Singapore - Birding on the North Eastern Riverine Loop

It's true that Singapore doesn't have much variety in terms of natural landscapes. We have no mountains and valleys (just hills), no deserts, no changes in climate. But what little green spaces we have, we sure make a helluva good use of it. The National Parks Board have recently built a network of paved trails and walkways to link the major parks in Singapore to each other, so visitors can park hop from one place to another with great ease, mostly without having to encounter road traffic at all!

I live about ten minutes away from Punggol Park, which is part of the 26km North Eastern Riverine Loop, linking a total of four major parks. The website states it takes about 3-4 hours to walk the route, or a 2hr bike ride. Level of difficulty : Easy. So today, I packed up my Gryffindor backpack, armed myself with my binoculars and Justin's Chicago Bears cap, slapped on some sunscreen (being sensible finally) and trudged out the door. I'm off to do some serious birding today.

I rented a bicycle from the shop at the park. Nothing fancy, no mountain bikes (c'mon this was going to be a paved trail!). Just a simple bicycle equipped with a basket in the front, and an "I ❤️SG" tinkling bell on the side. The rental was $8 an hour. I'd be back in an hour an a half at most, smiling smugly to myself as I rode away.

Ahh.. Riding with the wind in my hair. I could ride on forever.

I made my first stop at the Sungei Serangoon Park Connector, and got my fair share of birds. I realized I could spot them a little more easily now, having had a little bit of practice the other day. I could also recognize some of the birds I had seen before, or read about. The yellow vented bulbul, the collared kingfisher, the black-naped oriole, the pied fantail.

I was glued to one particular grassy spot, watching a black-naped oriole feed on a bug it had between its beak. It didn't immediately swallow the fuzzy centipede-looking fellow, but proceeded to slap the bug on the branch it was perched on. Several times. As if it was trying to knock the poor creature senseless before devouring its crunchy snack. When it was done, I started to walk towards the paved trail when a movement amongst the grass startled me. I looked down, and about two feet away, a thin black snake slithered across my path. I was too stunned to do anything, and in retrospect I was glad I didn't make any sudden movements. Excitedly, I fished around for my camera, but when I finally got it out of my bag, the snake was gone. I made a mental note to stick to the trail from now on.

At some point on my ride, I silently wished that I would come across a raptor. Having volunteered at the Raptor Center in North Carolina, I grew very fond of these magnificent birds of prey. I had decided that the best way to make me voluntarily read up on these birds was to become a docent. It provided some external motivation, and a compelling one at that, to learn more about birds. Otherwise, I can be very lazy.

Ten minutes later, as I was approaching the Lor Halus Bridge, I saw two shadows in the sky. Too mighty to be anything but a stork, egret, or perhaps a raptor? My heart skipped a beat. I pedaled faster towards the bridge and parked my bicycle against some benches. Reaching for my binoculars, I tried to ID  the birds with my eyes. Gliding in the air, powerful wing beats, skimming the waters in search of food. For fish? Looking through my binoculars, a more powerful set of eyes - a white bald head, chestnut wings that glowed bright rufous red against the sunlight, black wing tips. Sea eagles? What kind? I scribbled frantically into my notebook. I later found out those were a pair of Brahminy Kites, only one of the most common raptors found in Singapore, snorted a birder in derision. Well, common for you maybe, it goes on my life list, thank you very much.

When I was done feasting my eyes on those kites, I turned my gaze towards the calm peaceful waters. A little head broke through the glassy surface. I blinked. What did I just see? I scanned the surface, this time with my binoculars and saw not one, but two otters. Excitedly, I looked around and saw a couple of people on the edge of the waters a little further ahead. I was so excited I wanted to call out to them to come look at the otters. Was I glad I didn't. I pushed my bike and walked in their direction, preparing to ride away when I saw what they were looking at. About five feet away, in the waters, was an otter feeding on a fish. Calmly and nonchalantly chewing away, as the onlookers excitedly took pictures and videos with their cameras and phones and other devices. This was wayyyy more interesting than my sighting of otter heads above water. Like the Brahminy kites, these otters are regular visitors. I felt like such a noob.

