On a visit to the Western Treatment Plant we stopped at the Crake pit in T-Section which due to intermittent rain has maintained a water level that is perfect for several species of Crake. Along with watching and photographing the crakes we heard a Growling Grass Frog – a frog becoming more rare and endangered in many areas of Southern Australia including Victoria. It is also called the Southern Bell Frog and rather unkindly: the Warty Swamp Frog. I quite like the name Growling Grass Frog. It has a deep drawn out call and you assume it is a larger frog but when seen it not very big at all. Recently I started to record sounds of various birds and pretty much anything else I could get close to. I have found that there are very few areas that don’t have man-made noise pollution in the background – freeways near wetlands, boats along the coast, distant chainsaws and trail bikes far out in the forests. Luckily in this case the background sounds were two rather melodic birds: the Australian Reed Warbler and a Little Grassbird.
Click on the play button to hear the Growling Grass Frog
Growling Grass Frog, Western Treatment Plant, Werribee
The Gap Year and Beyond 
Bright green color frog is quite good….
LikeLike
It is an interesting frog V4, it is an ambush hunter so stays still for long periods which makes it easier to photograph: once you actually find it…
LikeLiked by 1 person
You never cease to amaze me, I learn about a new Australian species every time you put up a new post. I had no idea I was so ignorant! thank you for educating me, although I don’t think I would recognise the birds without help. And I can’t remember ever even seeing a frog.
LikeLike
Thanks for the kind comments Sue. I only started watching and photographing birds a few years ago at my local park and creek. I just started with one bird and identified it (White Plumed Honeyeater), then onto the next bird (2 actually, a male and female Red Rumped Parrot who looked quite different to each other). I met up with other birders in the area with similar interests and we spend a day every few weeks exploring good birding sites around Melbourne. On the trip to the Pooh Farm where we found the frogs (another species to come yet), I had in the car, a very experienced birder, a good photographer, and a 19 year old naturalist with an excellent ear, who can identify many different mammals, reptiles, frogs, birds and flora. I am trying to learn something from each of them on every trip…I thought just looking out for birds was eye-opening but try being with people who can see everything and know what they are looking at…very humbling…
LikeLike
Well, you inspire me. The older I get the more ignorant I become. I knew it all when I was 18.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: The Pooh Farm Crake Pit | The Gap Year and Beyond
Pingback: A great visit to the Pooh Farm… | The Gap Year and Beyond
Pingback: Last bird of the day… | The Gap Year and Beyond