Yesterday was my 13th birthday! To celebrate I thought that writing about my visit to Tampines Eco Green Park would be perfect. Nature gifted me with a lot of things as I saw so much interesting wildlife. At first we got lost in Tampines Avenue 9 but finally saw the huge entrance.
Entrance
At the entrance itself, I was overwhelmed by the number of butterflies, lizards, insects and birds. There were many fruit and flower plants that had specially been planted to attract them. I found myself running around, frantically trying to take photos of all of them. It was butterfly heaven! Here are a few I saw: Blue Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis vulgaris macrina)
Blue Glassy Tiger on a daisy
Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus chrysippus)
Plain Tiger on a daisy
Plain Tiger with open wings
A Peacock Pansy:
Peacock Pansy
(Junonia almana javana)
A Day-flying Moth (that also regularly visits my garden), sitting under a leaf:
Day-flying Moth
Throughout the park, we saw many Changeable Lizards with different colors that were lazily enjoying the sunlight.
Changeable Lizard
(Calotes versicolor)
Path leading towards the park…
There were many loud noises near the path and we moved towards the sound to see two stunning black male Asian Koels. This was one of them:
Asian Koel
(Eudynamys scolopacea)
The stunning Leea rubra red flowers attract a lot of butterflies and have helped maintain the rich wildlife at the park.
Leea rubra
A Common Grass Yellow (Euerma hecabe contubernalis) feeding on the flowers
Common Grass Yellow
Euerma hecabe contubernalis
Dark Glassy Tiger (Parantica agleoides agleoides) which I managed to capture in flight.
In flight….
Resting…
I was stunned by this beautiful butterfly that I saw on a long blade of grass- its inside was multi-coloured and it was striped outside. I found out it was the Club Silverline which is quite uncommon in Singapore- but are seen pretty often at this park.
Club Silverline
(Spindasis syama terana)
Tampines Eco Green is quite unique and different from other parks because it consists of many different habitats- open grasslands, marshes, freshwater ponds and a secondary rainforest. It has various viewing platforms, bird lookouts, vegetable swales and trails which are all made of recycled materials and eco-friendly products. There is even an eco- friendly toilet!
Signboards in the park
We first entered the diversity trail which was 1,100 m long. The dead trees were sited away from the paths but not removed because they are essential for the nests of many birds such as woodpeckers.
There were many bird hides made of twigs and branches that provided excellent views of the water and trees, ideal for bird watchers.
First bird hide at the diversity trail
The view…
Another view from a bird hide
Some butterflies at the Diversity Trail….
Painted Jezebel
Delias hyparete metarete
Mottled Emigrant
Catopsilia pyranthe pyranthe
There were also many dragonflies buzzing around the swaps and ponds. It provides them with a perfect spot to sunbathe! For my birthday, I was so excited to have been gifted the book- A photographic guide to the Dragonflies of Singapore. It has been a wonderful reference.
Sultan Dragonfly
Blue Percher
Diplacodes trivialis
There were many Yellow-Barred Flutterers in the forest trail that were sitting on some long grass.
Yellow-Barred Flutterer
Rhyothemis phyllis
This Batik Golden Orb Weaver had a stunning web. This spider is one of the largest orb weaver spiders in the world! This was my second time seeing it, since I saw it once in Labrador Nature Reserve once.
Batik Golden Orb Weaver
I saw a White-throated Kingfisher perching high up on a tree. Even though it is one of our most common kingfishers, I haven’t seen one before!
White-throated Kingfisher
(Halcyon smyrnensis)
White-throated kingfisher on a tree
The open grasslands were the best place to view the birds. From a distance I kept clicking in case I saw any movement.
Open grasslands
While looking back at the photos, I realized that I had seen a Red-whiskered bulbul, a common cage bird. I was surprised to see it in the wild! It was stunning with its tall, black crest and red patch on its face. I feel so sad when these birds are caged by pet owners.
Red-whiskered Bulbul
(Pycnonotus jocosus)
As we entered the Marsh trail viewing platform….
