Thanks Paul
One of the reasons I put my message on birding-aus (and this one too) is
that I thought it might stimulate more reports, either in the You Yangs or
close. (Don't tell me, people who have been seeing White-browed Babblers in
the You Yangs, because I'm not there any more - tell Paul, tell Marilyn
Hewish for the Geelong Bird Report, tell the Atlas and the Victorian
Wildlife Atlas, and put it on Birding-aus.)
I have 2 hypotheses
1 The Little River Earth Sanctuary (Mount Rothwell) is supposed to be
reintroducing animals that used to be in the area eg platypus. Maybe they
introduced W B Babblers too and they got away. An enquiry there might be a
good idea.
2 Ford has a lot of country on the north side and birdwatchers don't go
inside it. A few years ago they did more works in there making more test
roads or whatever it is they have. Maybe the babblers were lurking in there
all the time and when the new works reduced the area of forest they were
forced to enlarge their range. However Lawrie says he does not think any WB
Babblers turned up in the surveys done for the environmental management
plan. (If that's true, Earth Sanctuary seems more likely.)
If I saw a White browed Babbler in the You Yangs I would not believe my eyes
and just try to turn it into something else. Needless to say if I decided it
was a WBB I would write notes with a shaking hand then gallop back into
phone range and ring up as many people as I could find to come and have a
babbler hunt. (Any photo I took in such a state of excitement would probably
be a blurred smudge but it would be better than nothing.) Marilyn Hewish's
reaction is much the same. She has edited the Geelong Bird Report since the
1991 issue.
I am told you saw them along Hovell's Creek (this is not in your message) -
this is private property so if your report is encouraging people to go
searching there please remind anyone who contacts you to get permission from
Wooloomanata first. The owners may know if there are any historic records on
their property though I believe Grey-crowned Babblers would have been more
likely.
Your paper should include the historic stuff as well as your record and
Graeme's, and those of anyone else since the 1930's you can find! They are
not in Belcher's Birds of Geelong. Trevor Pescott in Birds of Geelong (1983)
mentions references in the Bird Observers Club Monthly Notes, especially a
report by William Heathcote in December 1943. I have not looked at Ian
Hore-Lacey's list of birds of the You Yangs which was a supplement to the
Bird Observer July 1959 because I can't find it in my disorganized library.
These birds seem to be a long way from anywhere but we have been having a
long and terrible drought, and there also already seem to be some
distribution anomalies which might be attributed to climate change.
Good luck and I'm eagerly waiting to hear from you again!
Margaret
Margaret Cameron
2 Cintra Street
Eastern Heights, Qld
Australia 4305
07 3282 9151
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