Tampines Eco Green Park

It was a public holiday here in Singapore last Friday, known as Good Friday or Friday Before Easter in other countries. As far as I know, Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ but I shall not touch on its history as my knowledge of Christianity is not deep enough. Furthermore, I grew up in a Buddhist environment, with a little bit of Taoism as well.

I remember the sky was a little overcast that day and while I was feeling real bored just spacing out at home, an inner voice told me, "Why not take a trip to Tampines Eco Green Park?" In a haste, I packed up my photography gear, hat, towel, some water to keep myself hydrated and took a bus to the destination.

It has been almost 3 years since I last visited this hidden gem of a park located between Pasir Ris and Tampines districts. What stopped me from visiting for some time was some large construction projects going on there, possibly a couple of water linkway works and urban development. Upon arriving, most of the construction works have completed, except for some minor ones. It was not crowded at all which is a good thing, so chances of spotting wild birds will be higher.

Walking into the park felt like entering into another world for me and fortunately enough, I was able to see a few species of birds and of course, took their photos which I would like to share.

I encountered the Oriental Pied Hornbill right after alighting at the bus stop near the destination.

The first bird I saw inside the park - A White-breasted Waterhen which is a common resident.

A Brown Shrike taken from 2 different angles.

A pair of Yellow-vented Bulbul - I wonder if they are a couple or siblings? 

Baya Weavers - Female (top) and male (bottom).

It was a satisfying trip for me to be able to enjoy some peace inside the park and see these little winged friends in the wild.

When I was leaving the park to head home, a middle-aged man who was taking an evening stroll saw me and asked, "How? Good? Got any hummingbird?" This is such a local way of communicating using Singlish. LOL. In proper English, he meant, "Did you have a good time and did you take any photos of hummingbirds?" Politely I replied with a smile, "No Sir, but I saw a few other birds.", and continued heading to the bus-stop. 

Lastly, there are no recorded sightings of hummingbirds in Singapore as they are native only in the Americas. That gentleman I met possibly meant Olive-backed Sunbird or other sunbirds, which many people mistook it as hummingbird. 

There is some haze across the sky over Singapore for the past few days, possibly caused by hotspots from other ASEAN nations situated up north. Hopefully there will be some rain to help clear the sky. Its really really humid over here… I need some cold refreshing beer tonight and shall hunt for some good Sapporo beer deals at the 7-11 store opposite my home later.

Have a great weekend ahead!