par shanlung » Sam Mar 29, 2014 11:47 am
I thought I should mention in here.
A bit of the background to that. You knew I given up Yingshiong the white rumped shama to the Jurong Bird Park in 2005. I refused blank cheque offers so that he could fly in huge aviaries in JBP.
I went back to see him in 2008
Then I was there and wrote of that about a year ago uncertain if I seen Yingshiong
I was afraid of asking for Yingshiong as that was so many years ago, even if it seem to me just a short while back. What if I was told Yingshiong died or they at the JBP do not know what I was talking about. After all, they have thousands of birds, bigger and more valuable than a tiny white rumped shama.
I now cut to a recent posting I did in my facebook
You know I do not have birdies now and not have any until I find that place I will retire in where ever that might be. I thought my interactions with birdies will be restricted to what I can shoot in my camera even though I got myself a year pass into Jurong Bird Park. I also got a year pass into Singapore Zoo , and a year pass into Gardens by the Bay. But perhaps my interactions with birds might be more than just looking at them. I accepted an offer to be a Docent of Wildlife Reserves Singapore , an offer made to me I suspect largely because I am a year pass holder and not because of me as Shanlung. That will give me free and unlimited access into the Zoo and JBP. I am still undergoing training to be Docent in the JBP. That depends also on my being able to pass the tests they conduct. And my being in Singapore long enough (remember I am about to go on my walkabout to check out retirement places). In a strange way, I will be having a lot to do with all kinds of parrots from African greys to Hyacinth Macaws, white rumped shamas to green leaf birds, and Hornbills, and raptors and more. See what Jurong Bird Park is about. I strongly suggest that those planning to visit JBP for the first time should allocate an entire day here at the least. You might even see and talk to me as one of your guide into the bird world.
I was assigned to the station of my choice and into the JBP. In last weekend, 22 March 2014, I and others were at the JBP for station training. Part of the training was a guided walk into the South East Asian aviary. When we were there, I saw a white rumped shama flying in the huge walk in aviary and not in the side aviaries of that SEA exhibit. That shama flew in front of me a couple of times.
After that walk and the training session was over, I finally gathered my courage and asked that guide how long he was in JBP. If he told me he was there for 5 years or so, I would not ask if he known Yingshiong. He told me he was there for 15 years.
I then asked if he knew of Yingshiong with my heart in my mouth. To my surprise, he told me yes, he know of Yingshiong. And that he was flying about in that huge walk in aviary. He asked how I knew. I then told him I am the Shanlung who gave him up. He smiled and said that yes, he been to my web pages a long time ago but had not known I was among the latest batch of Docents.
I smiled too. That likely it was Yingshiong that flew a couple of time in front of me.
And since I am a Docent there, I will be seeing a lot more of Yingshiong.
And I bought my ticket to Taiwan , Apr 10-24, where I will be seeing Tinkerbell again.
Shanlung