Multiple house swallows, white breasted waterhens and pipits later, I decided I was done for the day. Even though the trails were well paved, there were parts where I had to pedal upslope and across bridges. Okay. So the slopes were gentle, but unforgiving on my knees. I half wished I had rented those mountain bikes with better suspension and fancy gears. I was at the halfway point on the route, but I had already been out for two and a half hours. There was a convenient option of cutting through the loop via the Punggol Waterway. Nothing to see along this route, just plenty of construction and noise. Lots and lots of new residential buildings are going up. Good for the ever exploding population. 5.5 million and growing.

Bird list for today: Collared kingfisher; yellow vented bulbul; black-naped oriole; zebra dove; Sunda woodpecker; long tailed shrike; grey heron; house swallow; paddyfield pipit; white throated kingfisher; Brahminy kite; white breasted waterhen; common Iora; pied fantail; hawk cuckoo (not sure which kind); oriental magpie robin; common mynah; brown throated sunbird.

Singapore - Birding at the Lower Peirce Reservoir Park

Last night, I was looking through the National Parks website and decided I wanted to hike a trail in the morning. I picked a quick 45min easy trail that looped around the Lower Peirce Reservoir because the description said that I would be able to spot some native birds. I haven't really gone bird watching since I came back, so this would be a good opportunity as I had nothing on my agenda today. Zero. Amazing.

The weather in the morning was beautiful. Clear blue skies with not a cloud in sight. I took my time to have breakfast and Face Timed my in laws for an hour. When I decided to finally set off, the sky looked a little iffy. Newsflash! My weather app projected a 90% chance of rain. That didn't deter me. By my strange and stubborn logic, I thought I could perhaps outrun the clouds, get to the trail and finish hiking and birdwatching before the heavens opened.

I know what you're thinking. Uh-oh. This story does not have a good ending.

As the bus neared my destination, I could see dark ominous clouds lurking over the exact spot where I was going to hike. I muttered a silent prayer for the clouds to hold up, even just for an hour. I wasn't going to be greedy, just one hour please. The sun was still shining, even though I felt tiny droplets at random moments. I looked at my still-pretty-darn-new pair of walking shoes. Damn, they're about to get real muddy.

Still, i plodded on.

If there weren't enough warnings, a sign at the trailhead read : Do not enter in the event of stormy weather. Sailed right past it.

I was relieved to find that the trail was a boardwalk the entire way (I love you Singapore, and your no nonsense efficiency. I applaud you for your foresight). Muddy shoes, a thing of the past. The towering trees also covered much of the skies, so the rain suddenly became a distant memory. Very soon, I was straining all my senses in hopes of finding myself a new bird for the life list. Nada. I saw a monitor lizard, and a skink. And just a couple of other hikers. I could hear them little birdies chirping away, but identifying them by song is the least of my capabilities. I remembered reading on the website that the trail takes you to an open area to the quarry lake, where the birds are most likely found, so I doubled my pace to look for water.

There are many things an avid birder would avoid. One, dressing in bright colors, because let's face it, they don't call it the bird's eye view for naught. Two, making too much noise. The ultimate birder's nightmare was about to happen to me. I had reached the part of the trail that edges the quarry lake, and walked past an old man, who was doing some gentle stretches, minding his own business (as was I). To my horror, he started swinging his arms back and forth, clapping when his hands met. Now, I am all too familiar with this clapping shenanigan that the local older folks call "exercise". Here was one prime example, just doing it at the worst spot! In an effort to get away from all that ruckus, I quickened my pace so the birds won't flee from me into oblivion. Reaching a bend in the trail, I heaved a sigh of relief as I thought I had put some distance between us. I raised my binoculars to search for my little birdies when the sounds of  clapping traveled to my ears. Very faint at first, but approaching. Definitely advancing. Cursing under my breath, I picked up my pace and moved quickly along the trail.

