Wild Singapore

We're just back from a near-six week overseas trip, which started with five nights in Singapore. Shortly before we left a friend, to whom I'd commented that one of my aims was to try to see some birds, said "I'd not have expected there to be any birds there". Well! It wasn't an unreasonable comment actually as Singapore, with some six million people, has an area which is only a third the size of Canberra, so it's very densely populated indeed (in fact only Monaco has a higher population density). However they have put a lot of work and planning into building a 'garden city' so that any walk is likely to take you past or through parkland with lots of trees - and birds. Moreover there are a surprising number of nature reserves, including some original rainforest, and lots of regenerating and restored forest. This post features some of the natural delights we enjoyed.

I very rarely give plugs to commercial enterprises, so when I you do you know I really mean it. We spent a day with Shamla Jeyarajah Subaraj and Yeo Suay Hwee, and through them we enjoyed most of the natural reserves below and learnt a great deal about Singapore and its birds, mammals, plants, butterflies and dragonflies, and had a most memorable day (and excellent lunch) into the bargain. It was the undoubted highlight of our time in Singapore and I would recommend them unreservedly. You can contact Shamla at shamla@subaraj.com.

I guess this is many people's expectation of Singapore; it was mine until I started doing some homework.

However it could as well be represented by this...

Meraga Adina eurhyncha Family Rubiaceae, growing in remnant rainforest in the
fabulous Singapore Botanic Gardens. For us, these gardens were the jewel of Singapore. Covering
82ha they were founded in 1859 and have evolved ever since. In 2015 these gardens were declared
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

...or this...

Rainforest, Bukit Batok NP.

... or this ...

Tidal lagoon, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

...or this.

Mangroves, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

These are substantially natural areas, but there are also areas in the process of restoration.

The Quarry Reserve, which is part of the same reserve system as the Dairy Farm Nature Park
(see three photos down). This reserve is just what is sounds like, a former quarry
which has been turned into a nature reserve by flooding the excavation and
assisting the return of the surrounding forest. We found a couple of other examples too.

 

Fig growing on the wall of a flooded quarry in Bukit Batok NP; I think that much of
the rainforest is original here, but it regrows quickly and it's not always easy to
be sure which is primary and which is secondary forest, though I think that most
of the reserves are dominated by secondary (ie regrowth) forest.

Massive bird's nest ferns growing on the infrastructure in Bukit Batok;
it doesn't take long!

This is a clearing in the rainforest at Dairy Farm NR. The forest was cleared
in the 19th century for plantations of pepper and gambier (whose astringent leaves were
used for tanning, dyeing and herbal medicine). By the 1920s it was a pig farm, then in
the next decade it laid claim to being the world's first tropical dairy farm. The National
Parks Board began the regeneration process in the 1980s and the result is remarkable.

Like most of Singapore's reserves, Dairy Farm is heavily used by walkers on the sealed paths. Many of them were walking (and talking) for exercise and recreation rather than the natural values, but this is surely inevitable in such a densely populated country. The shared system seems to me an excellent compromise in the context, though it takes a little while to get used to; we were in most of these reserves on a Saturday too which exacerbated the situation.

Lily pond at the amazing Gardens by the Bay, an area of just over 100ha (though the
most-visited South Garden is about half this size), of gardens, ponds, pathways
and enormous greenhouses and cooled conservatories, which draws visitor numbers of
tens of millions a year. While not really a nature reserve - perhaps too structured for
that - it really is a must-visit and there is certainly plenty of wildlife present (including
the famous Oriental Small-clawed Otters which sadly didn't make an appearance
to coincide with ours).

And that, I think, is probably enough background - it's time to offer some actual animals of these landscapes before you nod off! There are a few of them to offer you, so I'll keep the information relatively brief. I'll start with one I'd actually wanted to see for some time, and which turned out to be very easy - in fact just about my first Singaporean bird.

Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus, in Fort Canning Park, central Singapore. These are the
ancestors of domestic fowl (ie chooks in Australia). The ones in the city parks are all
partial hybrids with domestic birds, though they look very like the true wild ones,
which do occur in some of the rainforests. A handsome bird indeed, and this one
is (inadvertently) advertising his mixed parentage by not cutting off the end of his
enthusiastic crowing quite abruptly enough.

And they are breeding well in this situation.

Pink-necked Green Pigeon Treron vernans snacking in the botanic gardens on fruit
of a Melastoma species (thanks Duncan!). A common south-east Asian pigeon,
but nonetheless lovely for that.

Common Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica at Dairy Farm NP.
This is a close relation to the Pacific Emerald Dove of eastern Australia
and nearby islands.

Zebra Dove Chalcophaps indica, a common urban bird, again with a close
Australian connection in our Peaceful Dove.

There are plenty of opportunities for waterbirds, including a couple of large ones which are recent arrivals.

Asian Openbills Storks Anastomus oscitans, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve - and
I'm sorry that I couldn't get any closer to them. It's only in the last decade (since 2013)
that these fascinating big storks have started to appear in Singapore from further north,
with a huge influx of some 5000 birds in 2020 and a smaller one currently. In brief summary
they have a gap in the bill, and the lower mandible is also twisted to the side to allow
the extraction of big apple snails from their shells. I wrote a little bit more on this here.

Somewhat more controversial is the status of this Milky Stork Mycteria cinerea (accompanied
here by Little Egrets Egretta garzetta and a Medium Egret Ardea intermedia*). They breed in
Cambodia, Thailand and Sumatra, but the Singapore population is believed to have derived
from escapes from the Singapore Zoo.
*The Medium Egret, found throughout south and south-east Asia, is now separated from
the Australian and New Guinea Plumed Egret A. plumifera, as well as from the African
Yellow-billed Egret.

