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.