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| Cockatoos greet you on arrival. |
Penguins in Singapore! My friends didn't believe it either. But at the park there they are - in a
specially built cold house. Safely behind
thick glass they are happy to be in snow and water. The great thing was that I could see them
swimming under water - exactly as in television wild life programmes.
The monorail
is a good way to get an idea of the layout of the park and whilst waiting for
the train we were royally entertained by the brilliantly coloured macaws in a
nearby enclosure. I was particularly
taken with one who was showing off by sliding down a slope (the roof of a
feeding tray). He went feet first, then
tail first, on his back – yes, really – and finally fell off in a great flutter
of wings and noise. Teach him to show
off!
The great joys for me were the
walk-through aviaries with their bird-feeding points. By being very patient and standing still,
birds eventually arrive and are almost within touching distance. I couldn't begin to name them all, but in the
African Waterfall Aviary they included parrots of every colour and size: bright
greens and reds, yellows and blues.
There are also other birds of every combination of colours. These included Turacos, Carmine Bee Eaters, Red
and Yellow Barbets and Weavers.
The man-made waterfall (over 30
metres,) is set among the tropical vegetation.
Apparently there are over 1,300 birds flying free in here.
In the South-East Asian Birds
Aviary there are some stupendous birds in royal blue and black which I
discovered are called the Asian Fairy Blue.
There was also a very dull looking brown kingfisher - until he turned
around. He has a beautiful turquoise
back. There are also some Bali Mynahs.
A keeper told me that these
Mynahs, which are white with black tips and patches of blue round the eyes, are
very shy. He said that I would have to
look very carefully for them. Would you
believe that they came close enough to photograph? You do have to look very carefully for some
of the birds as they are very tiny and their colours blend well with the
flowers and foliage.
The Jungle Jewels Aviary – named for the Hummingbirds in their
jewel-like colours. As they dart about
from flower to flower and their wings flap at an incredible rate of knots it is
difficult sometimes to see them but I did see a few, particularly the rubies
and one called a Sparkling Violet. To
add colour to the streams in the aviary there were colourful Teals and Pintail
ducks.
In an enclosure was a very proud
looking mama, showing off her baby. Ever
seen a baby ostrich? Fluffy, grey,
gorgeous eyes, long curly lashes - and larger than mum.
Safely caged are the magnificent
and haughty birds of prey. Then there
are corners where I found Birds of Paradise, kingfishers, owls and more
parrots. The water birds are,
predictably, on Swan and Flamingo
Lakes
Jurong has over 7,000 birds
representing 600 different species from around the world and specialises in
breeding programmes and conservation, for which I salute them.
