Kym Beechey was enjoying a slow, peaceful hike through Popran National Park in Australia, doing what she loves most — soaking in the scenery and snapping photos of wildflowers along the way. A self-proclaimed meanderer, she usually moves too slowly to catch photos of the wildlife darting around her.
But then something unusual caught her eye.
Perched low on a branch was what appeared to be a baby tawny frogmouth — an owl-like bird known for its expressive face and excellent camouflage. Beechey froze in delight.
“I was super excited,” she told The Dodo. “The birds are normally far too quick for me to capture, so when I spied what I thought was a baby tawny frogmouth, I felt like I’d finally gotten lucky.”
The “baby bird” looked like he was smiling at her — perfectly still, almost as if he were posing. Beechey quietly raised her phone, zoomed in to frame the perfect shot…
And then realized something wasn’t quite right.
“It wasn’t until I focused the photo and wondered why it wasn’t flying away that I realized it was, in fact, just a banksia pod,” Beechey said with a laugh. “Just a cute, adorable banksia pod.”
The not-a-bird had fooled her completely.
Banksia pods, the woody seed cones from native Australian banksia trees, are known for their gnarled, textured look — and sometimes, they take on uncanny shapes. This one had a truly mischievous personality, with natural grooves that looked exactly like a wide-eyed, grinning face.
No feathers. No beak. No flapping wings. Just Mother Nature playing a prank.
Still, Beechey didn’t mind the mix-up one bit.
“It made my day,” she said. “I had a good laugh — and a photo of the happiest banksia pod in the world to go along with my wildflower collection.”
So next time you're wandering through the woods and think a smiling baby bird is greeting you from a branch? Maybe look twice — it just might be a tree pretending to be your friend.
