Tigers on Ubin, birds that sew, extinct orchid rediscovered and more!

Yes, there are Tigers at Ubin! Tiger butterflies that is! Developed with the advice of Khew Sin Khoon from Butterfly Circle, Butterfly Hill on Pulau Ubin boasts a wide variety of beautiful butts.

Read about this and about birds that sew up leaves, rare and new plant discoveries and more in the latest issues of My Green Space Issue 12 Vol 1/2012 a magazine of the National Parks Board.

Robert Teo in Butterfly Hill – Where Tigers Fly! shares more about what we can see at this specially designed butterfly spot. He says "some rarities here include Common Jay and Dwarf Crow. The last species was previously presumed to be extinct in Singapore. It was only rediscovered in 2002 at Pulau Ubin, and is so far known only from this locality."

I've always read about the marvellous Tailorbird that stitch leaves together with spider silk to make a little pocket which is lined with soft fluffy seeds for a cosy little nest.

So it was great to see photos of this amazing little creature and read more about it in Sharon Chan's Tailors at Work.

Out of the heartbreaking damage to Mandai forests, the worst in 20 years, a marvellous find. As explained by the authors in From Destruction Comes Rediscovery "On the evening of 11 February 2011, an intense localised storm struck the Mandai forest north of Upper Seletar Reservoir. More than 30 hectares of forest were severely damaged – trunks and branches were snapped, with many big trees uprooted." More about this storm here and here.

"A few days after the storm, during a boat survey of the damage along the reservoir ... Derek suddenly shouted for the boat to go nearer the edge. He had spotted something with his binoculars. Upon closer inspection, he saw it was a clump of orchids growing on an uprooted silverback tree."

Eventually, the orchid was found to be Bromheadia alticola, previously thought nationally extinct. This epiphytic orchid typically forms a large clump of about 1.5 metres in diameter on the trunks of the loftiest trees. It was last collected in the 1890s by the Gardens’ first director, Mr H. N. Ridley.

Another lucky discovery was made during a survey for gingers! Dischidia hirsuta, considered National Extinct, usuallys grow in the forest canopy. The plant found had probably fallen with the branch it grew on, or we would otherwise not have noticed it. Read more about the find in Rewriting the Record Books by Dr Michele Rodda.

The magazine also has updates on fun family activities where ordinary people can learn and experience our nature places.

In Having Fun in an Outdoor Classroom by Ng Li-San find out what happens during the specially crafted Learning Journey activities for children at the Jacob Ballas Children Garden (JBCG) in the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

In Walking with Giants by Valerie Wee find out what happens during a guided walk by volunteers in last main area of primary rainforest left in Singapore – the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

For the latest listing of nature activities, check out wildsingapore happenings.

There are more articles! Check them out on the latest issues of My Green Space Issue 12 Vol 1/2012.