Hi all
Just back from a fortnight in Singapore to be with our brand new baby
grandson. Got some good but incidental birding in (Oriental Pied
Hornbills greeting the dawn in a tree adjacent to our abode, for
example). I can recommend Singapore as a birding stopover if you are
heading somewhere else. In fact, I would recommend a stint of birding in
Singapore in its own right. The access to good birding areas is usually
very good. Singapore is safe. (We had concerned people coming up to us
to warn us that it was time to head for cover because a rainstorm was
coming. This happened several times.) Public transport (plus or minus
cheap taxis and including ferries) gets you virtually everywhere. While
development is number one, the Government has invested what I assume to
be hundreds of millions in establishing and maintaining reserves with a
particular emphasis on both conservation and their use as recreation
places for harrassed citizens. The paths are excellently maintained.
There are good tree top walks for the canopy species and there is an
excellent board walk on Pulua Ubin in a Nipa Palm swamp - a very tough
habitat to get to without such an amenity. There is a grand scheme, well
advanced in the implementation, to link the major and minor parks with
hundreds of kilometres of connecting walk and cycle paths. The birds
(especially the residents) tend to be used to people so, with patience,
you can get good views of a wide range of species. The exceptions are
the skulkers. The jungle is excellent for skulkers. Many of the birds
flout gorgeous colour schemes - barbets, leafbirds, sunbirds, hanging
parrots, bee-eaters, flowerpeckers, kingfishers and woodpeckers are
examples of very colourful species. For the homesick, there is even a
gerygone with a creaky but seldom heard warble. On the other hand, I had
to admit comprehensive defeat with the hordes of swiftlets that
routinely clutter Singapore's airspace. Common Mynas are not competing
very well with another introduced species - the White-vented Mynas.
There was something very satisfying about watching White-vented Mynas
boss Common Mynas around. (Except that White-vented Mynas are ferals as
well.)
The one word of caution is that dengue fever is very active in certain
areas of Singapore and so are the vectors. The Government spends over
$50 million a year on control measures. Dengue fever is a real nasty, so
you do need to take the full suite of precautions against mozzies.
The Singapore Nature Society website is a good starting point for
information and I would be happy to provide some tips if you are
seriously planning a trip.
regards
Con
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