It had to be a blessing in disguise. Because I wandered to the end of the trail and into the reservoir park proper. There was a little pavilion at the end of a cobbled path that led to nowhere. I decided to take a break from walking, and also seek shelter from the bigger drops of rain that were now falling. Right next to the shelter were two huge flowering trees. One was the beautiful flame-of-the-forest, but I had no idea what the other was called. It had pretty clumps of orange flowers that looked like the ixora, but I didn't think the ixora grew on trees. This was my big birding break. I could hear a symphony of chirping, I just couldn't see the birds. For now.

I spent the next two hours sitting on the bench, propping my elbows up on my knees. Birding can be a tiring affair, as I have come to remember. Holding the binoculars up for an extended period of time causes the arms to burn. Really bad. And then you start to tremble, which is not good at all for looking through the binoculars. You need really steady hands. And then there is the disconnect between spotting a movement with your eyes, then raising the binoculars and trying to look for that same spot. I was only getting the hang of it by the end of the two hours. And then comes the challenge of trying to catch a glimpse of unfamiliar birds. If only they would stay put long enough for me to note their features for identification later on! As if teasing, these birds flit in and out of the trees, behind leaves or in the glare of the sun so you don't really think you'd seen what you saw. But patience always pays off. If you follow a bird long enough, sooner or later you'll get a good look, and bam! Field notes taken, image committed to memory. New bird for life list. Mission accomplished!

My two hours of hard work yielded sightings of a purple-throated sunbird - a beautiful bird the size of a hummingbird with a iridescent turquoise crown and bright red belly, and of course, its shiny purple throat. I also saw a common flameback. - a magnificent woodpecker in flight, with yellow wings with a bright red crest on its head. A common tailorbird that drove me nuts for the first hour as I could only hear it's incessant chuk-chuk-chuk, but could never spot it. When I'd finally seen it, you could only imagine the amount of satisfaction and relief flowing through my veins. Adding to my list are four female pink necked green pigeons, a crimson sunbird, a yellow vented bulbul, a black naped oriole, two barn swallows and a thousand mynas. Oh and three macaques.

The rain never did fall. I must have been in the area with 10% chance of precipitation.

Singapore - Singapore Zoological Gardens

I returned to one of my favorite spots in Singapore - the Singapore Zoo. The last time I was here was in July of 2010, when Justin and I celebrated our union, riding into the celebrations atop an elephant. When I was in school I had volunteered at the zoo for a short stint and was assigned to the elephants. That was when I fell in love with these gentle giants. They became my favorite animals and my dream job is to someday be able to care for them.

Today I visited my old haunt with one of my best friends, Elisa and her 6 month old baby girl Noms. We decided to start the day off with the Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife, where you get to dine alongside the Orangutans and take photos with them. About seven or eight Orangutans joined us for breakfast this morning, munching on leaves and sunflower seeds. Despite my experiences with the monkeys on Sisters' Island, I love these creatures. Watching the mother orangutan carry two young ones on her back, feeding and caring for them, it's such a sight to behold.

We managed to watch several shows including my favorite Elephants at Work and Play, walk around the zoo to see all the animals and catching them at feeding times. I thought it strange that the zoo was much smaller than I remember it to be, but everything probably seemed bigger when you were a kid. Still, there was a lot of walking, although we didn't mind. It was a beautiful day and the zoo was like a mini rainforest, paved with walking trails. There was plenty of shade from the towering trees and the occasional gentle breeze provided some respite from the island's unrelenting humidity. And Noms has been such a trooper even though we stayed all day from half past 8 in the morning till 5 in the afternoon!

There are too many different enclosures to choose from to call my favorite, but I do love the Primate Kingdom - the monkey enclosures, and walking through the Fragile Forest - you walk through a covered enclosure without any barriers between you and the creatures of the simulated rainforest. I also fed the giraffe and the elephants (naturally), carried a ball python, and came nose to nose with a fruit bat. The mandrill and its rainbow bottom tickled us, the chimps' resourcefulness commanded our respect and the scuttling rhino iguana gave us the heebie jeebies. I never cease to be amazed by Mother Nature's creations and how they evolve and adapt to this world we call home. I just feel sad that these creatures at the zoo had to give up their freedom in order to educate us humans, the greater and yet, lesser creatures, in the lesson of living in simplicity, harmony and contentment.