Heard and Seen

Eleven kilometres in a nature reserve,
Drone of crickets
Overlaid with bird calls.
Rustling leaves
And a glimpse
Of a scampering squirrel
And a startled monitor lizard

There was also distant traffic
The sound of piling
And tractors.
And voices,
German, Filipino, Chinese
An enquiring mother
"Do you need a drink of water?"

A maintenance vehicle with two workers
Squeezes past me,
The first I've seen in years on this path.

A jet plane flies overhead, unseen.
Then another minutes later.
A Chinook shatters the peace.
"What's that sound?" A curious boy
Asks his mother who didn't have the answer.
Another Chinook passes, 
or maybe it's the same one returning.

My steps crunch on gravel
And squish in the mud.
My walk ends
And six fighter jets
Scream overhead.

As I walked through MacRitchie Nature Reserve a few days back, I focused especially on what I could hear. The crickets were particularly loud and persistent, I thought. Or maybe I was just paying more attention.

Gallus gallus

I heard an unfamiliar sound-

The crowing of a cockerel. 

Because bird flu

Keeping chickens is illegal. 

And then I saw it was no tame bird

But a wild junglefowl, crossing the road. 

 

A Day at Macritchie Reservoir nature reserve

Located in the centre of Singapore island, this nature reserve is a peaceful haven most of the time. Occasionally it does get more activity, nonetheless it’s a good spot for a meditative walk. Here are some sights from a recent walk.

The macaques move in and “own” the boardwalk. I don’t trust them and clutch my stuff tightly.

Leaves and reflections.

A boardwalk brings the trail closer to the reservoir shore.

Kayakers going up and down in their lanes.

Kayaks arrayed out.