Five times a week, I go on my early morning (5am) walk to clock in my steps. In that approximately 45 minutes each time I do it, thoughts fill up my mind, and a recurring part of it is about what sort of articles I should pen down for my blog. Recently it’s been about my thoughts on the direction of the Bird Society of Singapore, the splintering of yet another Telegram group chat for birding and the general state of birding in Singapore. If ever I pen down all my thoughts, they’ll be very long articles and probably some knives drawn on me. But I am at heart a big procrastinator when it comes to writing, so perhaps it’s for the better.
As some sort of penance for not writing about those things, here’s something that is easier to pen down.
Ever since the Singapore Birds Project (now Birds of Singapore) started in 2016, a lot of my Singapore bird photos have been publicly displayed, well viewed and somewhat scrutinised. I of course have my own photo website and I keep some public albums in Google Photos and previously in Flickr. I have also contributed a large collection to NParks and occasionally they use my photos for whatever publicity or educational material.
This is not a boast about the desirability of my photos or the level of my photography. I am proficient enough but not outstanding in my photographic skill. However, because of the nature of their usage, what I am about to describe is my own standards when it comes to these photos and what sort of processing I do on them. This applies to my Singapore bird photos only.
As a start, due to their primary usage in bird identification, there’s not a lot of focus on the artistic side of bird photography. Which is not to say there is none, but the vast majority of time, I’m focusing on common pose and clearer background, just to make sure these birds are well recognised. So from an artistic point of view, they can be rather bland, boring and uninspiring.
Peregrine Falcon at Kranji Loop. Most of the time, these are the kind of photos I take. Clear background, birds showing their identification features as much as possible.
Peregrine Falcon at Jalan Kukoh. Much less often, I get lucky and it’s a more dramatic action shot.
Exposure, colour balance and contrast
In terms of processing, I’m trying to get the photos with the “normal” exposure, mostly neutral colour balance, normal saturation and lower contrast. Normal exposure sometimes means a bird seen in a dark forest in natural light can appear brighter in photo than in real life. Neutral colour balance may mean a bird seen in the early morning and late evening appear “warmer” than what our eye see at that time. Which is to say for the sake of getting the colours “correct”, we sometimes make some adjustments. In terms of saturation and contrast, my thought has always been more drawn to a naturalistic colour palette than bright and bold colours so it’s a matter of taste.
Collared Scops Owl at Singapore Botanic Gardens. Original, uncropped. Compared to the featured photo of this article, the exposure, tint and contrast of this photo differ significantly. I chose this because most local photographers would have encountered this owl in this environment and can judge the condition and colours.
Gadwall at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. Colours straight out of camera. Too much magenta.
Gadwall at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. Colour corrected.
Fairy Pitta at Dillenia Hut. Original exposure, straight out of camera
Fairy Pitta at Dillenia Hut. Exposure adjusted upwards, more than what the eye saw, colour temperature adjusted warmer.
Black-winged Stilt at Tuas South. Original uncropped and unadjusted.
Black-winged Stilt at Tuas South. Cropped, and colour balance adjusted for warmer temperature.
Framing, cropping and composition
I lean towards trying to take a photo as “best” as possible in the field, and rely less on software. My preference is to handhold my camera system so that I can move around more freely to get a better composition. It means if you are a tripod user shooting at the same time as me, I’m pretty irritating because I move around quickly to get the best light, the best compositional angle and I seldom linger for long at one position if I can help it. Back at the computer, I will crop more if the photo is not frame filling (99% of the time). And it may involve a heavy crop, light crop, tight composition (bird take up a lot of the end frame) or loose composition (you see other parts of the photo other than the bird). A lot of time, it really depends of what sort of distractions there are in the photo. Remember that in most of my photos, I’m trying to have the bird at the centre of the composition. Awkward branches, trees, leaves, rocks etc often make for poor photos. If they can be gotten rid of by cropping, then it will be done. What if cropping doesn’t help, like a branch still runs across the body? If I can help it, I’ll take another photo at another time. If not it stays in the photo. What about removing it with the help of software? It’s trivial these days. For Singapore birds, for about a decade now, I don’t remove, replace or add elements in my photos (see disclaimer later below). I am not a purist at heart when it comes to this topic. We all do what we feel is right and I enjoy photos by others with different approach on the matter just as much. For my part, because they are mainly meant to document the birds that I have seen in Singapore, more than anything else, I feel that the audience should know that they remain photos and not artistic re-creations. The usage of these photos by others also mean that they also have a simpler time explaining to their audience as well.
Willow Warbler at Marina Grove. Uncropped original.
Willow Warbler at Marina Grove. Very tight crop and slight rotation to remove unwanted elements, and contrast adjusted.
Ferruginous Flycatcher at Singapore Botanic Gardens. Original composition, skewed to the upper left due to mistake.
Ferruginous Flycatcher at Singapore Botanic Gardens. Cropped to re-centre and with tighter composition to highlight the fly. Colour balance warmer and exposure adjusted upwards.
Northern Boobook at West Coast Park. Original uncropped.
Northern Boobook at West Coast Park. Cropped tighter to remove as much as possible any distractions, but no removal or additions of any elements otherwise.
