Singing in the Rain : A Day of Wildlife Delights at Jurong Lake Gardens

No, this post is not about the movie  Singin' in the Rain. It is about Magpie Robin singing in the rain.

Last Sunday (June 9th, 2024) we visited Jurong Lake Gardens in the morning. It started to rain heavily about 40 minutes after we began our walk, so we took shelter by the play ground Forest Ramble.

As the rain poured down, I heard the beautiful chirps of a Magpie Robin mingling with the sound of raindrops. I looked towards the bushes in the direction of the bird song but saw nothing but the bush's leaves lightly swaying under the impact of the raindrops.

Turning towards the playground, I finally spotted the Magpie Robin singing in the rain. It chirped for a few seconds, then paused, and chirped again. It turned in my direction, tilted its head slightly as if noticing that I was taking pictures, and then resumed its calls.

The bird song was beautiful, and the sight of the robin standing on a rope near a post was endearing. The photos capturing the scene with clearly streaking raindrops looked great as well.

Earlier in the morning, on the waterway walking bridge, I spotted a beautiful male Sunbird foraging in the crepe gingers. I stopped to watch it, and lucky for me, it moved in my direction, getting closer after each sip of nectars.

It was a male Brown Throated Sunbird. It had dull brown throat, metallic purple head and shoulder patch, pale yellow underbody, brown feathers, black tail and black bill. These colors together formed the brown throated sunbird's beautiful plumage.

The bird flew to a crepe ginger right next to me, drinking nectar, and looking around alternately. The green leaves with white crepe ginner flower, the reddish stems, provided a perfect background for it to pose for photos.

Another fascinating wildlife sighting that day involved interesting interactions between otters when one of them caught a big fish, and refused to share with the rest of the group.

One otter caught a big fish and swam away from its group to the shore to eat the fish. When other otters approached it to try to have a piece of the fish, the otter dived under water and swam away.

When the other otter caught up with the reemerged otter, it would turn to protect its food from being snapped sway, biting and then diving, reemerging to try to eat the fish again.

It was hilarious 

no sharing!

These are common wildlife in Singapore, but today they put on fascinating shows that I had not seen before. It was a day full of unexpected delights and beautiful encounters.