first day of summer

Welcome to Summer!  

Today also marks the first day of the indigenous season known as Birak, one of six seasons in the year.  Birak is a time of flowering for many plants, as a response to spring rains and warmer weather.  

Visit Federation Walkway in Kings Park to learn more about indigenous culture

It seems to make more sense to me that we should follow the indigenous seasons, as these describe our natural surroundings much better than the northern-hemisphere-focused four seasons.  But I digress...

The next few weeks will see an explosion of yellow and white flowers in our bushland.  My garden, too, boasts a riot of fluorescent orange flowers, namely Morrison Featherflower (Verticordia nitens).   

Morrison Featherflower (Verticordia nitens) in bushland

This gorgeous verticordia should be the emblem of the northern suburbs.  It has distinctive umbrella-shaped flower heads, and the stunning colour is echoed in the flowers of the WA Christmas Tree (Nuytsia floribunda).  A great place to see these wildflowers is Whiteman Park, and the drive along Lord Street or Beechboro Road is often a richly rewarding experience.

Once upon a year, such flowers existed by the acre and were collected for Perth's flower markets, as were many other native species across the South West. 

Another adventure in our bushland

I went for a bushwalk yesterday to see what wildflowers are starting to come out. The bush was glowing with the rich yellows of Hibbertia (Hibbertia subvaginata) and Prickly Moses (Acacia pulchella), and warm orange pea flowers (Bossiaea eriocarpa and Euchilopsis linearis) as well. I wandered through groves of Pricklybark (Eucalyptus todtiana) and the many different banksias, pausing to admire the stout trunks and thick foliage of the WA Christmas Trees (Nuytsia floribunda). 

Further on, I stopped to gaze downslope at the paperbarks and wetland sedges about fifty metres to my left. A distant rustling drew my attention to a small dark animal pushing slowly through the undergrowth about twenty metres away. What could it be? It was about the size of a basketball, but not quite as round of course, and moving deliberately without any sign of fear, so it probably hadn't noticed me. I carefully slid my backpack to the ground, and stooping, took out my camera, all the while keeping my eyes on the dark fur.

The animal moved a little closer, and then I could see long caramel-coloured spines on the fat body.  I saw the small head come up momentarily and there was a long dark beak. Ahah!

(Can you see the animal in this photo?)

What a wonderful sight on a cool winter's afternoon!  I moved in a little closer and took another photo, keeping the breeze in my face and the animal in front of me so it would not be able to pick up my human scent.  (These animals reputedly have poor eyesight but good hearing and an excellent sense of smell.)  I moved as stealthily as I could, but it was difficult because there were dry leaves and branches scattered everywhere across the sand.

It was a big fat echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), foraging for food.  The photo above is a back view - see the lovely patterns of spines around the two back legs and the tail?  Usually echidnas don't come out during the day unless the weather is cool; they're nocturnal and seldom seen.  I have spotted echidnas in broad daylight before, but this was the first time I'd had a camera with me; a great opportunity for photos.  

I followed the echidna around for about fifteen minutes, watching quietly as it thrust its beak into the ground, or waddled around amongst fallen timber looking for termites and ants.

In this photo, the echidna has the front part of its head in the ground.  I watched as it dug a furrow and broke open an underground termites' nest, pushing its head along just under the surface, propelled by short stout (and very strong) legs.  Here's a photo of the furrow it left.

Lastly, the echidna climbed up on some fallen timber to investigate its potential for termites, and I managed to get the best picture of the day.

The bushland continues to amaze me; something new to experience every time.