Mauritius capital city turned out to bear good numbers of the endemic and endangered Mauritius flying fox. Curlew and Terek sandpipers or greater sand plovers occur in the city’s Terre Rouge bird sanctuary.

Vietnam’s capital city gardens are a passerines haven. We bagged gray-throated martins, sooty-headed bulbuls and gray-breasted prinia on a Red River island and ‘commixtus’ Asian tit in the Botanical Gardens.

A trip to visit friends in Réunion Island years ago included a hike to Roche-Écrite as the birdwatching highlight. While looking for the extremely rare Réunion cuckooshrike, I encounter most of the island endemics.

The first stop of a long backpacking trip allowed us to get the hang on Southeast Asian birds. Gardens by the Bay and Singapore Botanic Gardens are mandatory stops in the Lion City.

A cancelled flight is giving me the chance to explore Mauritius for few days. Île-aux-Aigrettes stands out as the best place to spot local specialties: pink pigeon, Mauritius fody and day geckos.