Check out what is in our new website.

Also find out what has been happening over the last few years. Cane toads have arrived.

We are now using iNaturalist to record and identify species.

Find out what we have been doing for the last few years.

The unknown caterpillar is revealed after a two year mission - The story of the Wattle Cup Moth (Calcarifera ordinata)

Summer of 2022-23 starts off dry. See the wetland dry up in a great little video of the last pond of water plus lots more including

• Giant Dragonfly

• Cane toads are back

• The latest red-necked wallaby joeys

• It is summer so the snakes are active

• check out the stunning Mountain katydid

• Watch the goannas mating

• and lots more

Watch the amazing video of two goannas mating.

We have created a short video of Istari for the new year. Enjoy a few minutes with the plants and animals of Istari here in the Clarence Valley. Turn your sound up and listen to the bush.

It is the start of summer in 2022 so it is December. The goannas are out including the stunning bells phase. The bandicoots are very active. We caught on camera the short eared possum and a Melomys. What is a melomys?

Lots of plants are flowering including the egg and bacon, eijllow hakea and the vine Travellers Joy. The hatpins are out around the wetland.

This summer was the summer of floods. We had three floods with the biggest almost reaching the house.

The ground was already wet from record high summer rains. December and January delivered 404mm of rain here. The earth was saturated …

The floods started …

We saw the dingo (Canis familiaris) from our wildlife camera. He sauntered along the path we had made through the bush.

Dingos are an apex predator in the Australian bush.

Our beloved goanna, Jac, was found dead on April 7 2022.

Jac is our wonderful goanna with three legs. She has been around Istari since the 1990s.

After a summer of rain it ended with the biggest flood we have ever seen.

See how the days unfolded as the big flood nearly entered the house.

Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an iconic Australian marsupial.

Unlike its closest living relative, the wombat, the koala is tree dwelling. It is most active at night, sleeping during the day, leading to the false belief that the animal is lazy, just hanging around during the day sleeping.

This Letter from Istari includes a sighting of a dingo on our wildlife camera, how the dingo suddenly made an impact on our chickens which resulted in the construction of a dog proof chicken fence.

When we aren’t constructing new chicken runs we also attach the weeds and check on a koala who has been here for weeks.

Also check out what is flowering in January and our stunning photographs.

The Australian bush is under constant threat of invastion from weeds of all types. There are a number on Istari including camphor laurel, moth vine, mist flower, crofton weed, lantana, mickey mouse plant, senna and cats claw creeper vine to name a few. It is a long list!

Cats claw (Dolichandra unguis-cati) is one of the worst of the environmental weeds found in this region. It gets its name from the claw like tendril which attaches to the host vegetation, enabling it to climb and run up the trees.

One of the most important tasks for land holders looking after the bush is to remove and control weeds and pest animals. Our two biggest problems are cats claw creeper vine, which covers trees until it kills them, and feral pigs. Feral pigs are opportunistic omnivores and will consume animal material including small mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, crayfish, eggs, and carrion; earthworms and other invertebrates; underground fungi; and all parts of plants including the fruit, seeds, roots, tubers, bulbs and foliage. Feral pigs spread disease.

The rain finally began to fall in December. A little at first leading to great excitement when we had 8mm overnight. November only registered 9mm so 8mm in one day was really something to get excited about. The earth was dry after so little rain for so long.The rain finally began to fall in December. A little at first leading to great excitement when we had 8mm overnight. November only registered 9mm so 8mm in one day was really something to get excited about. The earth was dry after so little rain for so long.

Bats can be divided into two main groups, micro bats and mega bats.

Mega bats, like flying foxes, are the bats we often see flying off to feed at dusk or hear them feeding on blossoms or fruit at night. They are relatively large, thus the mega in mega bat.

Micro bats are much more illusive. They are small, some only as big as your little finger and mostly roost in caves or sometimes behind bark out of sight.

Winter and the bush. Featuring our beautiful red-necked wallabies. A new joey pokes its head out of the pouch for the first time and the big bucks are fighting.

Magpies are active and we saw a koala.

The ground orchids are flowering and some of the grass trees are flowering.

Autumn is my favourite season. The days are clear and sunny with temperatures in the mid twenties. Everything is green after the summer rain. The streams are still running well. The wetland filled, overflowed and gradually diminished until it stranded thousands of fish and other water creatures.