And while we can see the Little Egret in Australia, especially in the north,
this one was too glorious in flaunting its breeding finery to overlook.

Common Redshanks Tringa totanus, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.
These birds may have wintered here (remembering that Singapore is in the Northern
Hemisphere, though only just) or were on their north from Africa. Either way they
would soon have been continuing on their way north to breed on the Arctic tundra.

White-breasted Waterhens Amaurornis phoenicurus foraging by a lake in the
botanic gardens. One of the prettiest rails I've met, though this photo doesn't show
the lovely clear white underside.

White-breasted Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis, a bird with a huge range from the
western Mediterranean to the Philippines but I'd not seen it and our guides put in
some effort to find it for us. This photo doesn't at all do it justice, but you can just
see the bright blue back, wings and tail. (The photo that does show them is even
worse so I'll keep it to myself.)

And while I'm on bad photos I'm going to slip in an even worse one, in late afternoon gloom, but a spectacular bird that I'd not expected to see. Please squint.

Chestnut-winged Cuckoo Clamator coromandus, Bukit Batok NP. It is regarded
as an 'uncommon migrant' to Singapore from south and south-east Asia.

And rather than calling it a bad photo (though it doubtless is) I prefer to think of this one as arty...

Silhouetted Greater Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurus paradiseus in early morning
non-light at Dairy Farm. A spectacular bird.

Laced Woodpecker Picus vittatus, Bukit Batok NP, feeding at the base of a tree. It's apparently
fairly common, in Singapore and from China to Bali, but I'd not seen it before.

Blue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus, Singapore Botanic Gardens. These are
winter visitors to Singapore, so this one was likely to be flying further north to
breed soon after this. Meantime it was feeding up by swooping on insects above the pond.

Yellow-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus goiavier Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.
Bulbuls form a big family of birds, some 170 species across Africa and Asia.
This appears to be the commonest one in Singapore (in fact I've just discovered
that it's the second 'most observed' bird there).

Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus, another winter visitor which would soon be
leaving for the far north to breed.

Ashy Tailorbird Orthotomus ruficeps, Kranji Marshes Reserve. The tailorbirds
literally pierce and sew a large leaf with spider silk or grass to form a cup
in which the nest is made.

Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker Dicaeum cruentatum, closely related to the Australian
Mistletoebird, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. A common little beauty, but
like most flowerpeckers it doesn't sit still very often!

Given that it's the most commonly reported bird in Singapore, I can't really ignore it,
but the Javan Myna Acridotheres javanicus is an introduced species here.

However I won't finish the bird section with the myna; I've left what was probably my favourite Singaporean bird until last.

The White-crested Laughingthrush Garrulax leucolophus, Bukit Batok NP, was another
I was especially hoping to see, and at the end of the day we were rewarded by a bustling little
gang of these rowdies, swaggering up the path to inspect us and comment loudly
and doubtless rudely on our presence. In the past half century this species has expanded
its range south to Singapore, probably with human assistance.

Mammals didn't feature heavily, unsurprisingly, but here are three that we greatly enjoyed.

Lesser Short-nosed (or Dog-faced) Fruit Bats Cynopterus brachyotis, roosting on the
Sungei Buloh Wetland visitor centre ceiling. These are tiny fruit bats, less than 10cm long.
Below is a mother with baby.

Plantain Squirrel Callosciurus notatus, Singapore Botanic Gardens.
This is another common urban Singapore mammal.
While they're mostly arboreal, the one below was helpfully feeding on the
ground at Butik Batok NP.

Again I've left my favourite until last in this category. Since I encountered them in one of my treasured animal books when I was a boy, I've been fascinated by the mysterious colugos, two south-east Asian arboreal species of utterly misnamed 'flying lemurs' (they glide, not fly, and are definitely not lemurs!). We now know that they belong to their own Order of mammals, ie with no close relations at all. I had previously met them in Borneo, but on our late afternoon walk in Butik Batok NP we came upon two different ones (plus a third as you'll see) typically roosting on a tree trunk, but quite close to the ground. Very exciting.

Malayan Colugo Galeopterus variegatus with baby. Part of the marvellous spotted
gliding membrane can be seen below the front leg.

The only reptiles we saw were two species of monitor lizards (what we'd usually call goannas in Australia). One of them, the big Asian Water Monitor Varanus salvator, was surprisingly common in busy areas like the Botanic Gardens and the Gardens by the Bay. They and the people they encountered seemed in the main unperturbed by each other, which seems a satisfactory situation.

Asian Water Monitor nonchalantly crossing the path in the Botanic Gardens.

And yes, they are definitely at home in the water; this one at the Gardens by the Bay.

A less common species is the smaller Clouded Monitor Varanus nebulosus.

This one was basking by the cafe at the Botanic Gardens; I'm pretty confident based on the thin end
of the tail, the shorter nose and the nostrils halfway from the eye to the nose (see below),
but comments always welcomed.

And finally, a few invertebrates - mostly dragonflies actually!

Branded Imperial Eooxylides tharis, The Quarry Reserve. Love the 'tails'!

Blue Dasher Brachydiplax chalybea Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Common Parasol Neurothemis fluctuans, The Quarry Reserve.

Common Scarlet Crocothemis servilia, Kranji Marshes.

Yellow-striped Flutterer Rhyothemis phyllis, Singapore Botanic Garden.
This one comes as far south as northern Australia.

Variegated Green Skimmer Orthetrum sabina, Kranji Marshes.
It too is found in Australia, but in its case down much of the east coast.

And that is definitely enough for today; if you're still reading, thank you! I know that many people visit Singapore, for pleasure or business; if you have an interest in the natural world, don't miss any opportunity to explore Singapore with that in mind next time you're there. You'll be rewarded.

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 5 JUNE

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