Day 7--Early morning ramble--McRitchie Reservoir

A Ragtail Durong sits in silouette, and unidentified brown bird sits in the mist on dripping leaves--just after sunrise and another Durong sits atop a dead tree with unidentified friends, and at the Tree-top Walk a sea eagle flys over in the distance.

A thoughtful monkay watches us pass on the trail after we earlier saw many turtles and occassional monitor lizards checking us out.

Our visit to McRitchie Reservoir and Bukit Timah began with a 5:30am departure from the hotel so we could see dawn there and the intensity and variety of Singaporean use of the park. Our taxi dropped us off among a steady stream of cars/taxis. All around us—in the dark—Singaporeans of a variety of ages came to what seems a favorite spot. It was Easter Sunday and people gathered for a sunrise service--“brisk walkers”, joggers, easy ramblers, people doing individual Tai Chi or Yoga—all were in place before and at dawn. The volume of people grew thru the morning. The setting was beautiful and sunrise illuminated a heavy mist. In fact, all morning, the mist hang in the air.

We walked the edge of the reservoir hoping to see some wildlife while we experienced how the people of Singapore used one of their preserved greenspaces. From these four hours, many people cherish this setting. One Stork-billed kingfisher flew overhead, doves sat in the trees and swallows flew high. A few small birds were seen along with a Racket-tailed Drongo and a sea eagle. One large Snakehead (fish) was near shore and turtles were frequent and several monitor lizards were seen. The songs of birds were varied and everywhere but the mist and early hours limited photos—few came close as well.

We walked the Tree-top walk and then headed to Bukit Timah which is a preserved rainforest site (tho in decline from numerous factors) and the highest spot in Singapore. The walk and climb was challenging for me—we did about 13 kilometers distance. After making it to the top and back down to the city proper ( a total of 4 hours) our group ate a delayed and welcomed breakfast at a Malaysian stall-style restaurant.

Then back to the inn to shower/rest/ blog/ or explore. In the evening, everyone does their own thing—Javanese massage for some of the gals, visit to Little India for Dr. Dan and I, and –well, we will hear what everyone did when we gather for breakfast.