Things I remove/replace
Noise reduction is the next thing. These days, I shoot RAW photos and process them in Adobe Lightroom. I normally use DXO Photolab for their denoising and in some photos, native Adobe Denoise. I tend to take a lighter touch than what I observe as the norm. It’s a personal preference and I am OK with some noise remaining in the photo. Suffice to say, the current state of the art software noise reduction solutions are highly effective. But here’s the part about adding and removing elements. Any denoising (where using AI, machine learning or otherwise), is basically replacing noisy pixels with what the software consider the most likely “correct” pixels. How does it guess what’s the correct ones to replace? In the end it’s still whether it’s a good guess or a bad one. It’s a complicated topic, but in essence I find denoising my photo to be OK for my standards thus far. Again I’ll rather choose a practical and not an ideological approach. What else is there? OK, there is still sensor dust removal and chromatic aberration adjustment. For dust removal, I take the approach of avoiding frames that need a lot of work, but normally it’s not something I have to deal with on the bird itself. If I need to do a spot cloning on the background due to sensor dust, it’s done. For chromatic aberration and purple fringing caused by the lens, I’m happy to slide some sliders in the software to remove them.
Does the same thing apply for birds taken overseas? Well most of the time yes, except I’m happy to remove some elements (like branches, leaves, hummingbird feeder and such). But basically the choice of exposure, colours , saturation, contrast, cropping and composition remains roughly the same, except perhaps a little more boost in colour saturation and contrast in Instagram.
Conclusion
Every hobbyist photographer has a different aim in their journey. As such the outcome and the decisions we make differ. I’m certainly not trying to sway anyone on how to enjoy their hobby, but merely to explain the rationale for some of my choices. I hope that some of these examples and my thoughts on them make sense to you.
I have been birding for close to 16 years now. In that period of time, I have had a few Singapore first bird records; that is, being the first person to discover that particular bird species in Singapore. It’s one of the more sought-after achievements in birding, for it’s not every day you can come across a rare bird, much less be the first person ever to see the species in the country. So, naturally, I have been asked once in a while, “How many Singapore first bird records do you have?”
I can’t answer in a straightforward manner with a single number. Instead, let me tell you the individual stories behind each discovery and then give you my thoughts about them later.
I was invited to join a pelagic boat trip with members of the Nature Society (Singapore) (NSS) Bird Group for the first time on 20 November 2011. At around 8:23 am, a medium-sized bird flew from a west to east direction, passing by our boat. I was positioned on the upper deck of the boat and saw it, getting a series of shots. Down below, the other birders also witnessed it, and another photographer, Lee Tiah Khee, photographed that bird as well. It looked like a gull, but at that time, I had no idea where to begin and deferred the ID to the other, more experienced birders. They all settled on it being a juvenile Larus gull type, but the actual ID was not easy until, upon advice from Dave Bakewell, I sent an email to Nials Moore, who is based in South Korea. Here is his reply via a blog post here (scroll down a bit).
The sighting and record was then accepted by the NSS Bird Group Records Committee (NSSBGRC) soon after, and the species was included into the new checklist. Yay! So what’s the problem? The inclusion didn’t last. A few years later, the committee changed its mind and removed the bird from the list. Apparently the exact location of the sighting became an issue as they relooked at some of the older pelagic trip records. I managed to retrieve the data from a GPS logger I had running then, and the location of the discovery is shown here.
For their part, the Bird Society of Singapore’s Records Committee (BirdSoc RC) decided to place the record on their Annex A instead of in Category A. This simply means it’s not in their main Singapore checklist either.
2. Red-footed Booby – Singapore Strait (13 May 2012)
Red-footed Booby at Singapore Strait
Another pelagic trip organised by NSS, and this time I moved to the front of the boat together with Lim Kim Seng. With a clear wide view of the sea ahead, we soon saw a large bird flying near a ship at around 7:06 am. I remember shouting “Bird!” to alert the rest who were seated at the back of the boat. They largely managed to see the bird, but our front views were the first and the best. The bird was following a ship named “Jin Hai Yu”. It was headed towards the Changi side while we were closer to the Pengerang, Johor side. Our exact observation location, based on my GPS logger, was here.
I don’t recall exactly whether the ID of the booby was confirmed immediately by others. I have a hazy notion that we thought it was a booby, pending my photos for an exact ID. In the end, back at home with a field guide in hand and the photo on the computer screen, it was obvious to me that it was a juvenile Red-footed Booby.
How did this sighting rate? Well, at that time, the record was considered legitimate, and we happily filed it under our respective national first achievements. However…
About a year later, Chan Yoke Meng and Melinda Chan realised a bird they had photographed on 9 February 2011 at the former Muslim Cemetery in Lim Chu Kang turned out also to be a Red-footed Booby, hence predating our sighting by a year. Their write-up can be found here.
3. Black-and-white Bulbul – Jelutong Tower (29 May 2012)
Black-and-white Bulbul at Jelutong Tower
A routine trip to Jelutong Tower led to the discovery of this bulbul. I have written about the circumstances of this discovery to the wildbirdSingapore Yahoo Group. You can have a read below. To summarise, I was observing a Green Leafbird perched on the bare branches at the canopy of a distant tree. It flew off, and another black bird flew in and perched on the same branch. I initially thought it was a Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo due to its size and small bill (hence ruling out the Crow-billed Drongo). I noticed that there was a white patch on the wing, which made me doubt the ID. I was the only observer at the tower and I don’t even recall informing anyone about it. Unfortunately, my WhatsApp message archive only extends to 2013. Back home, I processed the photo and asked around, hoping for more experienced birders to help identify it; the reply was that I had photographed a Black-and-white Bulbul, a rare bird even in Malaysia and known to be a wanderer.
