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Trees
The dominant trees are a variety of wattles, particularly the Silver Wattle which is spectacular in spring.
Over the pasture areas there are Red and Yellow Box trees. The Yellow box is a marker of good agricultural valley soils. It is also the major eucalypt honey tree.
The most common trees of the wooded slopes are Eucalyptus rossii, the Scribbly Gum. On the lower slopes it is joined by the straight trunked E. Macrorhyncha, the Red Stringy Bark, a good source for posts and timber for light construction work.
Towards the top of the slope we see the dark barked tree Eucalyptus goniocalyx (Bundy Gum).
A detailed flora survey is available from the co-op.
Wetland and Ferns
The co-op has fenced and set aside an area of Carex appressa, a wetland grass, as a locally important ecosystem and a good filter for water flowing off the highway. In the middle of the carex swamp is a hickory wattle, Acacia implexa, a species with magnificent and strong timber.
Near the wetland is a steep south-facing gully which has a variety of ferns. An interesting remnant is a single burned tree fern, probably Cyathea, very rare in this area. The co-op is revegetating this valley and plans to restock it with tree ferns; we need volunteer assistance with this.
Mammals
Neighbours have reported that koalas were seen on the property before the last major bushfire (1979). There is a very sparse koala population known in the adjacent nature reserve and surrounds, though none has been seen on our property since the fire. There are some local initiatives to re-establish the koala population, and the co-op has been invited to help with this.
There are plenty of kangaroos, who visit the property regularly because there is little permanent water in the nature reserve. You can often see a mob of about 40 of them around dusk.
There are at least three kinds of wallabies on the property, as well as wallaroos. These are generally only seen in ones and twos.
Other mammals seen on the property include echidnas, bats and a wombat. One local echidna is absolutely enormous.
The park rangers report lots of ringtail possums, brushtail possums and sugar gliders.
Birds
Regular bird visitors include kookaburras and several sorts of parrots, and occasionally a soaring wedgetailed eagle. Powerful Owls (largest of the Australian owls) are known to have 2-3 breeding pairs in the area.
Members of the co-op have proposed a recuperation facility for injured birds of prey. This would be a positive modern interpretation of the medieval interest in falconry.
Reptiles
There are many kinds of lizard on site. We regularly see stumpy-tailed lizards, blue-tongues, and sometimes goannas.
There are snakes, predominantly red-bellied black snakes, which will generally get out of your way. We have had some near misses on cooler days where sleepy snakes have nearly been trodden on.
