Red-legged Crake, Blue-winged Pitta in Singapore

Red-legged Crake

We had a 3-day stopover in Singapore en route to Africa, staying at the Robertson Quay Hotel. The first morning we hooked up with Martin Kennewell, a well-known local birder, who took us to a spot in north-west Singapore, in Lim Chu Kang. Here we eventually got on to a Blue-winged Pitta that had been hanging around for a couple of weeks in a small patch of regrowth forest. This species is usually rare in Singapore at this time of year and one Bill and I had both missed previously in Asia, so we were pretty chuffed. Unfortunately it didn't pose for an image.

Red-legged Crake

The next morning we were off to Singapore's Botanic Gardens, probably the best place in the world to see Red-legged Crake, another much-wanted bird both of us had missed previously. We found one exactly where Martin said - just south-east of Lake Symphony. It was strutting around among the Heliconia patches between the lake and forest - quite in the open and oblivious to the many passers-by. It was in fact no less shy than the White-breasted Waterhens that were about. Evidently it is only relatively recent years that the crakes have moved in to the gardens.

Blue-winged Pitta twitch

White-breasted Waterhen 

Singapore Botanic Gardens