Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve - Singapore







The Bridge over a river intense wetlands area.



We were already most conscious of the potential presence of salt water crocodiles as the well posted signs did emphasise this.   Mona had driven us across Singapore Island to reach this rather hitherto unknown site, past near the Tuas Causeway on the north-eastern side of the Republic but arriving closer to Woodlands.  We had gone past scenery that is reminiscent of most peninsular towns to the north in the sixties - the dust from trucks, the shop houses in a style that had been frozen in time and the smells of a light industrial area.

These wetlands have been preserved to attract a variety of bird life - like the Chinese Egrets, Greater Spotted Terns, Greater Spotted Eagles,  Marsh Sandpipers, Cinnamon Bitterns, Pacific Golden Plovers, Whimbrels, Common Redshanks and Common Greenshanks.   Harder to spot are the otters, Whistling Ducks and Milky Storks.  There is a user friendly track between the banks of the water but our eyes and ears were alert to any possible sudden movement from the marshes.  It was a cloudy afternoon and yes there were already some visitors even on a week day!  Easier to come across are mud lobsters, crabs, Plantain Squirrels, the Malayan Water Monitor and mud skippers prancing around the calm waters of the mangrove swamps.


The swamps on each side attract migratory birds from northern Asia.


An identified resource for education, conservation and research,  the Ministry of Education in Singapore has teamed up with other parties like iCell Network, the British Council and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore to make plans for further improving this site.  The migratory season runs from September to March.   Visitors will find at least two hours is required for a leisurely stroll to cover the size of the wetlands.   Photography is encouraged.  One of the best blog write ups on flora and fauna in this Wetlands Reserve is joyloh.com.

http://joyloh.com/blog/?p=3222



Signs of built up areas are not that far away though.


The Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve is located at 301 Neo Tiew Crescent and is around 15 minutes by bus from the nearest MRT station at Kranji.  The Visitor centre is at 60 Kranji Way.   It is a declared ASEAN water heritage site and is included in the network of Australasian Shorebird Sites.

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