AUSTRALIA - HOLIDAY/RECCE TOUR - DAY 44 - NOV 9TH - SINGAPORE

GARDENS BY THE BAY

We are stay on the 12th floor of the Ibis Hotel, our room faces north away from the bay.  As soon as it got light I set up the scope and began birding, there are not many trees in view but a TV Ariel close by seems to attract a lot of birds. The first bird to land on it was a male Olive-backed Sunbird, what a little stunner to start my list off with. Next came a flock of Asian Glossy Starlings, then a  House Crow scared them all off. A few Yellow-vented Bulbuls popped up next with a couple of Eurasian Tree Sparrows.

The Science Museum Building

In the distance I could see a lot of swifts flying around the buildings but couldn't get enough on them for a positive ID, they looked all dark above with some lighter colouring on the belly.

yes Singapore has a London 'Eye' equivalent

We ate a fantastic breakfast at the hotel where a buffet supplied every food imaginable to cater for at least four cultures, this was spread across a dozen or more tables.

very Common  -   Javan Mynah

From the hotel we took to the streets and walked to the Gardens in the Bay which is a wonderful wildlife experience spread over many hectares and incorporating 3 huge domes which makes the 'Eden Project' look like toytown.

We had to cross the 'Double Helix' footbridge which is a stainless steel work of art, the views from the bridge were amazing. We also saw about 10,000 women completing a charity fun run, not bad bird spotting from where I was standing!



a nice panoramic view with the 'Double Helix Foot Bridge, the Marina Sands Hotel with it s quirky roof garden and the Science Museum. In the foreground you can see lots of people in red, they are women coming up to the finishing line after a charity fun run.

We spent a couple of hours in the 'Cloud Forest' dome before climbing the canopy walk-way and then walking in the gardens around some lovely pools surrounded by some exotic plants with amazing colourful flowers.



the first bird I saw in the Gardens, White-throated Kingfisher

It was during this section that we clocked a few species of birds, all the pictures today were taken using Dawn's camera and most of them were taken by Dawn.

 



ZEBRA DOVE

Our feet were too tired to walk back to the hotel so we caught the 'tube' from the Gardens, it took all of 10 minutes to get back. We decided to eat in the Albert' food hall where lunch came to a staggering £3.50 for the two of us.


YELLOW BITTERN WAS A GOOD FIND

Whilst back in the hotel room during a quick wash and change session, I checked the TV Ariel and blow me a BLUE-TAILED BEE-EATER was sitting on it, what a super Ariel?

PIED TRILLER

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around 'Little India' an unbelievable experience, it must truly represent the India culture, it was crammed packed with shops of every description and it was so crowded, noisy and dirty, I wouldn't have missed that for rhe world.

We returned to the hotel room with just enough light for a quick scan, I found a flock of Streaked Bulbuls on a roof, a new birdie for the list and my last sighting for the day.

TV ARIEL LIST

1. ASIAN GLOSSY STARLING
2. YELLOW-VENTED BUBUL
3. BLUE-TAILED BEE-EATER
4. OLIVE-BACKED SUNBIRD
5. HOUSE CROW
6. EURASIAN TREE SPARROW
7. STREAKED BULBUL


OTHERS SPECIES SEEN IN THE GARDENS

8. JAVAN MYNAH
9. PACIFIC SWALLOW
10. PIED TRILLER
11. YELLOW BITTERN
12. BRAHMINY KITE
13. DARK-NECKED TAILORBIRD
14. COMMON MYNAH
15. ZEBRA DOVE
16. SPOTTED DOVE
17. FERAL PIGEON