Yowiehunters Forum

Hey all , I have started going back to my little area again , after summer when they seem to disappear , and have found footprints and new structures .
I am going to go out for an overnighter in a few weeks and am wondering if there is anyone in the Melbourne area who would like to come out .
The area is about a two hour drive from Melbourne .
I have got a few gizmos ( night vision , thermal camera , trail camera etc ) and am no novice in the bush ( 6 years Army and camping all my life ) and will film as much as I can
I'm fine with meeting up first , in fact it is probably best , just sing out if you are interested
I am looking at going out either mid May - early June
Anyways sing out if you are interested
Cheers Greg

Hey greg,
When you say 2 hours from melb, do you mean the otways or to the east?

Gday mate , to the east down Gippsland way
Cheers

Hey there everyone , well I went out overnight on Saturday / Sunday ,as no one from the forum was interested in coming out I talked my 23yo son into coming , it should be noted he is 100% sceptic .
I found a few footprints all of which were 330mm long ( two were together 6ft apart ) and the third was about a klm away on a totally different track .
We went for a wander at night and we first heard what sounded like a definite wood knock a long way away , possibly up to a klm , and then a reply from a different direction about 20sec later . Whilst out at one point something was moving in the bush beside us , probably for 100m or so , nothing was showing up on the thermal camera so I went in (just) to see if I could see anything and nothing could be seen but it just seemed to disappear as no further noises were heard , we did come across a roo a bit later and the noises were totally different .
In the middle of the night ( about 2am ) I was woken by something possibly moving around the campsite I shone the torch around and saw nothing so I'm not sure if it really was something or my sub conscious whilst I was dozing .
Now a question does anyone know a bird that flies at night , unprovoked , that makes a noise that I can only describe as " Yah Yah" Sorry the best description I can give , what happened was at 3.30 am I got up to relieve the pressure and I heard a loud "yah " followed about 3sec later by another then another , all up probably about 15 or so of them but it started on a track about 100m away that runs parallel to where we were , the first was about 2-300m away and was moving slowly along the track , then it seemed to pick up a lot of speed until it had passed us and stopped as quick as it started .The noise didn't sound like a bird ive ever heard so I'm open to suggestions , I wish I had a recorder with me but I'm not I'm the habit of recording the call of nature
My son is now only 75% sceptic as he also saw structures etc that he couldn't explain ( they are everywhere )
I have attached the photos of some possible footprints

Hey mate I made two videos up a few years ago with both Native Aussie animals and introduced species like Deer & Foxes etc. Also made a video of Owl Calls as well. What you heard flying around your tent could of been a bat. I've seen a few fly around my campsites over the years. I will try to find the videos and put the link up on here.

Gday Dan
The noise was definitely travelling down the parallel track and was too loud to be a bat , probably about the level of a loud dog bark , I estimate it would of travelled 300m in about 20sec (give or take ) , the track is also in a pretty straight line at this point
It was just a sound that had me stumped ,as I always try to debunk stuff otherwise family and friends hang a heap of c,,p on me
Cheers Greg
Ps ill definitely have a listen anyways

I'm at work now but will get the links once I'm home this Afternoon.

yowiedan wrote:I'm at work now but will get the links once I'm home this Afternoon.

All very intriguing. Any clues as to more exactly where "down Gippsland way" (but I appreciate you'd not like to be too specific)?

Not an expert, but some bats can be very noisy.

This is a boobook owl call , there are multiple versions of this one , 2 versions below .

If it's a "yak yak" sound, might it have been a masked lapwing (a type of plover) which is prevalent down here in Southwestern Victoria. They're ground nesting birds and they're intensely territorial. A mating pair will often swoop at anyone or anything that gets near their nest site and they make a hell of a racket at all hours of the day and night, squawking their guts out when you least expect it. The first YouTube video should give you a good indication of whether or not it's what you heard.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxyg2AwWh7c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C7QP0pFGsE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masked_lapwing

These are two video's i made up, The first one is of all the Owl Noises i could get and it has pictures and their Distribution.

Owl video link. https://youtu.be/ju2Q-fF37O8

Animals in Australian Bush Video Including Birds, Native & Introduced Animals Link. https://youtu.be/MYcDkoOXm2Y

Hope This Is Informative.

Thanks for the suggestions guys It definitely wasn't an owl ,I generally know their calls and I hear plovers on a daily basis ( they nest not far from my house )
After listening to your clips Dan I am more convinced it wasn't a bird , it didn't seem to have the same pitch , it was also just one syllable each call , " Yah " a few sec " Yah " a few secs etc and the movement really started slow then picked up speed , and even when it was at pace the vocals were always about 2-3 secs apart
I have no idea , but next time I'm there and nature calls in the middle of the night guess whos taking a recorder with him
I will probably be having another overnighter there in a Cpl of weeks , try to get my son down to 50/50
Cheers Greg

That's promising - at least some of the "usual suspects" have been ruled out.

It could be them mimicking a bird that isn't from the local area; one they've heard on their travels and now use as a way of recognising each other when they know humans might be present? (I'm assuming a whole lot, I know).

yowiedan wrote:These are two video's i made up, The first one is of all the Owl Noises i could get and it has pictures and their Distribution.

Owl video link. https://youtu.be/ju2Q-fF37O8

Animals in Australian Bush Video Including Birds, Native & Introduced Animals Link. https://youtu.be/MYcDkoOXm2Y

Hope This Is Informative.

Great videos Dan. I was suprised how many i didnt know. Even the roos at the start would have me worried . I was disappointed with the bellbird though, they werent yowies singing after all..

Great channel too.

Thanks Yowie bait.
I decided after watching so many trashy J& J then JH yowie bullshit videos. Wanted to show the people out there that most researchers do it the right way and don't look for just subscribers for sub standard research channels. I have cut down a lot of the videos I have posted on my Blue Mountains Research Group Page to just post the best bits cause that's what people want to watch. Anyway I'm posting all my research results on my you tube channel and also on here.

yowiedan wrote:Thanks Yowie bait.
I decided after watching so many trashy J& J then JH yowie bullshit videos. Wanted to show the people out there that most researchers do it the right way and don't look for just subscribers for sub standard research channels. I have cut down a lot of the videos I have posted on my Blue Mountains Research Group Page to just post the best bits cause that's what people want to watch. Anyway I'm posting all my research results on my you tube channel and also on here.

Your getting some good feedback which is good. The animal noises is an excellent resource. Yes a hoax free bigfoot and yowie research channel is a rare thing these days...