Clever Kites

After a long winter of beautiful blue skies, the bush around Darwin is dry.

For months, the days have been warm. The skies have been cloudless.

The nights have been cool. By the end of winter, the

Territory starts to head into fire season.

The first fire starts with a small flame. It swallows the dry grass. It runs up the dry bark of trees. Before long, flames are leaping into the sky, wrapping around the tallest branches and jumping across roads.

Flying over the flames are the kites.

Clever birds.

With their sharp eyes, they find small animals rushing from the searing heat. They swoop and dive, grabbing the animals in their feet

and flying off to eat them.

Over time, these birds have learned a few tricks.

One of their most impressive tricks is fire starting.

Knowing that fires chase out their food -

they start their own fires.

The birds swoop down and grab a burning ember in their claws.

After flying a short distance, they drop the ember into the dry grass of a nearby bushland. The heat and dry grass blend and flames quickly form.

Once the fires start, they don't seem to stop.

Thick smoke rises into the sky, showing where the latest fires are burning. Kites hover, dive and swoop. The air smells of the fires and everything is covered in blackened ash.

With everything black, smoky and charred,

there's nothing to do but grab a camera...

Its amazing how quickly the plants burst into new life.

Even though the Territory is always hot and lacks the colours of autumn, it moves through definite seasons and this was one of my favourites.