They Are Here To Kill, You Need To Help!

The bushfires across Australia have wiped out a shit load of our bush but what is worse than the trees is the wildlife that has been either killed or wiped off the face of the earth in many areas.

Any animals that did survive the bushfires had either run away from it, hid while it passed or doubled back on the fire as it burnt. As you can imagine any animal going back into the burnt fire ground there would be slim pickings in regards to food and what is worse for a lot of animals they rely on the cover of the bush to hide from feral animals, like foxes, cats and dogs.

Spending a few days in the burnt landscape I only saw one wallaby that was jumping through the grounds for what I could only imagine was in a hunt for food.

Driving down one of the roads we came across a feral dog that was walking along the road, the dog looked like it hadn’t eaten in weeks given the exposure of the hips and ribs, not to mention it was keen to travel the roads and come up to cars looking for food.

While the dog was in distress what crossed my mind was the image of the wallaby and all the other vulnerable animals coming back into these areas where these predators would be waiting.

What can you do to help to protect our vulnerable wildlife while it tries to recover?

I guess the first thing I would say it so keep any of your pets inside so they do not venture out into these areas for an easy feed.

The other idea I would think is that if you do see these feral animals in vulnerable areas that you contact the national parks wildlife service to let them know so they can deal with, or if you are licenced to do so, take some time over the coming month to go to these area and concentrate on ferals that are taking advantage of our vulnerable wildlife.

Feral Dog looking for prey after the Australian Bushfires
Feral Dog looking for prey after the Australian Bushfires

Total Destruction and Houses Saved

Spending a few days travelling up and down the bush fire-ravaged area of the Australian south coast of New South Wales sprinkle some money it was hard to not be freaked out by the destruction the fires have had in that part of the Australian, where I am sure it a scene that has been replicated all over Australian bushfires in the last few months.

There is kilometre after kilometre of burnt national parks, reserves, and farmland.  In some places the destruction is so bad that there is nothing left on the ground, the bushes that may have been there before the fires are completely gone and so is any ash from which they would have ultimately turned into. 

The landscape in some parts looks like the back of a balding echidna, with what were once filled with healthy trees and bush, it now looks like quills that are also so sparse that you can clearly see the landscape they once protected. 

Stopping at one place to have a look around, what struck me was the complete silence.   There were no sounds….  Like none….  No birds, no wind, no leaves, not anything… like there was nothing…  It was both surreal and relaxing at the same time.

The other thing that I took away from looking at hundreds of kilometres of burnt-out land was the incredibly high percentage of houses that survived even while everything was burnt around them.  Their fences were gone, gates were gone, trees around them were gone but the houses looked untouched.  House after house, as I drove up and down the south coast, was like this.  With everyone I saw it was hard to figure out how they were not touched, I know the RFS would have been there for some and residents were there for others but I am sure good old fashion good luck played a very valuable role for most.

Some, on the other hand, was not that lucky.

Aerial view of a house and property that was destroyed in the 2020 bush fires near Nowra
Aerial view of a house and property that was destroyed in the 2020 bush fires near Nowra
The landscape is just sticks after the bushfire
The landscape is just sticks after the bushfire
A burnt-out car on a property surrounded by national park
A burnt-out car on a property surrounded by national park
A burnt-out boat next to a shed on a property that was destroyed by the bushfires
A burnt-out boat next to a shed on a property that was destroyed by the bushfires
A sign marking the T intersection that has seen better times after the bushfires
A sign marking the T intersection that has seen better times after the bushfires
No that is not a tank but an expensive burnt-out boat from the bushfires
No that is not a tank but an expensive burnt-out boat.
burnt-t car from the 2020 bushfires
At least the headlights sort of made it through
Kilometre after kilometre of bushfire ravaged national parks
Kilometre after kilometre of bushfire ravaged national parks
Jerrawangala National Park sign that was burnt in the 2020 bushfires
Maybe not the best national park to visit at this moment in time.

The Fires Are Out!!! Ok Some Of Them

Looks like my predictive rainbow for my previous post seem to be correct, as the rains did come and they come hard and constant.

Since my rainbow photo and the following rains, NSW rural fire service has been able to extinguish:

  • Gospers Mounting – Hawkesbury
  • Myall Creek Road – Richmond Vallery
  • Erskine Creek – Blue Mountains
  • Kerry Ridge – Muswellbrook
  • Green Wattle Creek – Wollondilly
  • Morton – Wingecarribee
  • Currowan – Shoalhaven

These fires equated to a total of over 1.5 million hectares of land burnt, so to have the out is a huge relief.

I spend the weekend down on the south coast to not only sprinkle some money into these communities but also capture the recovery of the native bushland and see first hand and document some of the destruction that it has caused.

To have rain so heavy that we couldn’t see the road was freaking amazing!!! The roads were flooded and where there were dry creeks the day before, now there were rivers overflowing with liquid gold. Truly was an amazing transformation over 24 hours. Where I was we had over 130mm of rain in the 24 hours, so you can understand how that was able to full almost any dam that was previously empty.

Let’s just hope the rain continues and gets out west where it is really needed for people to survive.

Main Street of Ulladulla as the fire stopping rains fall
Main Street of Ulladulla as the fire stopping rains fall

Looking After The Animals

Wondering around the fire zones and around the suburbs one thing that sticks out from the norm, is our need and want to care for our native animals.

From people putting buckets and tubs out behind their houses to what I saw today deep in the fire ravaged area.

From a distance it seemed weird that a plastic bottle had survived the fire but on closer inspection it was in fact a home made bird feeding station.

It was filled with seed and had some holes in the bottom so as to slowly release the seed and from what I could tell is that it was working as there was no sigh of seed on the ground.

For me it really shows how compassionate some of us can be and there should be more of it.

I’m interested to know what are the things you are seeing in your area to support our wildlife through this bush fire crisis?

DIY bush fire bird feeder

Now That’s HOT!

Got the opportunity before the bushfires to photograph what is a great looking motorcycle. A Yamaha R1!!

These bikes are just weapons on two wheels, the have the speed and agility to go from zero to stupid speeds in less time it has taken you to read this line.

They really are one of the top bikes in the supersport category.

The day I look this here in Canberra we had smoke all over the place and we were rated one of the worst places in the world for air quality due to the bushfires that have been burning up this country. I must say the smoke in the background of the shot is something I couldn’t pay for as its just freaking amazing. It adds that extra to the image and with the short depth of field it really brings your eyes to the R1, which is hard to believe you would look anywhere else but hey that photography right?

Yamaha R1 in the bushfire smoke around Canberra
Yamaha R1 in the bushfire smoke around Canberra