Were there any controversies regarding the sighting? Firstly, there is an earlier observation made on eBird (that was for an observation on 9 October 2010 but submitted 12 years later in 2022). Secondly, in a personal conversation with the late Subaraj, he mentioned seeing this species a few times in the Central Catchment area. However, none of these observations by either party were submitted for further scrutiny and, as things stand, my record remains the first confirmed one.
Email to wildbirdSingapore Yahoo Group:
4. Shikra – Changi Reclaimed Land (8 November 2012)
Shikra at Changi Reclaimed Land
I have written about this in a recent blog post here. In summary, I saw a sparrowhawk while on a birding trip alone at what is now Changi Airport Terminal 5, but in the past was newly reclaimed land that was left temporarily fallow. The bird was backlit, and the resulting views and photos were not ideal. When I had a chance to process the photos after the trip, I sensed it was something out of the ordinary. Two attempts to ask for help drew answers that were incorrect. Finally, in 2021, re-examining my photo archive, I came across these photos and, at that moment, came to the self-realisation that I had managed to photograph a Shikra all those years ago.
5. Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike – Jelutong Tower (23 August 2013)
Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike at Jelutong Tower
On 11 February 2013, Chan Tsan Tsai and Geoff Lim encountered this species and submitted the record and photographs to NSSBGRC. Six months passed and there was no indication of it being included in the checklist. On 23 August 2013, I encountered presumably the same bird, photographed it, and submitted it to the Records Committee too. Two years later, in 2015, both our records were accepted and the bird was included in the NSS checklist. In this instance, there is little doubt that the earlier sighting was the national first and mine was the second. However, at the time, my record was more well-known; hence, this is a clarification about the sequence of events.
6. Sakhalin Leaf Warbler – Dairy Farm Nature Park (5 Mar 2014)
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler at Dairy Farm Nature Park
On 15 December 2013, an unusual warbler was observed by Lim Kim Keang on the trail leading from Dairy Farm Nature Park to the Bukit Timah summit. Without a good view and actual photos, the bird remained unidentified until the new year came; the first photographic evidence and sound recording ruled out the Dusky Warbler and pointed towards the Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, and there were at least two birds present.
This would have been the second record for this bird species, as there was an earlier record at Lower Peirce in 2009. Here is a copy of that record submission. This particular record was accepted and subsequently the Pale-legged Leaf Warbler was included in our checklist. I do not know how the actual deliberation went, or how the similar-looking and calling Sakhalin Leaf Warbler was excluded. Perhaps it was because it was conventional wisdom back then that there had never been a Sakhalin Leaf Warbler found in the Thai-Malay Peninsula.
Back to the birds at Dairy Farm. There was a big interest in photographing the birds when the news came out, and some minor discussion on how to actually separate the Pale-legged Leaf Warbler from the Sakhalin Leaf Warbler in the field; but like many mega-finds, interest simply moved elsewhere and the birds were generally accepted as Pale-legged Leaf Warblers. Other mega-birds, like the first Band-bellied Crake for Singapore, occupied the minds of most birders instead.
In the meantime, I had purchased an app called AudioMemos to start recording bird calls. I had thought that ever since the Arctic Warbler complex was split, there was a necessity to record bird calls for documentation as well as ID purposes. For the next three months, I made it a point to periodically climb the trail from Dairy Farm to the summit and record the repetitive high-pitched calls of the “Pale-legged Leaf Warblers”, as well as the birds up on the summit, especially the Yellow-browed Warbler which I had recently ticked. On 5 March, during one of these trips up the hill, I heard and immediately recorded what sounded very different from the normal call. I have provided a copy of the recording below:
It was an incomplete song, but not at all like the song of the Pale-legged Warbler; instead, it was very similar to the Sakhalin Leaf Warbler. I realised there and then that we had been mis-identifying the birds this while. The warblers were Sakhalin Leaf Warblers, not Pale-legged Leaf Warblers. A paper was soon published in the BirdingAsia journal about this discovery. A copy can be read here.
Seeing through the lens of a birder in 2026, it seems silly that we could have had trouble differentiating these two species, as their calls alone should have been enough to separate them. The Pale-legged Leaf Warbler’s call has a measurably higher pitch than that of the Sakhalin Leaf Warbler. However, that misses the fact that the main paper describing this pitch difference as being diagnostic was only published in 2017 and was partly based on our analysis and data gathered back in 2014. Credit goes to Dr Yong Ding Li and Assoc Prof Frank Rheindt for doing the initial sound analysis that led to this conclusion.
7. Bulwer’s Petrel – Singapore Strait (12 Nov 2016)
Bulwer’s Petrel at Singapore Strait
I joined a pelagic trip along the Singapore Strait organised by Adrian Silas Tay on 12 November 2016. At around noontime (12:02 pm), at this location along the Singapore Strait, I spotted a blackish bird flying low on the water and quickly informed Lau Jiasheng, who was standing next to me on the boat. We managed to track what looked like a large storm petrel but gliding more like a shearwater. The rest of the birders heard our communication and joined in tracking and photographing the bird. Unfortunately for me, I was using my secondary camera, the Canon EOS 7D Mark II, and was not used to the autofocus system; as such, I only had one in-focus shot as it flew away. Thankfully, the rest managed to get better photos. On the boat after the event, our speculation was that it was a Bulwer’s Petrel. The identification proved straighforward when our respective photos were processed and passed around to the seabird experts. There were to be two other sightings of this species around the same area in the following months (29 April 2017 and 6 May 2017 respectively), believed to be the same bird.
