Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

In the far northwest of the island, facing the Johor Strait, Sungei Buloh protects a stretch of mangrove, mudflat and old prawn ponds that turns out to be a significant stopover on the flyway running from Siberia to Australia, so from around September to March the mudflats fill with migratory waders, plovers, sandpipers, whimbrels and egrets, feeding at low tide and packed onto roosts as the water rises. Boardwalks and hides thread the mangroves, and the resident cast is just as good: smooth-coated otters fishing in family groups, monitor lizards, mudskippers propping themselves on the mud, tree-climbing crabs and, in the deeper channels, estuarine crocodiles that are genuinely present and genuinely wild. It is a twenty-minute drive and a world away from the towers, and it is free.

History

Little known as a nature area, the site came to attention in 1986, when members of the Singapore Branch of the Malayan Nature Society called for it to be conserved for its unusual variety of birds, including migrants from Siberia on their way to Australia. The government agreed and gave 0.87 square kilometres nature park status in 1989; the Parks & Recreation Department developed it with experts including the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and WWF, and Sungei Buloh Nature Park opened on 6 December 1993. Its upgrade to a nature reserve was announced on 10 November 2001, and on 1 January 2002 the whole 130-hectare site was gazetted as Singapore's first wetland reserve; it became an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2003 (Wikipedia, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).

The landscape

• Migratory waders - flocks on the mudflats from September to March.
• Smooth-coated otters - family groups fishing along the channels.
• The mangrove boardwalks - raised walkways and hides through the trees.
• Mudskippers and crabs - the strange fauna of the exposed mud at low tide.

When to go

September to March is the migratory season and by far the best; time your visit to a rising tide, when birds are pushed off the flats and closer to the hides. Early morning is coolest and most active. Check tide tables before setting out, as this shapes everything.

Things to know

It is a long way out, in the far northwest with a bus connection from the MRT, so allow travel time. Estuarine crocodiles live here and the warnings are not decorative; stay on the boardwalks. Mosquitoes are serious, so repellent is essential. Outside the migratory season it is much quieter, and the middle of the day in any season is hot and birdless.

Nearby

Kranji's countryside farms are nearby; the causeway to Malaysia is close.

Key facts