Birding

Yellow Bitterns in Singapore

July 14, 2019 by Clare M No Comments

One bird that is easily encountered in Singapore without venturing too far off the beaten track is the Yellow Bittern. The Yellow Bittern is often overlooked by visitors to many of the parks and gardens in Singapore. The Yellow Bitterns wander across the vegetation in the lakes and balance on the leaves in the water. Visiting Gardens by the Bay is on most visitors to Singapore itinerary, even if they are only there for a few days. The lakes around the Satay by the Bay food area are good for finding Yellow Bittern.

Yellow Bittern

Singapore Botanic Garden is also a good location for Yellow Bittern. We were lucky during one of our visits to the area. We entered the shelter at the Symphony Lake due to an impending storm and watched a Yellow Bittern feed below the shelter.

Yellow Bittern from above

Often Yellow Bittern stand completely motionless and wait for food to come to them. On other occasions the Yellow Bittern skulk through the reeds or balance precariously across them. We discovered that the Yellow Bitterns in Singapore have become accustomed to having people around them and you can sit quietly and enjoy their presence quite easily.

Written by Clare M
Clare and her husband, Grant, have lived permanently in Broome, Western Australia since 1999 after living in various outback locations around Western Australia and Darwin. She has lived in the Middle East and the United States and traveled extensively in Europe. She monitors Pied Oystercatchers breeding along a 23km stretch of Broome's coastline by bicycle and on foot. She chooses not to participate in social media, but rather wander off into the bush for peace and tranquility. Thankfully she can write posts in advance and get away from technology!