Wildlife & Life on the Farm

You never know sights what you might encounter on a Stone Bridge Tour.

Kangaroos boxing on the ridge in front of the house at dawn made for an interesting breakfast.

Echidna by the track

Wedgetail Eagle keeps an eye on it's territory from a favorite ridge top vantage point.

Possums sheltering in the shearing shed.

Wild goats cross the Snowy River below Goat Point. You never know what wildlife you'll see on a tour.

Wallaby by the track - this old warrior with peices out of its ears would have stories to tell.

Emu and his chicks, jogging

Red Wallabies, doe with a full pouch, taking in the afternoon sun

While you can find them out and about in daylight they are usually nocturnal and can be quite a driving hazard in rural areas. To view video of this little tacker and it's mum jogging on their way click on Wombats

The youngster headed for mum when they heard our vehicle, and then they both headed for the safety of the bush. It was great to see the little fellow scampering after mum. Wombats are Australian marsupials (sometimes mistaken for the fictitious Aussie "Drop bears" by the gullible).

The Kurrajong trees in the parkland around our house are Australian natives, related to the Queensland Bottle Trees. Kurrajongs are more common on the wetter western side of the Snowy Mountains but we get the occasional specimen in the Snowy River Gorge country. These were collected as seedlings locally in the 1960's, planted out by us in the 1980's and as you can see they are quite slow growing in this climate. They have a very unusual bell shaped flower - cream with red streaking. To see video of the "Merino Pruning Team" at work click on Kurrajong

These superfine merino sheep were busy pruning the Kurrajong trees in the parkland around our house as they did the rounds in the house paddock on Worongah. People often ask if we trained them to their umbrella shape but, as their leaves are a favorite with stock, they have done all the pruning work for us. These are superfine merino sheep; their silky white superfine wool is used in the highest quality fashions and fabrics, usually Italian designer suits.

Click on Quoll feeding for video of it snacking in the pen. For image and video link to Quoll in the paddock go to Image Gallery

This spotted tailed quoll was a surprise visitor to our verandah Friday evening; it really wanted to come inside! It was very curious, coming up to sniff and inspect us when we came out to take photos. It is a rare opportunity to see one up close. We gave it a feed, (they are marsupial carnivores so it was very pleased with the meat on offer). After a snack it settled down on the verandah for a sleep. We were concerned that it might have health problems - the visit and feed are not normal behavior and it was missing some fur. We put it in a pen, contacted our local wildlife care group for advice and dropped it in at the local vet for a check up as directed. Unfortunately our concerns proved correct; it had a number of health problems and the kindest thing was to put it to sleep. We were pleased to have helped rather that let it suffer.

This Spotted Tailed Quoll, an Australian native carnivore, was scenting about in our paddock early one February morning; it is very unusual to see this reclusive carnivore about in daylight. Getting close enough to capture still images and video for this elusive marsupial involved jogging, but it was too rare an opportunity to miss. To view video of the Quoll click on Quoll

We saw this echidna as we returned from collecting the mail. It started to dig in (they use their powerful claws to dig into the ground presenting "danger" with a wall of spines) so we stayed very still and eventually it went on it's way. To see video click on echidna.

This old wallaby came in to water at the spring in front of our house, and to snack on the native Black Cypress tree just above the spring. Wallabies stand up on their toes to grasp branches and drag them down for easy grazing. This old warrior, with the grey hair on it’s face and piece missing from one  ear, has been around long enough to have worked out where to get water  and feed  when times are tough in the drought.

The wallaby took little notice of me as I took this image and video footage  of it eating our “Christmas Tree”, to see the video click Wallaby.

November 2008 This Red Wallaby joey looked very relaxed in his mum's pouch as he watched us return from collecting our mail. For red wallaby video click Wallaby

To stand on our verandah, see and hear the snow falling, click on Snowy Fall in Australia

Snow whitened the ground overnight transforming  everyday items into things of beauty. Even the set of wheel tracks made as we set off to feed the sheep became a magical image.

This platypus was busy hunting for food in this long pool on the Snowy River. It dived down, hunting through the sand and stones on the bottom for the tiny creatures that it lives on, surfaced for a breath of air and a look about, then dived again. The platypus’s leathery bill is full of sensors that detect the minuscule electrical signals of it’s prey, helping the platypus to find its food. This platypus was intent on the business of hunting and took little notice of us as we stood still on the bank and enjoyed watching this unique creature go about its day.

Australian natives, the Platypus are monotreme, egg laying mammals; one of only two species in the world. The Echidna, also native to Australia, is the other. To stand with us on the banks of the Snowy River and watch the platypus dive click on Platypus

We’re all looking forward to Spring rains and softer times. To watch the lambs behave like kids in the chocolate shop and the ewes feeding click on sheep feeding.

Snowy River Gorge fog and frost sparkling in the sunshine promised a beautiful winter day as we feed sheep; a familiar routine for most Monaro graziers. It has been a dry cold winter in south east NSW so most farmers have reduced their stock numbers and are feeding those remaining. The ewes line up feeding where the sheep nuts have been run out of the bags. The lambs are learning to feed too, and are really enjoying the salt lick block; they’re like kids in a chocolate shop.

Brian Mitchell throwing the shorn fleece onto the wool table ready for skirting and classing. It takes a bit of practice to get the knack of throwing it out evenly.

Stone Bridge Tours        Brian & Jan Mitchell
Worongah, 798 Wroes Road, Numbla Vale, NSW 2628, AUSTRALIA

Tel: +61 2 6456 6745        Email: info@stonebridgetours.com.au