Living Nature ›

The valley has more residents than the town does.

A small field guide to the species that share this site — what they look like, where to look, when to look. Written with the Cement Creek Catchment Group; checked annually with the Wurundjeri rangers.

A field guide · 8 species, on this site or within a kilometre

What lives here, and how to see it without scaring it.

Edition

4th · Mar '26

Species recorded

8 / 142

Last survey

11 Mar '26

Birds Plate 01 · birds Declining

[DRAFT-REAL] Superb Lyrebird

Menura novaehollandiae

Australia's great mimic, dancing on fallen logs at dawn — one of the valley's signature birds.

Where: Damp gullies and fern-floored forest. Often heard mimicking other birds before you spot one — listen for chainsaws, camera shutters, and other species' calls deep in the undergrowth.

Birds Plate 02 · birds Common

[DRAFT-REAL] Wedge-tailed Eagle

Aquila audax

Australia's largest raptor — a sacred figure in Wurundjeri creation stories.

Where: Soaring over forested ridges and open valley pasture. Watch the thermals on warm afternoons.

Six places, six things to look for

The site is small. The species are spread out anyway.

Walk the loop slowly — fifteen minutes at a normal pace, forty if you're looking. The front desk lends binoculars; please return them.

Birds Plants & fungi Mammals

When to see what.

Active

	Spring	Summer	Autumn	Winter
[DRAFT-REAL] Ghost Fungus
[DRAFT-REAL] Mountain Ash
[DRAFT-REAL] Platypus
[DRAFT-REAL] Ruby Bonnet
[DRAFT-REAL] Soft Tree Fern
[DRAFT-REAL] Superb Lyrebird
[DRAFT-REAL] Wedge-tailed Eagle
[DRAFT-REAL] Yarra Pygmy Perch

An ear-guide · five recordings

If you don't see it, listen.

Recorded on site between 2023 and 2026 by Eli Noor, the Hub's archivist, with a parabolic dish lent by the Healesville Sanctuary. Headphones recommended; the lyrebird does an excellent chainsaw.

Crimson Rosella · dawn chorusRecorded 04:52, 12 Oct 2024 · 1:24