north of the Melbourne-Geelong Freeway, about 25 km east of Geelong. The first known European visitor was Matthew Flinders, and the highest of the granite peaks is now named after him.
The area was very dry with little undergrowth and now with large tracts of planted eucalypts.
The most exciting find were my first sighting of Rufous Whistlers:
There was also excitement with this odd looking blueish wren. Turns out to be a male Superb Fairy Wren after breeding season, its striking light and dark blue special purpose colouring almost back to normal.
Grey Fantails were plentiful, there being just enough scrub-like cover for them:
A couple of just visible birds are proving hard to identify. The second turns out to be a female Rufous Whistlebird, and the first is a juvenile Rufous Whistlebird.
Michael Monaghan
Feb 27, 2019
Michael Monaghan Photography 
Hi Michael,
All your pictures (except for the Grey Fantail and Superb Wrens) are of Rufous Whistlers. You have pictures of adult males and a female (the one you thought might be a wattlebird, which has a striated chest similar to the wattlebird). The small brown bird is in fact the back view of the Rufous Whistler and I think looks more grey, although the juveniles are quite brownish.
Cheers, Caroline
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Thanks. Obvious once you know.
Wait till you see the little fellas from Catherine’s property at Scotts Creek. We poured over 5 bird books and decided Yellow-rumped Thornbill and Horsfield’s Bushlark.
Now up to 194 bird species.
MM
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
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