The National Parks and Wildlife Service recently conducted a hazard reduction burn in one of my favourite bush-walking areas. The NPWS lights these controlled fires to burn away excess vegetation, which reduces the chance of a more severe fire raging out of control during fire season.

Many of the plants in the Australian bush are adapted to cope with fires. For example, these Hakea seedpods popped open after the fire, allowing the seeds to escape:

The above seed pods have both seeds still in place — the seeds are black and oval-shaped. Each seed is attached to a thin membrane, which acts as a wing: when the seed is released, it spirals gently to the ground. If there’s any wind around, the seed can travel a short distance from its parent bush.

In the next photo, only one of the seeds remains in the pod:

The next photo shows the seed head of a Banksia bush, also popped open to release the seeds. The open pods look like smiling mouths:

An Australian Brush-turkey wanders over the ashes, looking for pickings. A discarded can echoes the bird’s colouring:

Nearby, Australian Ravens look for insects and other goodies:

A Currawong keeps a watchful eye over the proceedings:

A Rainbow Lorikeet adds a splash of colour, hoping to snag a Casuarina seed or two:

It’s much easier to grab a seed now that the fire has dried out the seedpods!

A week later, a Swamp Wallaby shared the browns and greys of the burned area too:

Here’s a video of the wallaby. At one stage, a plane flies overhead and a group of birds squawk loudly. The wallaby looks at me, checking whether I’m the cause of the disturbance, then goes calmly about its business:

To close, here’s a restful scene of the post-fire forest in the early morning light:

Date spotted: Early June, 2023
Location: Dobroyd Head, Sydney Harbour, NSW, Australia; between this point and this point on the map.