For over 100 years, the records in the Herbarium of the Singapore Botanic Gardens have listed Dischidia hirsuta as presumed extinct. But last year, a team of researchers documenting Singapore's wild ginger population stumbled across it in a forest, thus rewriting the record books and bringing good news to conservationists in the country.

The rains have come and gone. January signals the start of the tailorbird breeding season which ends in June, and the birds are busy preparing their intricate nests at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

Pulau Ubin is a haven for wildlife - within its myriad habitats you can find 570 vascular plant species, 27 mammal species, 205 bird species, 39 reptile species, 7 amphibian species, 53 dragonfly species and over 150 butterfly species. It is not surprising then that the island is a magnet for nature lovers who seek out their specific 'targets' to watch or photograph.

Every dark cloud has a silver lining, as the Nature Conservation team from the National Parks Board (NParks) found out. On the evening of 11 February 2011, an intense localised storm struck the Mandai forest north of Upper Seletar Reservoir.