The quest for the Watercock
I was still feeling quite tired from all the traveling so I took the previous weekend off from birding to chill. Now that I’m feeling better, I was off to Jurong Lake Gardens for another shot of sighting the Watercock which I previously missed.
At 7AM, I arrived at the viewing platform overlooking Alstonia Island where the sighting was reported the day before on eBird. However, there was no sign of the bird. I made a brief detour to the grasslands area but there was nothing of interest (only the usual Ruddy-breasted Crakes) so I went back to wait at the platform.
I was chatting with another birder to kill some time when I noticed a bird foraging on the ground in the distance between two trees. Initially, I had dismissed it as a White-breasted Waterhen but decided to take a closer look with my binoculars anyway.
“It’s there, it’s there!”
It was an awkward shot of the back from a distance, but it was good enough for identification. The bird continued to forage in the area sporadically appearing in the open but mostly hidden from view by the trees and bushes.
Unfortunately, the noise from some nearby grass cutters may have spooked it to remain hidden. After waiting for awhile in vain, I decided to call it a day.
eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S323978095
The Salaryman Birder 
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