Jurong Lake district was in the news lately. There will be new hotels, condos and entertainment centers coming up around the Chinese and Japanese Gardens. New parks will also be created but will all the development change the wild nature of the place? I took a walk last Sunday morning and came across an abundance of wildlife enjoying their natural surroundings. The Grey Herons were happily nesting on the Casuarina trees by the lakeside. A juvenile Sea-eagle with nothing better to do decided to harass them on its way to the lake. They were not after the chicks as they feed mainly on fish.
All the herons can do was to spread their wings to defend their nests. They did not go after the eagle but left that to a flock of House Crows flying nearby.
The Crows flew over and started chasing the eagle away from the heron’s nest. Size does not matter. The eagle was out numbered and the crows were more aggressive. I guess the Crows see the eagle as their competitor for any scrape of food around the lake including the Grey Heron chicks. A few months back a juvenile Crested Goshawk was roosting among the tall pine trees near the tea house. We are expecting the Peregrine Falcons to return to winter here towards October. Last week a Grey Wagtail was seen foraging. the second passerine migrant ( the Barn Swallow arrived last month) reported so far.
Singapore Bird Group 