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.
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| 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.
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| Mummy grebe with two young chicks on her back |
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| Parents with their three chicks |
2 comments:
Hi! Please keep posting. I'm a born-and-bred Singaporean who's in love with the bits of nature that can be found on this tiny island. Discovering your blog is making me so inspired!! Thank you for documenting all the wildlife you've encountered!
Hi, glad that you are inspired. We need more Singaporeans to embrace what little is left of wild Singapore. We do have a rich biodiversity but it's not that obvious to Singaporeans as we never were thought wildlife appreciation in school.
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