8. Wilson’s Storm Petrel – Singapore Strait (12 May 2018)
Wilson’s Storm Petrel at Singapore Strait
I joined a pelagic boat trip organised by Martin Kennewell on 12 May 2018. At around 7:58 am, I saw Martin Kennewell and Richard Carden looking intently at a distant bird and decided to join in. I really had trouble finding the bird due to its distance; it looked like a tiny speck on the viewfinder, and it didn’t help that we were on a boat that was bobbing up and down with the waves. I had an equally difficult time trying to get the camera to focus on said bird. In the meantime, both Martin and Richard had already nailed it as a storm petrel and either both or one of them mentioned Wilson’s Storm Petrel as they saw flashes of white on the rump. I was too busy trying to lock on to the bird to pay much attention to their dialogue. In the end, I had only two very poor-quality and distant photos, but crucially, it did look like a storm petrel with a white rump.
In all likelihood, what we saw and photographed was a Wilson’s Storm Petrel, but because of the distance and with only very poor photos, we can’t conclusively rule out other storm petrels. Furthermore, the coordinates of the sighting were around here, which meant it was more likely to be in Indonesian waters. Lastly, there was another sighting of the Wilson’s Storm Petrel by Tan Kok Hui from a ferry ride to Karimun, Indonesia, from Harbourfront Centre back on 3 March 2007 that preceded ours. Both of these sightings were not assessed by the Bird Society of Singapore’s Records Committee. As a result, the Wilson’s Storm Petrel is not currently on our checklist.
9. Large Woodshrike – Jelutong Tower (22 October 2018)
Large Woodshrike at Jelutong Tower
It was at the start of the raptor watching season in Singapore when I decided to trek to Jelutong Tower on a Monday morning. My usual birding partner Richard White was not joining, as that’s not our usual day of the week for going to the tower. At the tower, I met fellow birders Oliver Tan and Pary Sivaraman. By 8:50 am, we spotted our first raptor thermalling up in the distance. It was a honey buzzard. We were all prepared for other raptors to soon appear as the sun began to warm the forest. At 8:53 am, as we were chatting, I noticed a medium-sized bird flying in to perch on a palm frond near the tower. My first thought was that it was a Brown Shrike. I immediately repositioned myself to get a better photo angle and started to fire off a few shots, then quickly changed my mind and blurted out “Flycatcher-shrike!”. I unfortunately blocked Pary’s view with my repositioning. Before I could get more photos, the bird started flying away and made a call as it did so. Oliver, who heard the call, blurted out “Large Woodshrike!”. I could only get some out-of-focus shots of its flight before it landed on a tree about 30-50 metres away, out of our sight. A brief encounter, but we were somewhat familiar with the species, having seen them in Malaysia, so the ID was not in doubt, even at the tower. We waited quite some time for it to reappear, but evidently, it did not.
This is the sighting I’m most famous for. And the reason is obvious. Unlike many of the birds that I found, this one is a looker and it’s also a rather unexpected find. So the crowd that gathered after it was reported was pretty big (by pre-pandemic standards).
It was Friday, 8 November 2019, at around the peak of the migration season, when Richard White and I trekked to Jelutong Tower from the end of Rifle Range Road via the Rifle Range Link trail. It was a dark, gloomy morning. Just before 7:00 am, we crossed the lone stream and started walking towards Dillenia Hut with Richard in front. He stopped 20-30 metres in, looked through his binoculars, and told me that there was a Blue-winged Pitta in the middle of the trail. Light was very low at that moment, but I made out the shape of the pitta in my viewfinder, and it promptly hopped away! Thankfully, we quickly relocated it and I started photographing the bird. Even at 1/60s, the viewfinder and the resulting photos were pretty dark. It was 6:54 am on the EXIF data. The pitta continued slowly hopping forward towards the hut and we periodically caught glimpses of it; I felt the underparts were paler than usual, but in that lighting, it was hard to confirm. Before it jumped out of view for good very near to Dillenia Hut, I had a good glance at the upperparts of the bird again and I immediately mentioned to Richard that it was paler than the usual Blue-winged Pitta. With the lighting conditions as they were and only some quick glances and glimpses, it was hard to call it, but we were sufficiently enthused about the prospect of finding a real rarity. We decided we should immediately head towards the tower where there is phone reception, download the photo to my phone, and seek some opinions from fellow birders. By then, we were already considering the possibility of Fairy Pitta or Indian Pitta and how to differentiate these species and their respective field marks. At the tower, with better light and with access to a search engine to do some image comparison, and some quick WhatsApp message exchanges with fellow birders, we narrowed it down to Fairy Pitta. Once we were happy with that, with big smiles on our faces, we proceeded to quickly head back to Dillenia Hut. The lighting conditions improved substantially and we refound the bird and could then clearly see it was a Fairy Pitta. Without an Internet connection in the area, I resorted to old-fashioned SMS and also trekked further out, holding the phone up for marginal reception to send some WhatsApp messages to our friends. We knew we were creating history (at least from a local birding perspective) and it felt good.
