About

There are a number of different forest types including rainforest, paperbark and wet Eucalypt forests, providing a wide range of different habitat conditions. We're lucky to have two (unnamed) creeks that flow year-round and merge into one near the front of the property, as well as a few waterways that flow in the winter or after heavy rain.

The cleared portion of the property isn't without wildlife, as it provides a grazing area for pademelons, wallabies and bandicoots. Carnivores such as spotted-tailed quolls, forest ravens, goshawks and wedge-tailed eagles have been observed in the cleared area feasting on the occasional unlucky pademelon or rabbit.

Weed management

The forested parts of the property are largely weed-free. However, disturbed areas have a number of weeds that we are working to eradicate and prevent spreading further.

The main problems are blackberries, foxgloves and arum lillies but there are also a few instances of hawthorn, sycamore and holly.

Removing pest animals

We have found that there are cats, rabbits, rats and mice on the property, with cats causing the most harm.

As well as preying on wildlife, some pademelons on the have succumbed to toxoplasmosis. This parasite is spread via cat faeces and results in a slow death.

Improving Giant Freshwater Crayfish habitat

We have obtained funding and assistance through the NRM North Giant Freshwater Crayfish Project to replant a small section of creek bank to make that area more suitable for crayfish (and other species) habitation.

All of the photos on this site and videos on YouTube were taken at the property by myself, or using a trail cam.

We want to know what lives here - animals, plants, fungi, etc - and rather than just documenting it for our own purposes I want to share it with anyone who is interested.

I've found that the best way for me to track the species is by photography. A photo is useful for:

• Identification - sometimes upon reviewing a photo you'll find something that wasn't obvious before. Perhaps an 'ant' is really an ant-mimicking spider, or a crayfish posesses a minor difference that means it isn't the species you first thought.
• Evidence that I really did see something - proof for myself and others.
• Establishing timeframes such as the time of year a particular insect is prevalent, or I might see a species for the first time in many years so it's useful to dig out the last photo to check its date.
• Memory aid - I find that once I've photographed something, process the photos, researched the species to get and ID and published the best* photo I'm a lot more likely to remember that I've seen it before. This makes it much easier to know when I'm looking at a new (to me) species when exporing the property.

On the In the Forest pages, you can find photos of all of the species we've observed on the property (or placeholders if I haven't managed to get a photo yet). I've also linked many of the species' pages to their Wikipedia pages to make it easy for you to find more information.

The YouTube channel also has videos of some of the animals.

* The best photo isn't necessarily the prettiest or most in-focus, but the one that shows the species in the most identifiable way. Obviously, if I get a better photo later I'll replace the original one.