Fire!

Just thought this one taken tonight by the side of the road was apt, following the previous post on Macrozamias resprouting.

Assorted

A biting fly was annoying me as I walked along a fenceline a couple of weeks ago. I paused to photograph this Nephila and the fly blundered into the web! Bonus! You can see that the spider was actually already eating something.

A Rainbow Bee Eater. I've never seen them down in Sydney and have really fallen in love with their colours, voices, flight and tail-feathers (hidden in this shot).

Macrozamias - Fire - Regrowth

It seems like fire is a huge ecological force everywhere in Australia, and the Top End is no exception. You can imagine how the massive amounts of vegetation generated in the wet season can lead to huge fuel loads and intense fires. The question up here is the same as it is in Sydney where I'm from - how often should areas be burnt to maintain biodiversity? I don't know enough about this topic to discuss it intelligently, but it's definitely something that it's not easy to forget as smoke fills the air on a daily basis and roadside fires are a common sight.

One such roadside fire was burning a few weeks ago, and the flora has shown its ability to regenerate with great enthusiasm. The plants that really catch my eye are the cycads - Macrozamias. So without further ado, here is a series of photos illustrating the regrowth of these plants.