11. Common Swift – Jelutong Tower (9 October 2020)
Common Swift at Jelutong Tower
Most people remember 2020 as the year of the COVID pandemic. By October, we were already seeing signs of loosening of the safety measures imposed to protect the population. However, safe distancing was still the standard operating procedure and on 9 October, with masks on, both Richard White and I travelled by car to the end of Rifle Range Rd to get to the trails with the goal of reaching Jelutong Tower. We would have arrived at the tower by around 7:30 am. At the tower, we met Martin Kennewell, who had the same idea of looking for migratory birds. Just because there was a worldwide pandemic going on didn’t mean we stopped our birding adventures, especially Martin, who was still eagerly doing his annual Big Year. The sequence of events that led to our discovery of Singapore’s first Common Swift was documented in a Facebook post that I have screenshotted below. The weather wasn’t great, being cloudy and with a slight drizzle. By 9:10 am, a few Pacific Swifts started appearing and I started photographing while Richard and Martin observed using their binoculars. I was just trying to get better photographs of Pacific Swifts rather than finding something different among them. Richard and Martin, on the other hand, were scrutinising the swifts more closely and at about 9:14 am, Richard remarked that he could not see the white rump of one of the swifts. That prompted both Martin and I to closely track that particular swift and I was tasked with trying to get as many photos of the swift as possible. I did not manage to photograph the swift with a clear angle showing the actual rump, but I had sufficient photos to show other features. As the swifts moved on, we were in deep conversation about the identity of the swift. Both Martin and Richard, who grew up in the UK, had a lot of experience in seeing and identifying this species. They discussed among themselves while I mainly listened, and they mentioned they both felt that what we saw must be a Common Swift. Having none of their experience, I could only look forward to processing the photos later when I got back. Sorting through hundreds of shots of swifts, it became clear after looking at the shots of that particular swift that we had enough details to conclude that we did indeed observe and photograph the Common Swift.
Discussion and Conclusions
Writing this post has been harder than expected. As much as possible, I wanted to look at my actual write-ups and thoughts soon after the sightings, rather than rely on present-day recollections of events that happened a long time ago. Old Facebook posts were hard to track down, things like Yahoo Groups no longer exist, and some of the earlier WhatsApp messages have also been truncated; I had previously lost about two years of actual phone content due to a careless mistake on my part. All this is to say I am very glad I managed to compile all this information and complement it with whatever I can remember now. Who knows what will happen 5–10 years down the line?
So, again, how many national firsts do I have?
I can confidently list the Black-and-white Bulbul, Large Woodshrike, Fairy Pitta, and Common Swift as uncontroversial picks. That’s four birds.
For the Shikra, I consider that Alex Fok’s sighting was what prompted the Shikra to be listed in the checklist, but I can still claim that I saw the first confirmed record. The reverse situation is the case of the Red-footed Booby, where my sighting was the reason it was included in the checklist but someone else’s bird was the actual first record. One could say in such cases, we’ll just share things and I get two ticks for these two birds, which I think is pretty fair. But my current thought is that if I want to claim the Shikra, I should not claim the Red-footed Booby and vice versa. I’m happy for Alex and Chan Yoke Meng/Melinda to claim their firsts too, mind you, but I think I shall only permit myself one tick. So plus one bird, which makes it five birds in total.
For the Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, the original finder is Lim Kim Keang, but it was my recording and my realisation about its identity that were pivotal in getting it into the checklist. In this case, I’ll claim this one. So that makes the total count six birds.
For the Lesser Black-backed Gull, it was initially included in the NSS checklist but subsequently removed due to the location. And it’s been placed in Annex A for the Bird Society’s checklist. I thought hard about it and decided that for now, I will not list this. The operative words are “for now”. It’s pretty galling that we get to count something as a national first and the accolades that come with it, and then get it wrested away a few years later. Such is birding, and a reminder that there are decisions that are beyond our control.
Like the gull, the Bulwer’s Petrel is also controversial as it’s not included in the NSS checklist due to the location where it was found, but it is included in the Bird Society of Singapore’s checklist. This may very well change in the future and revert to the same status as the gull. For now, I will put this as a tick. So that brings my count to seven birds.
For the Wilson’s Storm Petrel, the bird was too far for a good observation or photos to rule out other storm petrels, there was another prior sighting, and it’s not on the checklist. Simple decision. Not counted.
Lastly, for the Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike, I consider my sighting as the national second, so not counted.
In total, my answer in January 2026 is I have a total of seven national first birds, but with big caveats. I think it’s not too shabby.
In my early days of birding, I quickly took an interest in raptor watching. It helped that there was a large, predominantly grassland mixed with some casuarina trees site in Changi/Tanah Merah that had been reclaimed for future use as Terminal 5 airport. It was left to lie fallow temporarily. For a brief period of a year or so, I was able to drive in with my saloon car to look for raptors and grassland birds on my own.
One morning, on 8th November 2012, I saw what seemed to be a sparrowhawk-sized bird on a perch and took a few photos. It was heavily backlit, and I didn’t manage to see many features. I went on my merry way to look for other birds soon after, and upon returning home, I transferred six almost identical shots to my computer. They were horribly underexposed. A cursory look led me to think they were worth keeping in mind, but at that time, I had a “Big Year” to deal with and many other birds still to find.
It was over two weeks later that I went back to have a closer look at the images. I couldn’t be certain of the identification, so I posted them in a Facebook group looking for answers. Two more experienced birders mentioned Crested Goshawk which, to be fair, would be the most similar-looking bird. I did not pursue the matter further as, again, I was on a Big Year quest; my identification skills were pretty rudimentary then, and I already had a Crested Goshawk on my list.
About a year later, I founded a Facebook group called Bird Sightings. By then, I was a bit more experienced, and the group included even more seasoned birders. That bird was still in the back of my mind, and I decided to post the photo again, looking for a fresh ID. The thinking at the time was to find the closest fit, and in this case, the answer was a female Japanese Sparrowhawk. Now, let’s be clear: it was 2013, and many of us in Singapore had limited exposure to sparrowhawks and other raptors, and even less to perched ones. The reclaimed land had been closed to the public by then and opportunities to get first hand knowledge was limited. We were all learning together (and, of course, still are), and it would take another few years before some of us ventured to Thailand to study the various sparrowhawks up close and in big numbers.