Marsh trail viewing platform…
We saw a flock of Black Bazas (Aviceda leuphotes) sitting on the bare trees! Again, it was my first time seeing this distinctive raptor. It has a white and black plumage, and looks almost comical with its long crest.
Flock of 5 Bazas
Even though were a good 10 feet away, they seemed to sense our presence and one by one they flew away, until only one was left!
Bazas flying away….
Two Bazas left….
A brave one stays
That came to the end of our amazing trip to Tampines Eco Green. I can’t wait to go back again to this beautiful place. It was very calm, relaxing and not many people were there. I had such a unique experience as I had close encounters with nature and wildlife. For example, while I was walking in the diversity trail, a Grass Yellow butterfly that I was trying to take a picture of, actually sat on my neck for a while, probably feeding on my perspiration! Sadly I couldn’t capture it- but sometimes, it’s best to enjoy the moment and fully embrace it.
TIPS FOR TAMPINES ECO GREEN PARK
When to go: Early morning, or afternoon at around 3-4
What to bring: Binoculars, your camera, water bottles, snacks, mosquito repellent
What to do: Follow the sign boards that will take you through different habitats- the diversity trail, marsh trail and forest trail. Have a jog or stroll in the park and continue on to Tampines Bike Park. It is a wonderful place nature photography and bird watching.
What to wear: Comfortable clothes, preferably cotton and lightweight and trekking/jogging shoes
Walking time: 1-2 hours
What to look out for :Best places for bird-watching in the open grasslands and bird hides, dragonfly/damselfly watching near the ponds and marshes, butterfly watching at the entrance. Birds that can be seen here are: Red-breasted parakeets, Blue-tailed bee-eater, Asian-brown flycatcher, Long-tailed shrike, Oriental Honey Buzzard and Baya Weavers. To find out more wildlife in Tampines Eco green- check out http://ihengbok.blogspot.sg/2013/03/tampines-eco-green.html
How to get there: There are many buses that go to Tampines Avenue 9, where the park is located. It is a 20 min walk from the Tampines MRT Station
Address: Tampines Eco Green Between Tampines Avenue 9 and Tampines Avenue 12
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Lavanya Prakash
Blog- https://mynatureexperiences.wordpress.com/
Twitter- https://twitter.com/MyNatureExp
Facebook page- Mynatureexperiences
Email- mynatureexperiences(at)hotmail.com
My Nature Experiences 
Wow! I love ALL the photos especially the ones with the butterflies! I think you should be a professional photographer! 🙂 ❤
-Sargun (Manila)
Thank you so much!!! I would love to become a professional photographer when I grow up, and I think I have a lot to learn about photography as well 🙂
Lovely pictures of dragonflies and butterflies that we don’t see in the US.
Thank you for stopping by my blog! I really appreciate it 🙂
A really great set of butterfly and other flying creature in closeup. These are really thoughtfully done.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that 🙂
wow you have some really cool photos, an you were lucky to get some of the birds on photo!
i went today from about 3 to 5 and i didn’t manage to catch as many different types as you did, partly cos i was there for a scout and i was alone (makes it feel like a pretty long walk and i lost patience)
great job with the photos! would have love to see the birds up closer though (with zoom)
Thank you for your kind words Lexine! I really appreciate you visiting my blog 🙂 You should go on a more leisurely walk- spotting birds need a lot of patience. Look more carefuly at the trees and bushes for any movement- Tampines Eco Green has a lot of butterflies so I’m sure you saw a few at least! As for the pictures, I don’t have a proper zoom lens so I’ll probably be getting one soon.. they would help with bird photography a lot! Thanks again! -Lavanya
Hi Lanvaya, this post inspired me to take a fresh new look at Tampines Eco Green! Thank you for sharing your wonderful pictures and descriptions. I’ld like to link to your blog for my latest blog post. Would you mind?
Hi Dan, Thank you so much! This park is beautiful, teeming with wildlife. Sure, I don’t mind at all! Looking forward to seeing your post! -Lavanya