(Little) man on a mission

Teamwork, firebreaks and prescribed burning protects Yourka Reserve.

On Yourka Reserve, far north Queensland, a group of scientists were trawling through the dirt, looking for fungi in 2019. What they found has been confirmed as a new species in the Austroboletus genus.

A recent wildfire on Yourka Reserve has revealed the benefits of best practice controlled burning in tropical north Queensland.

Sound could hold the solution, according to Bush Heritage eco-acoustic researchers on a mission to save Australia’s birdlife.

We recently found a Platypus in Cameron creek - the first record of the species on Yourka Reserve. It's a sign of good river health and hopefully, there are more sightings to come.

How aerial, controlled burning is utilising climatic conditions at Yourka Reserve on Jirrbal and Warrungu country in Queensland.

The 2021/22 La Nina has brought significant rainfall to the eastern seaboard of Australia, while the west has seen below average conditions. Here are some weather highlights from the first few months.

A newly formed working group in north Queensland could spell good news for the beautiful Magnificent Broodfrog. ‘Magnificent’ is certainly a great descriptor for this little frog, which only grows to a mere 28 mm - about the length of the end of your thumb. Its vividly coloured body exhibits flickering and swirls of orange, blue, brown, and bright yellow, with a strikingly marbled black and white belly.

In this 50-minute webinar, Paul and Leanne Hales (Healthy Landscape Manager and Volunteer Coordinator) share their stories with you direct from beautiful Yourka Reserve lookout.

Yourka Reserve is on the northernmost edge of the iconic Koala’s distribution, but we’ve never recorded a species confirmation… until we followed a late-night growl! After a spotlighting run at our Yourka Reserve in far north Queensland last month, some volunteers from Conservation Wildlife Management (CWN) reported hearing a distinctive call that they thought sounded like a Koala.

Annual 'siaming' at Yourka Reserve took on a whole new look in 2020. This year, for the first time in 11 years, we faced the daunting prospect of siaming solo. With travel restrictions in place to prevent the spread of covid-19, it was impossible to recruit a team of volunteers to help with the annual survey and treatment.

Silver linings shine as Bush Heritage’s Yourka Reserve in far north Queensland regenerates following a significant bushfire last year.

My favourite part of Yourka Reserve is not actually a place, it’s a colour. Somewhere between blue, green, grey and silver is a shade I call Themeda Green.

Recent camera trapping at Yourka Reserve confirmed that the residents of Tiger Hill are bouncing back after Summer wildfires.

As we enter a new month, I would like to take a moment to update you on recent developments towards our post-bushfire recovery. The devastation wrought has been confronting. My heart remains with those affected, those still fighting fires and those on the ground beginning the long process of recovery.

I have a personal interest in fish and wetlands. Yourka has beautiful Eastern Rainbowfish, Purple Spotted Gudgeons, and Spangled Perch throughout its waterways, as well as Flyspecked Hardyheads, Olive Perchlets,  Midgley's Carp Gudgeons, Sooty Granters, Hyrtl's Tandan and probably others in some locations.

Some thoughts on the Australian fire crisis and an update on Bush Heritage's fire control efforts by Richard Geddes, Bush Heritage Australia's National Fire Program Manager

What mammal is that? In partnership with WWF, Terry Mahney set up 40 camera traps on Yourka Reserve for 50 nights to survey for endangered species and got 150,000 shots!

Even at the driest time of year, there are species that thrive - perfectly adapted to their environments and the harsh conditions. The Tea Tree Orchid, found in the paperpark stands of Yourka Reserve, chooses this time of year to flower and is a fragrant and vibrant feature in the greying, dry-season landscape.

This year the Wet season has been late to arrive but it's making up for lost time in northern Queensland. With daily rainfall totals exceeding 10 inches for four days straight, the creeks and billabongs of the Upper Herbert River catchment have surged across the landscape and turned the Yourka shed into a island.

The wet season in far north Queensland is the perfect time to go searching for fungi and the Hales kids from Yourka Reserve are keen to share their latest, exciting find.

Tassie-based volunteer, Kim Eastman certainly has a beautiful way with words. Last year her blog post about 'Grandparenting at Goonderoo' garnered comments and compliments from so many supporters and readers who share the value of a 'bush education' for our future generations.

A long-term control program on Yourka Reserve is saving native animals and plants in Queensland from one of the world’s worst invasive weeds.

After a successful field trip back in September, three environmental science students from James Cook Uni returned to help with Spring fauna trapping at Yourka Reserve. The students helped set and check pitfall, funnel, cage and Elliot traps over four consecutive trapping nights, and also conducted spotlighting transects after dark.

Australia’s blink-and-you-miss-it marsupial is the latest glider confirmed on Yourka Reserve, in far north Queensland. Is it a possum? A mouse? What is it?

Thursday 17th August was a monumental day for Yourka Reserve. It was the day that the much anticipated staff housing arrived. Three trucks, a crane and a house (in two pieces) arrived. Watching the arrival of the Yourka house was a little boy's dream come true and 7-year-old Seeley Hales was front and centre from the second it left the bitumen near Innot Hot Springs to the moment it pulled on to the reserve five hours later.

Thirteen new fauna species were added to the Yourka species list thanks to a week of survey work in late May. The additions included four mammals, five amphibians and four reptiles, including this feisty little gecko, who likes to punch well above his weight.

Spotlighting again this week at Yourka and we're thrilled to announce there has been another addition to the species list - weighing just 10g-15g and floating over 20m between trees, it's the Feathertail Glider!

Reserve Manager Paul Hales has made the most of mild conditions and an extra pair of hands (Dr Steve Murphy) to conduct edge burning at Yourka Reserve. The night fire-line patrols were the perfect chance to spotlight for both native and feral species. Freshly burnt country draws predators such as cats, dingoes and owls and reserve staff don't miss the chance for opportunistic feral animal control or additions to the species list.

The billabongs of Sunday Creek valley are a well-known feature of Yourka Reserve in far north Queensland, so when our friends from the Australian and New Guinea Fishes Association (ANGFA) recently told us that there were feral fish present in the one below the Yourka shed we were a bit disappointed.

According to the Field Guide to Australian Birds, the male Great Bowerbird is a sedentary fella who prefers to adorn his twin-walled bower with bleached bones and shells. But at Yourka Reserve, we know differently.

Australia Day 2016 saw six keen CWM members and two scent dogs in training arrive at Yourka, for what is hopefully the first of many trips in an ongoing working relationship. New volunteers on two and four legs are going to help us step up feral animal control projects in the North.

One year since its declaration as a Nature Refuge Area, Bush Heritage Australia's Yourka Reserve has completed all NatureAssist-funded projects on the property, significantly boosting the Reserve's conservation capabilities and allowing Yourka to continue on a trajectory of sustainable land management independent of project funding.