Years passed, and on 21st November 2019 at Jelutong Tower, Alex Fok, a birder friend of mine, took a few shots of an interesting raptor passing by that turned out to be a Shikra. That got everyone excited, and with that record, the species was finally included in our local checklist. It had been speculated a few years prior that one could fly over, and here was solid evidence that one eventually did. Moving forward, the Shikra and its identification were things local birders needed to be aware of. I was a bit bummed because Jelutong Tower was my birding headquarters and I had missed the bird when it arrived. But life goes on, especially since a few weeks earlier, I had seen the Fairy Pitta with Richard White at nearby Dillenia Hut. That was a highly coveted bird and a first record for Singapore as well.
Finally, to bring the story to its conclusion, sometime in February 2021, I was looking through my photo archive (after someone asked me for a Common Buzzard photo I took back in 2012 at the same site) and came across the six sparrowhawk photos I had kept all those years. The intervening years had been a good learning process for everyone involved in the local raptor-watching scene, myself included. When I looked closely at those photos, I was pretty sure I had photographed a Shikra all those years ago. I immediately posted the images in two places to seek other opinions. More experienced birders confirmed the identification: I indeed had a Shikra. It was, in fact, the first photographic evidence of the species in Singapore. And it only took nine years to prove it. Better late than never!
Postscript:
All the six photos are of almost identical pose. All the resulting processed photos were also processed slightly differently but it’s hard to recover a badly lit and shot photo, no matter how many variations in processing were undertaken.
The Race to SG350, SG375, and SG400: A Look at Birding in the Fast Lane in Singapore
One of the games we play as local birders in Singapore is seeing how quickly we can increase our bird species count. In 2024, at least two birders observed more than 300 species in a single year as part of their respective Big Year challenges.
This got me thinking: If it takes less than a year to observe 300 species in Singapore, how long would it take to reach 400 species? Of course, reaching 400 could take forever, but what if we had a hypothetical “perfect” birder who never missed any sighting?
To explore this question, I turned to eBird, the global platform widely used for recording bird observations. What insights could we gain by analyzing all the available data?
In early February 2025, I began my analysis. However, just days before completing the assignment, disaster struck—a computer crash erased my prior work. Soon after, a family member passed away, forcing me to shelve the project temporarily. Two days ago, I resumed the project, starting fresh but with a slightly different approach.
Below, I present the results of this analysis in tabular format. Let’s first explore how long it takes to reach 350 species in Singapore. The table includes the following columns:
Start Year: The year the birder began birding
Species: The 350th species observed
Date Observed: The date this species was first observed
Years Taken: The number of years it took to reach 350 species
Time Taken to Reach 350 Species
The first row of the table assumes the birder started on January 1, 2000. Their 350th species was the Short-tailed Shearwater, observed on May 14, 2011. This means it took 11 years to reach 350 species.
Start Year
Species
Date Observed
Years Taken
2000
Short-tailed Shearwater
14-May-11
11
2001
Indian Pond-Heron
28-Apr-12
11
2002
Shikra
08-Nov-12
10
2003
Asian Openbill
20-Jan-13
10
2004
Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike
11-Feb-13
9
2005
Christmas Island Frigatebird
04-May-13
8
2006
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler
04-Jan-14
8
2007
Band-bellied Crake
01-Mar-14
7
2008
Oriental Scops-Owl
15-Dec-14
6
2009
Northern Pintail
03-Feb-16
7
2010
Brown Booby
21-Mar-16
6
2011
Amur Falcon
16-Dec-16
5
2012
Black-and-red Broadbill
24-Aug-17
5
2013
Booted Warbler
10-Dec-17
4
2014
Large Woodshrike
22-Oct-18
4
2015
Short-toed Snake-Eagle
20-Nov-18
3
2016
Chestnut-cheeked Starling
01-Nov-19
3
2017
Hair-crested Drongo
26-Nov-19
2
2018
Chinese Blue Flycatcher
29-Feb-20
2
2019
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
23-Jun-21
2
2020
Zappey’s Flycatcher
16-Mar-22
2
2021
Indian Paradise-Flycatcher
12-Nov-22
1
2022
Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher
29-Jun-24
2
Time Taken to Reach 375 Species
Now let’s look at the time taken to reach 375 species:
Start Year
Species
Date Observed
Years Taken
2000
Black-backed Swamphen
19-Mar-16
16
2001
Bulwer’s Petrel
12-Nov-16
15
2002
Little Stint
21-Sept-17
15
2003
Verditer Flycatcher
09-Oct-17
14
2004
Indian Paradise-Flycatcher
02-Dec-17
13
2005
Indian Paradise-Flycatcher
02-Dec-17
12
2006
Ruby-cheeked Sunbird
04-Mar-18
12
2007
Great Slaty Woodpecker
02-May-18
11
2008
Citrine Wagtail
14-Nov-18
10
2009
Pied Stilt
16-Jul-19
10
2010
Scarlet Minivet
01-Oct-19
9
2011
Hair-crested Drongo
26-Nov-19
8
2012
Taiga Flycatcher
30-Nov-19
7
2013
Chinese Blackbird
11-Feb-20
7
2014
Common Swift
09-Oct-20
6
2015
Caspian Tern
16-Nov-20
5
2016
Javan Plover
20-Jun-21
5
2017
Spotted Flycatcher
15-Oct-21
4
2018
European Starling
13-Dec-21
3
2019
Little Stint
24-Nov-22
3
2020
Little Green-Pigeon
13-Feb-24
4
2021
Thick-billed Flowerpecker
11-Dec-24
3
Time Taken to Reach 400 Species
Finally, let’s explore the time taken to reach the coveted 400 species:
Start Year
Species
Date Observed
Years Taken
2000
Common Swift
09-Oct-20
