My First Visit To Bukit Batok Nature Park

Occupying an area of 36 hectare along Bukit Batok East Ave 6 , Bukit Batok Nature Park was developed in 1988 on an abandoned quarry site.

On my first visit to this park on 29 May morning, I explored almost every corner of the park. The hilly terrain makes it a good physical fitness training ground.

The very first butterfly that welcomed me from far was this shy Ancyra Blue (Catopyrops ancyra). Since its first appearance in Pulau Ubin a few years ago, this species has been found quite regularly in the western part of Singapore as well as in the nature reserves. An excellent write-up of the life history can be found in the BC blog here.Next, I saw this hoverfly resting on a grass blade. The morning breeze made me feel refreshing and comfortable but it also posed a great challenge for me to get a good shot. Interestingly, I noticed this fly curving its abdomen, not sure what it was trying to do.A rather common Hairstreak butterfly which can be found in some urban parks, this Common Tit (Hypolycaena erylus teatus) was rather restless and flitting around actively. With patience, I finally could trigger off a few shots when it finally settled down on a leaf along a drain. Near a stream, a kind of white Jasmine flowers were in full bloom. This Chocolate Demon(Ancistroides nigrita maura ) enjoyed the fragrance so much that it visited almost every flower, thus allowing me to take up a good position to take this shot. The way its long proboscis inserting into the flower make it like a fishing line. The common name of this orange lycaenid is Yamfly (Loxura atymnus fuconius), a rather common species in the forest where its larval host plant Smilax bracteata is abundant. The Bamboo Tree Brown (Lethe europa malaya) is usually very skittish and alert. It is quite rare that we can go as close as we like to take a shot. I was rather fortunate to see this guy flitting out from its natural habitat, a bamboo clump to rest on a leaf. Instinctively, I squeezed off a few shots before losing it.

A few birds were seen feeding on a grass patch along the main entrance when I was on my way out. Apparently, they were not afraid of people who came close to them. What are these birds ?