ML111185

Media notes

Subtitle: Dawn at flying fox roost. NOTES: Location notes: "southwest of Cairns, Queensland, Atherton Tablelands, North Queenland, Australia; between Millaa Millaa and Ravenshoe, southern Tablelands." Weather: "Austral summer, still and warm, clear." Roost of Spectacled Flying Fox - probably 10,000 animals. start recording 5AM - shortly before first light. General din of the nursery roost - 100m away. Mothers with large young. Other bats come home from foraging, start to land, sky is dark with circling bats. Screaming of landing bats squabbling with those already there. "Plops" area bat shit raining down. By 5:45 approx 3,000 on tape. Most bats have arrived but plenty of squabbling and moving from tree to tree. The roost is in a patch of native rainforest. Roost covers about 1 hectare. Notes: [numbers in parentheses are the recordist's DAT recorder counter numbers. (4744) On again - Cut 2 - 635-655a.m. reset gain. (4758) "mewing" noise - spotted catbird. mechanical trills - satin bowerbird. (4780's) whipping upsweeps - golden whistler, Pachycephala pectoralis Pachycephalidae. (4790's) spotted catbird "mewing" calls - very close. (4822 - 4830's) golden whistlers continue - whipping, tonal upsweeps. plenty of bats in background - flapping and squabbling. (4880's) harsh grating noises and mechanical noises - satin bowerbird song. (4914) harsh trills - satin bowerbird. (4954-59) "currawong currawong" - Pied currawong (Strepera graculina). (4970's) more whistlers - duet. (5007) currawong. (5013) whistlers - loud. (5020's) grating trills - satin bowerbird. (5050's-5066-5110) whistlers continue very close. satin bowerbird trills and grating rattles also. (5120 - 5130's) motor in background. whistlers - tonal upsweeps and downsweeps. (5180) orange-footed scrubfowl - crowing noises; -whistlers continue; -brown cuckoo-dove [upsweeping] "woop...woop...woop". (5230's to 5330's) satin bowerbird mechanical trills (=advertising song at bower). still plenty of bat squabbles and bats flapping. (5408) staccato trill in background: Lewin's honeyeater, Meliphaga______[lewinii] Meliphagidae. (5452) golden whistler song. (5595) voice ID for recording.

Additional species

• Spotted Catbird Ailuroedus maculosus
• Brown Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia phasianella
• Lewin's Honeyeater Meliphaga lewinii
• Golden Whistler (Eastern) Pachycephala pectoralis [pectoralis Group]
• Satin Bowerbird Ptilonorhynchus violaceus
• Pied Currawong Strepera graculina