Another Unusual Guest

This morning the skies cleared for a moment....and a pair of green parrots were feasting happily on the tall branches of the rambutan tree. No one could have missed this one because it was making such loud noises. But much like the eagle picture I took a few days ago, the overly bright white sky and underexposure of the bird affected the picture. I touched this up this morning and replaced the sky with a bluer one taken at Koh Samui in June. If I could get closer to the parrot, its contrasting colours may have been more spectacular.

A Very Unusual Guest

It has been here before... I sometimes see it during the weekends when I spend more time at home than other days. But it is never quite easy to snap them in action. The moment you have your camera out from the drawer and ready yourself for the shot, the eagle has long gone. This evening, as I was just about to take a shower before dinner, it appeared unexpectedly on the rambutan tree. Surely it must be quite hungry to want to eat vegetarian stuff belonging to the squirrels and parrots. Compare the bird with the rambutans and you get an idea how big this bird is. Even the mynahs kept a safe distance below the tree in the presence of the eagle.

Flame Tree

The Singapore Botanical Gardens is home to countless species of trees, both native to the country as well as of foreign origin. And once in a while, a very unusual flowering of a tree species sends nature loving people into a frenzy. For me, it offered a perfect reason to take my butt off the cozy sofa, grab the camera, and exercise my limbs. Hailing from Australia, this tree bearing the red flowers is the Illawarra Tree. Sounds like a name given by the aborigines. It is isn't very tall, and the flowers aren't sweet smelling, but the bell shaped flowers grow in bright red clusters which are so numerous that from far, the tree looks as if it is on fire....thereby the name, Flame Tree. Its at the Sun Garden closer to the entrance at Holland Road. It won't last very long, so go there quickly if you can.