Day out with the birds

What a wonderful bike ride enjoyed through Pasir Ris Park on Monday morning! 4 cyclists and 4 walkers met at the MRT and spent a couple of hours in this park on the northeast coast. The birdlife was prolific. As we were hiring the bikes we could see a number of keen photographers nearby with their lenses trained on a branch. Through their viewfinders we were able to locate the nesting hole where a pair of Coppersmith Barbets are raising their chicks. I'd like to claim these images as Eric's but they were taken by the group we met with their oversized lenses.

So, within 5 mins we felt like we had already received our gift for the day. Then, as we rode on, we were drawn to the sight of sunbirds nesting, an egret colony feeding their young, the rousing call of the jungle fowl and the warning of rain by the koel. The highlight though was finding a family of pied hornbill in the mangroves. What a morning.  

 Jungle Fowl

 Pied Hornbill

The walkers also found another lot of photographers who had found an owl nesting but we didn't see them. Great day for birds, not to mention a pleasant ride in the shade of the raintrees and the cool of the mangroves. 

 Tree climbing Mangrove Crab

Last Thursday Eric met with Renee, the MAE Principal now that Peter's role is more aligned to the Kuala Lumpur branches. She wanted to discuss the composition of the downsized leadership team for 2015 which not only still includes him, but she also offered to promote him from Annex Head to Academic Director to oversee both the Punggol and Kovan Branches. We had to remain very quiet about the changing structure until all the staff were told in the first week of May. There are a number of staff whose current contracts finish at the end of this year and before Renee goes recruiting in June they want to have a clear indication of what positions need to be filled. We have the papers on the table to sign. 

On Friday morning he met with a number of other MAE staff to attend the ANZAC Day dawn commemorative service. Last year, when we both attended, it was hosted by NZ, this year it was the Aussie's turn. He found it very moving but also admits he found it hard to focus on classes in the evening. 

He felt the crowd was even bigger than last year, some of these bikies were from Cardiff. In the afternoon, before work, we watched the start of the Bombers V Magpies game. Bombers got off to a good start but it was never going to last. 

We've had a number of visits from the local health authorities this week as they try their best to put a stop to the growing Dengue Fever cases in our area. Dengue Fever is a mosquito borne disease and there is a constant campaign to reduce the risks by eliminating good breeding conditions. Our condo is fogged once a week all year round but we have also had door knocks to inspect for damp pot plant saucers etc and offers to spray the rooms with a Baygon insect spray. You dont need to worry about us, while we do take it seriously, it seems the Aedes mosquito prefers the blood of the locals over Caucasians.

For a few weeks now I've had a hankering for corned beef of all things. On Tuesday we made our way over to The Butcher in Holland Village and found not only this, but lamb shanks too. As I type this the smell of vinegar laced with cloves is emanating from the kitchen. It is going to be fabulous, though it's not like we've been lacking in dining opportunities of late. last night was the mid-term staff dinner at Wine Connection in Robertson Walk and today while we were in Holland Village we found a lovely bakery for lunch. Tonight we are checking out the menu at the venue selected for the end of the Great Race. its a tough life.  

We are looking forward to a day with Luke this time next week when he breezes in and out on his way to becoming a cruise expert for Escape Travel. We also have Doug (our best man of almost 35 yrs ago) and wife Kay arriving Friday, they are here for a few days so we will have plenty of time with them next week.