20
2001
Tufted Duck
12-Dec-20
19
2002
Siberian House-Martin
03-Jan-21
19
2003
Siberian House-Martin
03-Jan-21
18
2004
Siberian House-Martin
03-Jan-21
17
2005
Siberian House-Martin
03-Jan-21
16
2006
Javan Plover
20-Jun-21
15
2007
Javan Plover
20-Jun-21
14
2008
Ashy-headed Green-Pigeon
09-Oct-21
13
2009
Pale-legged Leaf Warbler
12-Nov-21
12
2010
Black Redstart
28-Nov-21
11
2011
Brown-breasted Flycatcher
30-Oct-22
11
2012
White-crowned Hornbill
16-Apr-23
11
2013
White-chested Babbler
09-May-23
10
2014
White’s Thrush
23-Nov-23
9
2015
White-throated Rock-Thrush
01-Jan-24
9
2016
Yellow-eared Spiderhunter
16-Nov-24
8
Conclusion
As you can see from the tables, it’s now taking significantly less time for birders to reach high numbers of Singapore bird species compared to earlier years of birding. In fact, if you started birding in January 2021, it would take you just 1 year and 11 months to reach 350 species in Singapore! The same trend holds for the other milestones.
In an effort to improve the data, I’ve also made some manual tweaks, such as removing certain eBird observations that contradict records from the Singapore Bird Database. Sensitive species like the Straw-headed Bulbul and Greater Green Leafbird are excluded from public observations, so I’ve assumed they are included by default in the count (+2). Here is the Excel spreadsheet if you intend to dig deeper into the details. Do note, however, that the information is only as good as the data entered by eBird participants. I have made only minor efforts to weed out the spurious records manually. There are also quite a few records in the Singapore Bird Database that have not been uploaded to eBird, so bear that in mind as well.
In the end, it goes without saying that birding should be more than just ticking off a checklist. This short article is merely a fun exercise to stimulate some discussion among local birders. It is undeniable that there is growing interest in this hobby, and I’ve noticed that the number of birders is steadily increasing. These birders are also getting better at finding rarities that land on this tiny island. The data I’ve presented here supports this observation.
Firstly, welcome to the exciting world of birding! Birding in Singapore offers a unique experience. Despite its small size, Singapore boasts rich biodiversity, giving birders the chance to encounter an impressive variety of species. The island’s size, combined with its excellent infrastructure, makes it easy to reach birding locations anywhere quickly. The comparatively large birding community, and advanced tools for sharing bird information, further enhance the experience. Not only is it easy to find and photograph birds, but it’s also easy to connect with like-minded people in the community.
1. Choosing the Right Equipment
One of the biggest challenges for new bird photographers is deciding what gear to invest in. A camera that can shoot birds from a distance is essential, but this doesn’t mean you need the most expensive gear to start.
Camera Options: For beginners, starting with an affordable, easy-to-use camera is wise. The Sony RX10 IV, though compact, provides excellent mobility and decent zoom (up to 600mm equivalent). It’s user-friendly and produces high-quality images in good light. For those willing to invest more, an APS-C mirrorless camera like the Canon R7, paired with the RF 200-800mm lens, offers greater versatility and range. Another option is the Sony A6700 with a 200-600mm lens. These combinations allow room for upgrades as you progress in your photography journey. Lastly if budget is a severe constraint but you still want an interchangeable lens camera system, consider buying a pre-owned Nikon D500 coupled with the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 200-500mm zoom lens.
Lens Focal Length: The lens is arguably the most important part of your bird photography kit. For distant birds, a telephoto lens with at least a 300mm focal length is the bare minimum. More focal length is always welcome, but bear in mind that longer telephoto lenses tend to be heavier and harder to carry during long walks. A focal length between 500-600mm is a good sweet spot for many wild birds.
Tripods and Monopods: Stability is crucial, especially when using heavy telephoto lenses. A tripod can be useful when photographing birds in one location for extended periods, while a monopod is more portable and helpful for tracking birds on the move. Consider more affordable brands like Benro, Sirui and Leofoto for your first tripod/monopod. The overall weight of your camera and lens determine the optimal setup.
Binoculars: Even if you’re primarily interested in bird photography, a good pair of binoculars, such as the Nikon MONARCH M5 8×42 series, is invaluable. Binoculars help you locate birds and study their behaviour from a distance before deciding on the perfect shot.
2. Bird Identification
After spotting or photographing a bird, how do you know what species it is? Fortunately in 2024, there are several excellent resources that can assist you.
Merlin Bird ID App: This free app is a fantastic resource for identifying birds using photos or song recordings. It’s especially useful for beginners who may not be familiar with bird species. You can download it here.
Online Birding Communities: Facebook groups like Bird Sightings or Telegram groups (here or here) dedicated to birdwatching are great platforms for connecting with fellow birders. These communities can assist with identification, birding tips, and local sightings. Additionally, as you know more birding friends, you may get added to private WhatsApp groups that discuss sightings in smaller, more focused settings.
