Autumn colours

I was sweeping the fallen leaves from my deciduous trees recently and noticed again their beautiful colours - golden browns and yellows. The oak trees nearby have had dark red colour for a long time, possibly starting the colours earlier due to the harsh summer this year. One of my Silver Birch trees dropped most of its leaves in the ferocious heat and hasn't recovered any since then. It is now almost bare unlike the other one nearby. The native trees nearby are looking much the same except for several Illawarra Flame trees that are vibrantly scarlet with their stange flowers.
I was walking in the Cranbourne Botanic gardens the other day and noticed the bush was looking somewhat bedraggled also. The Botanic gardens are located on a sand plain and had been extensively disturbed before being aquired as the Australian gardens part of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. I haven't been there for a while and remember more shrubs and trees. Some of the taller vegetation had black trunks, presumably from burning fairly recently. I didn't hear as many bird calls either or. When I got back from my walk I noticed a large Southern Brown Bandicoot ( I presume) next to my car. Once I saw this animal I noticed several more. Perhaps they are coming out of the bush onto the paths and roads more frequently to look for food now that autumn is here. I was surprised by how small his tail was in comparison to other similar animals.