Tag: Asia
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School Trip To Nepal Through A Naturalist’s Eyes
Nepal. A country that inspires thoughts of jagged Himalayan peaks, prayer flags, and cosmopolitan adventurers prepared to tackle the world’s highest and deadliest mountains. But this small, trapezoidal nation nestled along the Himalaya range is much more than icy summits and tough treks. Nepal possesses an incredible amount of culture, history, and biodiversity. In fact,…
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3 Day Birding Trip to Fraser’s Hill, Malaysia
Back in mid-October of this year, after our fall break family trip to India was unfortunately cancelled (we didn’t have visas!), my family left it to me to plan a backup trip. Though I had more than a few wildlife-rich localities in mind, I decided on one spot in particular that I believed would appeal…
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Nocturnal Herping and Anting on the Mandai T15 Trail
The roughly 7km Mandai T15 Trail, beginning on the outskirts of the lush Central Catchment Nature Reserve and finishing within its heart, is a paradise for nature lovers and mountain bikers. It is notable for being one of the few rainforests in Singapore accessible after dark to the general public, and is among my favorite…
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Borneo (2023): the Kinabatangan River
Malaysia’s second-longest river, the Kinabatangan, and its surrounding floodplain forests, are two exquisite ecological gems constituting the jewel-studded crown of Borneo. I was grateful to spend two nights exploring this incredible ecosystem on my March 2023 Borneo trip. The Kinabatangan River possesses an ecosystem so bountiful in wildlife that it is often marketed as ‘Asia’s…
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Borneo (2023): Selingan Island and the Sepilok Sanctuaries
Welcome to part 2 of my March 2023 Borneo adventure! Hopefully you’ve read through part 1 and are up to date on the beginning of the trip for some background information. This post marks roughly the middle of the weeklong vacation: day 4 and half of day 5. We had a wide range of experiences…
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Borneo (2023): the West Coast of Sabah
To start my recounting of this trip, I’ll recite an excerpt from my journal: “When you love a place without having ever truly explored it, and finally get a chance to see it for yourself, you will almost certainly face disappointments and enchantments beyond anything you could’ve pieced together through imagination. This is what I’ve…
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Short, Wet Birding Trip to Pasir Ris Farmway
Sometimes a shorter birding outing is really what I need, as opposed to a half-day species and rarities haul. With schoolwork and studying consuming most of my time lately, I’ve been having less and less energy for bigger birding expeditions. Not to worry though, I’m still in the market for birding when I can get…
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A Productive Weekend of Migratory Birds
I’m not kidding when I say that sometimes my passion for the natural world is the only thing keeping me sane through high school! It’s a crazy time of my life; my whole future laid out before me as a path with many difficult obstacles to overcome. The good news is I’m certain my future…
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Birding and Plant Hunting in Singapore’s Last Virgin Rainforest
It’s been a busy semester for me. Busy to the point where, in the past month or so, I hadn’t gone out birding or nature-exploring much. Unusual for me. More on my mind in recent weeks toward the end of the term have been grades, friends, college, and did I say grades? But nevertheless, the…
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A Day of Wildlife Watching at Sungei Buloh (Owls, Otters, Crocodiles and Waders)
Last Sunday, the 30th of October, I embarked on a morning birding quest to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve with my girlfriend, determined to log some lifers. We planned to arrive at low tide, around 8:30am, in time to see Sungei Buloh’s famous migratory wading birds foraging on intertidal mudflats. Altogether, we had a truly amazing…
Bennett Gardner Wildlife Watching 