Yowiehunters Forum

I've been looking into sound recordings that both others and I have recorded during our research. What I have discovered is that it is more likely that the Yowies will come in and check out the gear that you leave behind IE: Sound Recorders and Trail Cameras on the first night. I'm guessing they are just curious or they are annoyed that we have left equipment in their area. When they are curious they tend to walk closely to the sound recorder and do a couple of passes to check out what we have left behind. But when they are annoyed we are getting rocks or sticks thrown around and numerous tree breaks within the vicinity of the gear. It's something we have to take into consideration everytime we leave our gear out to record what night they come close to our gear and what they do, so we can get a bit closer in understanding their mannerisms which will help us in where we put our gear and how long we leave it out for. We might not have to leave our gear out for a long time because after they have taken a look I'm finding they tend to steer clear of our gear. On the odd occasion, some researchers have recorded them walking past and we have recorded their footsteps but I have come to the conclusion that this is just one of them walking from one place to another and just happen to come across our chosen research area.

I hope that some other researchers on here can talk about their findings and write what they think and comment below. This is just my opinion and opinions can change when more evidence is found and that's why we leave our gear out to get more evidence to answer the question! "What is a Yowie"?

All info collected is useful but you're right about their behaviour being unpredictable and virtually impossible to decipher. It could vary from one individual to another or even on the mood of an individual/group on a certain day or time of year. There's so much that isn't understood but the only way to understand is to observe and collect information so it's a genuine quandary.

I have no experience with using technology to try and record anything in nature but the number of variables makes it impossible to assume anything. I don't have the money, time or inclination to do so but the people who do are performing important work that will yield solid info in the future.

It is my experience that they check out the gear early and then lose interest with it. It still amazes me how they avoid cameras yet seem unperplexed by audio recorders.

Yeah , it would appear that on most occassions the first night gets the most attention but not always .

I collected my stuff from the forest on Friday , had some footsteps far in the background on the first night (30/12/2018 PM) but the closer interaction was the second night . Sometimes it's the 3rd or 4th night which may be like Daniel says , something wandering through the area or maybe it's caution .

Like Dave said , they seem to lose interest which I'd agree with . Returning to the same location usually meets with less tangible audio .
I also suspect that sometimes they may tell their neighbours and then they might come in for a look see later in the week resulting in multiple visits to the gear . Curiosity .

I believe we are catching them walking around but how do we prove it ?

G day guys
For me it's too early to make any deductions from my audio recording efforts. I've only completed two multiple day sessions. The first yielding no results.
However in saying that the recent results I've posted on my youtube channel had more activity on the third and forth nights. Which included Kangaroos browsing for extended periods.

I think the avoidance of the trail cameras comes down to the "big eye" of the camera lens it might be too imposing but I'm only speculating. It's possible that recorders are less imposing with no "big eye" and most give of some kind of light which may make it more interesting.

To establish a better data set, wouldn't it be better to study a single area for an extended period of time?
Habituation, with an audio recorder rather than food. Initially, curiosity would kill the cat and then they may avoid it but eventually it would become part of the scenery and no longer bother them allowing for "normal" routine.
As time and budget allows, using multiple recorders like Rusty, you could hone in on patterns or directions etc to focus on a certain part of a location. Then start searching for the physical evidence such as prints and hair. Then we might be able to say with a little more conviction what we believe we are capturing and possibly closer to proving it with the secondary evidence.

What I think is happening with the Sony 412 is its not recording dead space ie when there is negligible sound it stops recording which is great.
Its a bit like a trail cam. Over 8 days it recorded 6 hours and 13 minutes 517MB at 192kbps. Although when I arrived to retrieve the unit the batteries were flat and it had switch off.
Only problem is now the WavePad is asking for money like $70 USD. Anybody know a way to hack it ?

ripperton wrote: Tue Jan 08, 2019 6:07 am What I think is happening with the Sony 412 is its not recording dead space ie when there is negligible sound it stops recording which is great.
Its a bit like a trail cam. Over 8 days it recorded 6 hours and 13 minutes 517MB at 192kbps. Although when I arrived to retrieve the unit the batteries were flat and it had switch off.
Only problem is now the WavePad is asking for money like $70 USD. Anybody know a way to hack it ?

Hey Ripperton
You should be able to set it to record continuously,
Dan and Rusty should be able to help with that they have used that model extensively. Also using a USB power bank with no low voltage cut off like verbatim and it will solve all your battery woes.
With Wavepad when I open it it asks if it home or commercial use and I click on the home use and haven't had any requests for payment.

Cheers

WavePad is still running ie I can still listen to files but I cant save small excerpts out of a larger file.
I got this solar powered battery bank for free and should be able to power the 412 for ever. I put a 128G chip in the 412 but not sure if the chip is accessed automatically.

ripperton wrote: Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:36 am WavePad is still running ie I can still listen to files but I cant save small excerpts out of a larger file.
I got this solar powered battery bank for free and should be able to power the 412 for ever. I put a 128G chip in the 412 but not sure if the chip is accessed automatically.

When you go to save it, it should come up the file name window then after you hit save another window opens, I had trouble initially but if you select original quality in the drop down box it should save then.
I got a solar power bank but cuts out if the current draw is to low and if it's been on for to long. Do some bench tests first to ensure it remains powering the recorder.
Not sure about the recorder functions though.....