Date: 15/01/2010
Time start: 7:00am
Time end: 10:00am
Weather: Sunny
Location: Beside the boardwalk of Chemperai Trail. (Spot X – 1)
Observations: No feeding noted
Fruit abundance: at least 3
Today’s the day I make my virgin trip to MacRitchie at the crack of dawn. Even though no feeding, on the Melastoma bush specifically, could be seen, it was by far one of the most interesting field trips ever. Really.
1) First of, it was pitch black when I got ready to walk the boardwalk with friend, who kindly gave up his extra snooze hours for yours truly. Thanks loads, Reuben! These 2 (top left and bottom are courtesy of my friend) were taken before the clock struck 7. 
With a torch in hand, I quickly and quietly set up the stool and took out the necessary equipments. My stool was just a few (about 30) centimetres away from the lapping waters of the reservoir. Fingers crossed, I was fervently wishing, that the birds would take no notice of me and carry on with their early morning rituals.
2) Nothing gets me more excited than the sight of wild critters, better if they are behaving without reservations (i.e. not getting stressed out about the presence of odd-looking predator-potential objects).
* At 7:45, 1ST sighting of bird!! It hopped between the rather spacey gaps of the Melastoma patch before making its stop on a Dillenia bush and came into view. Bulbul! And not just any of the yellow-vented ones. This one had red eyes!! The streaks near its beak and eye area differentiate the Olive-Winged Bulbul (Pycnonotus plumosus plumosus) from the other red-eyed ones. It stood alone and fed on the red, luscious seeds of the Simpoh Ayer. It took to the skies when 2 joggers thudded by. Sigh…
* By this time, I had goosebumps all over as the morning wind blew chills from behind me. All I wanted that very moment was a hot water bottle. 8:20 – 2ND sighting: and it was the Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Dicaeum trigonostigma) this time. There was no mistaking the slaty-blue upper portions and its yolky-orange breast. Following close was a less colourful one, but just as small. It could be a female (noted an orange patch on its breast) but can’t be confirmed since yours truly was too entranced with the striking other and the black bit that it was holding between its beak. Melastoma??
After much peering into the binoculars and the cog-whirring in my mind, I deduced (sadly) that it can’t be the Melastoma fruit since it had a certain firmness and roundness that seemed lacking in the Melastoma fruit when held between the beak (the Melastoma will be looking rather squashed and “sticky”). Other than the Melastoma, I know another fruit which’s rather black and small – and that’s of the Koster’s Curse (Clidemia hirta). But I could be wrong.
3) The 3rd thing that had me jumping to my feet, literally was this: 
At 8:35, the hum of a boat’s engine reached my ears and I turned to look. As they got closer, they gestured “Up, up” which I replied to by pointing to my binoculars. Then, one of them shouted, “Water, water”. I took a slight look to the right and… SHIT, the wakes that resulted from the boat’s fast speed through the reservoir was rushing close to where I sat in 3secs. Lest I wanted my bag soaking wet, I gathered my bag and stool hurriedly and slung them over the boardwalk. And just as I climbed upwards, the waves slapped in.
Watching that incoming wake and the force that accompanied, I was reminded of what one of my lecturers said during Ecology class. Strong wakes accompanied by their high occurrence spell bad news for shorelines. When the waves generated from speeding boats hit the banks, the (wave) energy dissipates at the cost of soil erosion. Only if boats travel <10km/hr are the wakes relatively harmless [1] .. or are they? But that’s not the end, propeller wash also increase sediment accumulation besides resulting in a Teh O-looking water column. Consequences? Algal blooms, fishes die, eggs (frogs, insects etc) get smothered by the stirred-up sand and at times, it’s sayonara to the nests of water birds. 
[One of the MacRitchie Reservoir Park’s inhabitants – possibly the damselfly Pseudagrion microcephalum, it is rather common on lakes, drains and lily ponds. Also sexually active in the afternoons]
Damnit, now that the boat’s arrival have smoked out my position, I didn’t have much high hopes for the rest 1 hour and a half. Indeed, I wished I wasn’t right sometimes.
Strong winds (Before and During): 
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* Additional notes:
Bird calls heard from 1 – 4pm.
1) chut chut chiut chiutchiutchiutchiut;
chu・nk chu・nk chu・nk
- a long series of call that lasted for about 15 minutes and at times, it sounded like the latter, with the “chu” emphasized.
2) tzi-uit tzi-wit; tzwit-tzwit-tzi-wit
- the first 2 calls were 2 secs apart from each other; calls were sharp, thin and the entire repertoire lasted at least 5 minutes.
3) chwee chwee
- the call gave heavy emphasis to the “chw” before dragging out the”-ee”
4) psh tzwii.tzwii.tzwii.tzwii
- the thin call had the “tzwii”s coming out 4-5x in succession, with 5-6 seconds between calls
5) tsip tsip tsip
6) hee-yuh hee-yuh
- Hill Myna was heard on the 2nd hour after noon.
7) tchee・ck tchee・ck
- the calls sounded thick to the ears.
8 ) chiu-chiuchiuchiu
9) tiunk tiunk
- the metallic tinge to the call was (highly) possibly from the Drongo.
7) tsik-tsik-tsik-tsiktsik tsiktsiktsik
- Very rapid and in short bursts; the small bird looked very much like a Crimson Sunbird…
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Reference:
1. greencleanboating.suite101.com: Reducing Excessive Boat Wake – Wakes Erode Shorelines, Harm Habitat, and Cause Property Damage
