Singapore — Another visit to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Singapore
Another visit to the wildlife reserve
June 2015
Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Singapore was one of my favourite ways to spend time in Singapore. The nature reserve is very close to the Johor – Singapore Causeway; hence, once you’ve managed to get into Singapore, it is easy to find. You can’t beat Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve for a free day out in Singapore.
On this trip, I decided to explore a section of the reserve that I hadn’t visited — the “coastal” area.
The “wetland” section of the reserve proved very interesting as I saw many birds, spiders, lizards, and wild crocodiles, so I had great hopes for the coastal area. Sadly, it was a little disappointing with very little wildlife.
The coastal section of the reserve is a mixture of mangrove swamps and a semi-open coastline with trees.
Like in the “wetland” section of the reserve, the walkways were elevated and well maintained.
In some parts, there were wooden boardwalks out to structures in the sea. These give excellent views of Johor Bahru and back into the park.
I’m unsure about the purpose of some of the large wooden structures in the reserve. I guess they could be viewing platforms or hides.
One area of the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve coastal section was set up for looking at the mudflats. The walkways provided an ideal viewing platform from which to spot Mudskippers on the mudflats.
Not only did I see some Mudskippers on the mud flats, but I also saw some along one of the trails.
Anyway, I didn’t go to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve to look at the infrastructure; I went to see the plants and animals.
On the trip, I saw several Golden Orb Spiders (Nephila pilipes). These spiders are pretty common in the reserve.
I also saw what I believe to be a St Andrew's Cross Spiders (Argiope spp.).
The only bird I managed to see and photograph on this visit was a Black-Naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis).
And on this visit, I saw some butterflies.
In one corner of the reserve, I found a small pond which was somewhat interesting as it had numerous dragonflies flitting around, two turtles sunbathing, and a Monitor lizard (also called Malayan Water Monitor; Varanus salvator) hiding in the water by the bank. I almost missed the monitor lizard as I thought it was an old log.
There is something evil about the way the Monitor lizard was hiding in the water.
Although I didn’t see the variety of wildlife in the “coastal” section of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve as I had in the wetland area, I still saw a surprising variety of species in a small area. Besides the images above, I saw many other birds (too far away to photograph), several small lizards scurrying around, and some butterflies.
Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Singapore, was a lot of fun and an afternoon well spent.
