Recommended read: Birds seen at the Istana


Birds seen at the Istana
How often are you able to roam freely in the grounds of Istana (Malay for Palace) to do a spot of birdwatching? Answer to that is -highly unlikely ! The grounds (or some portion of it) are however open during major religious public holidays for all Singaporeans and visitors to enjoy its lovely gardens.

The other alternative is of course to buy or borrow this book, " Birds seen at the Istana" -first published in 2005 by Singapore Environment Council.

The Istana building, grounds and gardens are beautifully illustrated in watercolours. This and the lovely pictures of birds captured on the grounds of the Istana provides us lesser fortunate mortals a glimpse of the splendour of the place. The book starts of with some background write-up on the Istana building and the other prominent buildings that surround it. That chapter ends with the various theme gardens that surround the Istana. I just love the time and effort spend by the artist to illustrate this in watercolour.

The following chapters shows all the lovely "residents" and "migrants" caught by the photographers privilege enough to have access to this place.

What i really like about this book is the chapter on the variety of flora and fauna that attracted this birds in the first place and more importantly the efforts by Istana to ensure this flora and fauna are maintained to ensure this birds continue to thrive and some take "resident" within this enclave.

You can borrow this book from the library.
Alternatively, try any good bookstores near you or Nature's Niche.

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