Bidadari, Pulau Ubin 13-14Apr14

From Con

Danny came over on 13 Apr Sunday to join me in Bidadari. We both saw the Large Hawk Cuckoo and Malaysian Hawk Cuckoo.

Close to Noon I got a report of a Black Bittern in Ubin so I left Bidadari intending to go to Ubin, but I checked with the folks who saw the bittern and they flushed it and didn’t know where it went, so I changed my plans.

After lunch I heard there was a Mugimaki and eye-browed thrush in Bidadari so I went back but wasn’t able to see either bird.

14 Apr Monday morning I headed to Ubin and as it happens Alan O, Doreen and Kim Keang were also coming. We all saw the Black Bittern at the lotus pond on sensory trail. It was only 9 am and I knew I couldn’t get a return boat ride for awhile as no one would be going back to Changi so early in the day, so I stayed with this group. They wanted the pitta of course and we saw pittas both at Bubut hut and at Chek Jawa. It turns out there is a trail at the well, you walk in on the trail and the pittas are back in there, only lots of mosquitoes.

It was high tide, but we checked the rocks at Frog Island and lucky there were 2 Ruddy Turnstones using the rocks as a high tide roost!