In Pasir Ris we received a tip that there was a very tame Mangrove Pitta staying in the Herb Gardens of the Botanical Gardens. Since we dipped this species in Pasir Ris we paid these gardens a visit. We wanted to visit them anyways. The gardens are easy to reach by public transport, as are most sites in Singpore. Take the MRT Circle Line (the yellow one) and get out at the stop named "Botanical Gardens". Once outside, you are virtually inside the gardens. It couldn´t be easier.
We spend a lot of our time in the Gardens searching for the Pitta, but again without luck. I was starting to doubt that it was actually lingering in the Herb Gardens, as these gardens were tiny and not very suited for a Mangrove Pitta. Later I found out that it was actually lingering in the Healing Gardens and not in the Herb Gardens... The only part of the Botanical Gardens we did not visit. A second try there on our last day in Singapore was impeded by heavy rains...
We still saw other birds though, but not much to write about. The Eco Lake hosted several Lesser Whistling Ducks, a Chinese Pond Heron and a Yellow Bittern, but the Grey-headed Fish-eagles that apperently like the Swan Lake were not around. The Rainforest proved a rather good site for several species of Sunbirds, including Van Hasselt´s, Copper-throated, Crimson and Brown- (or Plain-) throated Sunbird. We also observed some migrants like Asian Brown Flycatcher and several Arctic Warblers. Apart from these birds we also saw tons of Plaintain Squirrels and Common Tree Shrews and a single Tanezumi Rat.
 |
| A male Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja) taking a bath in the leaf of a epiphytic fern |
 |
| Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa latirostris) |
 |
| Common Tree Shrew (Tupaia glis) |
No comments:
Post a Comment