Population of two

Little Grebes were first sighted here in 1992, in a pond near the old Punggol pig farms. By 1994, they were pretty well established till their pond habitats were filled as the area was re-purposed by the government. The population was said to have dwindled over the years.

The old Singapore Quarry site was one of the known places where a small population of little grebes existed but in recent years, they have all disappeared. The other known locations are Lor Halus at the old refuse dump site, and the new wetlands. There another small population on Punggol Barat island near the Seletar airport.

The only accessible site is at Lor Halus Wetland where a pair of little grebe hold court in a shallow fresh water pond. May be due to our tropical climate, our little grebes do not lose their breeding plumage and they seem to breed all year. 

Little grebe nest

The pair will build floating nests of water plants in the middle of the pond that is far from human reach. Although they have successfully brought up a number of chicks, the population at the pond always remains at two. No one really knows what happens to the chicks after they fledged.

Mummy grebe with two young chicks on her back

Parents with their three chicks

Tulipmania@Gardens by the Bay

Hey folks if you are here in Singapore, and love flowers as I do, drop in at Gardens by the Bay for Tulipmania. Go now as the exhibit ends 20 May. You'll get blown away by the tulips and an array of other flowering bulbs. You will need to purchase a ticket to enter the Flower Dome where the tulips are housed.

Walk way to the Flower Dome

Crowded out

People never seem to under stand that releasing foreign fish or animals into our environment is bad. May be this pictorial representation of the damage they are doing will bring the message home. 

A small section of a river crowded with foreign fish.

Spot-billed pelicans of Asia

Missed these pelicans at Laem Pak Bia in Oct 2012 and was glad to finally get to see them in Sri Lanka.  

Spot-billed pelicans or grey pelicans are found in Asia. As their common name suggests, these pelicans possess a spotted bill; the throat pouch is also spotted in appearance. 

lone individual in a lake

The wild goose chase

The main reason to Sri Lanka's famed Yala National Park was the hope of photographing the Sri Lankan leopard. The Sri Lankan leopard is native to Sri Lanka, and is one of eight sub-species of leopards.

Yala is the most visited and second larges national park in Sri Lanka, and is touted to have the highest population of leopards. However, the Sri Lankan leopard is still classified as endangered by IUCN. This is because the population is declining due to threats such as poaching to human-leopard conflict.

Yala, Block 1 entrance

Sweet delight

Recent trip to Thailand placed me at the start of honey mango season, and a chance to indulge in one of my favorite Thai desserts - khao niew ma muang (sticky rice with mango), which is readily available from street-side stalls.

Traveling companions raved about Swensen's Thailand's mango season promotion.The ice cream shoppe served khao niew ma muang with vanilla ice cream, mango puree, whipped cream together with a waffer. 

Telling these two apart

I have problems differentiating between the mangrove pitta, the only local pitta left in Singapore, and the blue-winged pitta, a migrant.

Mangrove pitta (left) Blue-winged pitta (right)

I did some research and thought it would be nice to share it with everyone.  Both species are placed side-by-side for easier comparison. Three distinguishing areas to look for: -

1. Mangrove pitta has less blue on the wing
2. Mangrove has a longer beak
3. Mangrove's head patch extends further back and is larger

Personally, the head patch is probably the easiest way to tell them apart in the field.