Category: Field Trips

BFF birdwatching session at Dairy Farm nature park

~ jimmytst ~ 2 Comments
Route map with approximate locations of wildlife sightings

On 20 March 2022, I attended a birdwatching outing at Dairy Farm nature park from 7 am to 10 am.

My small group was led by Jeff Tan, and we walked from Hillview MRT station to Dairy Farm nature park and then to Singapore Quarry.

Along the way, we saw some birds, such as Asian glossy starlings, greater racket-tailed drongo, straw-headed bulbuls, yellow-vented bulbul, bee-eaters, long-tailed parakeets and Eurasian tree sparrows.

Incidentally, 20 March is World Sparrow Day, so it is apt to see sparrows on that day.

Besides the “wheeping” calls of a drongo and the melodious songs of the critically endangered straw-headed bulbuls, I could hear the sounds of hill mynahs (not shown) during the trek.

Besides birds, we saw other kinds of wildlife, such as insects, snails, toads, and so on. I was intrigued to see a cricket (identified as Nisitrus Malaya in iNaturalist) along the trail. It appeared to be feeding on an animal’s dropping. I learnt that it would make a shrill sound when rubbing its wings quickly. It is also a prey of some birds such as flycatchers.

At Wallace Information Centre, I learnt some useful information about the biodiversity and natural history of Singapore in the context of his travels in Southeast Asia in the 19th century.

It is interesting to know that “the greater the variety of living things in a forest, the healthier it tends to be”. From my observations, the less disturbed a tropical rainforest, the greater is its biodiversity and the healthier is its ecosystem.

Dairy Farm nature park appears to be a fairly mature secondary forest that has been designated as a buffer to protect the biodiversity of Bukit Timah nature reserve next to it. It has a number of significant large trees, such as mature fig trees.

A huge mature fig tree. Some of the fig trees provide food and shelter for the wildlife, such as birds, squirrels and monkeys.

To me, the near-absence of mosquitoes encountered during the birdwatching session at Dairy Farm nature park testifies that the forest ecosystem is fairly healthy because it shows the presence of numerous natural predators of mosquitoes, such as frogs, toads, spiders, geckos and dragonflies, is helping to keep the mosquito population in check.

A common Asian toad. Frogs and toads are vital to keep our ecosystem healthy, as they eat insects such as dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

My wish is that the unmanaged secondary forests, such as Tengah forest, Clementi forest, Simpang forest, Dover forest, Bukit Brown heritage park, Pang Sua woodlands, Western water catchment forest and so on, will be conserved and restored, so that they can continue to serve as important ecological corridors and habitats for our flora and fauna.

Otherwise, negative consequences, such as inbreeding, roadkills and human-wildlife conflicts, will result from habitat fragmentation.

Boosting the biodiversity in these forests will benefit us because they can help reduce the risk of dengue outbreak, and their pollinators and seed dispersers can also help us grow crops better and ensure food security, especially in uncertain times like this due to the pandemic, military conflicts in other countries, etc.

What other benefits of forest conservation and restoration can you think of?

Biodiversity Profile: Rayiant Goh

~ rayiant ~ 1 Comment

Hello everyone! My name is Rayiant and I got to know about the BFF Biodiversity Challenge from a friend I met on a social group chat. She is none other than Shu En, who is also one of the facilitators for BFF. I was initially expressing interest in taking part in one of the intertidal walks conducted by Biogirl MJ and brought this up in a group chat that Shu En and I shared. Thereafter, I was introduced and encouraged to take part in the BFF Biodiversity Challenge 2022. Without much consideration, I signed up.

I always had an interest in learning about plants and animals since I was a child. I was mad about looking up on the scientific names of living beings of all shapes and sizes and learning about their appearances and behaviours. This interest was amplified when I got my hands on my first encyclopedia. There was just so much information about the natural world outside the comforts of my home to comprehend, and I am only now starting to scratch the surface. As I grew older, I developed other interests that outgrew my interest for ecology and biology. I was mad about dinosaurs, space, technology and everything in between.

Today, I still collect copies of visual encyclopedias, particularly the ones by DK Smithsonian. As a designer, I feel that knowledge in any form fuels creativity. Knowledge is the spark to grand ideas. I felt that the BFF Biodiversity Challenge allowed people opportunities to be in touch with nature, and learn more about Singapore’s not so hidden natural landscapes.

My spirit animal is the Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia Mydas). I resonate with how the Green Sea Turtle is always in a serene and composed state. It is always just lying in a clearing or just busy foraging.

Picture of a Green Sea Turtle chilling during a dive trip at Bali, Lembongan.

I think part of Singapore’s biodiversity also lies in what’s beneath its’ shores. I encourage people to do learn scuba diving if they really want to see more of Singapore’s hidden gems. Pulau hantu is a great place to see the wide array of sea critters that live in Singapore waters. There is always something new in each and every dive!

I’m looking forward to meeting some of you during the BFF Challenges! Hope we can learn more about the biodiversity in Singapore and learn to appreciate the natural world more through this experience!