Contributed by Doreen Ang.
AH, NK and I began our walk at 0745hr from the public car park along Venus Drive as we headed for the Terap Trail. Human traffic was very heavy. There were groups of people, students and joggers. The weather was fine.
It must be said that more birds were ticked along the way to the Terap Trail. Spotted dove, White-throated kingfisher, Javan myna, Dollarbird, a fat White-breasted waterhen doing a 100-metre sprint across the 'lawn' beside the car park, Asian koel, House crow, Asian Glossy starling (adults and juveniles aplenty on a large fruiting fig tree by the SICC), Black-Naped oriole, Pink-Necked Green pigeon, Olive-Backed sunbird, Swiftlets, a small congregation of noisy Hill mynas, Dark-necked and Common tailorbirds, Olive-winged and Yellow-vented bulbuls and Long-tailed parakeets. The calling of a Collared kingfisher and Lineated barbet were also heard. But we were taken aback to see 4 Tanimbar cockatoos flying above us!
A further bonus presented itself at a fruiting Indian cherry tree by the roadside just off the SICC car park. A male Greater green leafbird (no yellow border to black throat diagnostic) flew in and took a bite at one big unripe cherry. Chucked it down, searched some more before it gave up and flew off deep into the forest. Indian cherry trees are not tall, so we had good almost eye-level looks at the busy leafbird. There were also 3 Orange-bellied flowerpeckers (two males and one female) on the same tree.
At the Terap trail, Striped tit babblers were everywhere. We were delighted to see a Red-eyed bulbul, Common flameback and two Banded woodpeckers. We heard a Drongo cuckoo, and met two Short-tailed babblers who responded to our call by coming right up to us. The main event was when another of Singapore's rare residents, the Blue-crowned hanging parrots flew in and landed atop a bare tree stump just a few metres away from us. Not one but four altogether. They lingered long enough for us to notice all green plumage, no red on breast and at least 2 birds with black bills + lack of blue on crown; possibly a mix of immature and females. We heard their presence on our way back at exactly the same spot and wondered if they roost there too.
On our return leg, after the SICC, NK chanced upon a White-rumped shama. We heard its call earlier in the morning but had not seen it until now. Further down, as we stood on a bridge over the stream, we saw Blue-throated bee-eaters on a feeding frenzy, the Pacific swallow, a male Plain-throated sunbird, a male Crimson sunbird, two male Purple-throated sunbirds in a hot pursuit and one female Purple-throated sunbird feeding away. The loud but elusive Rufous-tailed tailorbird afforded us with only a brief glimpse of itself!
Last but not least, we welcomed the incessant calling of a Coppersmith barbet, Common iora and the lone cry of a Changeable hawk eagle prior to the end of our walk at 1142hr.