Books and Field Guides: Once you’ve identified around 80-100 birds, I recommend investing in a field guide. Before that, you can pretty much rely on the community for assistance. Once your each that number, I think it’s time to learn more comprehensively about the birds, and field guides are excellent learning material, if a bit dated with many other free online sites available for basically the same function. A good review can be found here
3. Other Resources for Birds
eBird: eBird is your best friend when it comes to discovering rare bird sightings in Singapore, finding popular birding locations, and recording your own sightings. You can find it here.
Birds of Singapore website: This website provides a comprehensive account of all wild bird species in Singapore. It includes photos, descriptions, and links to external resources. Visit Birds of Singapore for more information.
Xeno-canto: A great resource for bird sound recordings. You can access it here.
4. Learning Bird Photography and Camera Settings
Technical mastery is key in bird and wildlife photography, as birds are fast-moving subjects often found in challenging lighting conditions. Here are a few tips:
Shutter Speed: For perched birds, a speed of 1/500 sec is often enough. For birds in flight, 1/2000 sec is a good starting point and you adjust lower or higher depending on the speed and distance of the bird. Burst mode helps capture multiple frames in quick succession.
Aperture: A wide aperture (low f-stop) like f/4 or f/5.6 helps create a shallow depth of field, blurring the background and making the bird stand out. Use the widest aperture available for most shots unless specific needs arise.
ISO: Lower ISOs (e.g., ISO 100-400) yield better image quality with less noise. However, in low light, increase ISO to maintain a viable shutter speed. Most modern cameras handle higher ISOs well, so don’t be afraid to push it to ISO 800 or higher if needed.
Autofocus: Continuous autofocus (AF-C or AI Servo) is recommended for moving subjects. Many cameras have subject-tracking modes that help the camera lock onto and follow a bird’s movements. If you camera comes with bird subject detection mode, use the “Wide” or “Zone” settings, but in trickier conditions, learn to quickly switch to single focus point for manual subject detection.
Coppersmith Barbet breeding pair at Ghim Moh Link. Settings: 840mm, 1/500s, f/5.6, ISO 500
5. Learning the Basics of Composition
Composition elevates your photos from snapshots to compelling images. Here are just a few tips that may help
Backgrounds: Pay attention to the background. A clean, uncluttered background helps the bird stand out. Changing your angle slightly can make a big difference.
Action Shots: Capture moments of movement, like birds taking off, feeding, or interacting with their environment. These moments bring life to your photos and tell a story.
Eyes in Focus: The eye should always be sharp and in focus. The viewer naturally connects with the eyes of the bird, so having them clear and focused makes for a more engaging image.
Use of Light: Lighting is critical to any type of photography, including bird photography. Soft, natural light (early morning or late afternoon) is ideal for bird photography as it casts a warm glow, enhances colours, and reduces harsh shadows. Also be aware of the position of the sun, as that also determine the quality of the light.
Negative Space: This refers to the area around your subject. In bird photography, leaving a larger portion of the frame empty is often preferable than a frame filling shot. Sometimes you may want to show the environment in which the bird reside, and therefore the bird should only be a smaller part of the frame.
Perspective and Angles: Try varying your shooting angle to change the feel of your photograph. Shoot at eye-level with the bird for a more intimate perspective, or shoot from below for a more majestic or imposing view.
6. Post-Processing Tips
Editing your photos is important, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Start simple:
Basic Edits: Programs like Photoshop, Lightroom, or Capture One are popular among photographers coming from other photographic genre, but beginners to photography can start with the software provided by your camera manufacturer. Begin with the simplest edits—cropping for better composition. Adjusting exposure, colour balance and contrast can significantly improve the final result too. Just avoid over-editing.
RAW vs JPEG: If you’re new, shoot in JPEG, as the camera processes the images for you. As you progress, perhaps switch to RAW for more detailed, flexible editing. Please understand that for the majority of bird photographers, JPEGs are sufficient for high quality photos. It is after all a steep learning curve to learn how to process a RAW file to exceed the quality of the in-camera JPEG.
Black-winged Stilt at Tuas South. Settings: 600mm, 1/800s, f/4.0, ISO 250
7. Where to Go Birding in Singapore
The birding community you join will guide you to the best spots for birdwatching. However, if you’re just want to photograph a few birds quickly, here are a few beginner-friendly locations:
Parks and Gardens:. Depending on where you stay, there is always a suitable birding site nearby. Try Jurong Lake Gardens if you stay in the west, Pasir Ris Park if you stay in the east and Singapore Botanic Gardens if you are looking for a more central location. Look out for garden birds like sunbirds, flowerpeckers, orioles, ioras, cuckoos, crakes, junglefowls and a whole lot more in these popular spots.
Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve: This location is perfect for shorebirds and migratory species, especially during migration seasons.
Windsor Nature Park: Located next to our largest nature reserve, you’ll find more forest birds in location, including bulbuls, parrots, woodpeckers, barbets, owls and others
Singapore’s Abandoned Quarries:Singapore Quarry and Hindhede Quarry are great places for photographing kingfishers, eagles, swiftlets, and bee-eaters.
8. Advice
Be mindful: It’s OK to be excited about a bird you have never seen before. But look at where you are walking to avoid hazard. Look at where the rest of the bird photographers are positioned, so as not to block anyone’s views. Observe where the experienced photographers are placing themselves, because they are likely to have found a better shooting position. Don’t just simply shoot the bird at first sight unless you think it’s flying away in an instant. Observe their behaviour, understand them to anticipate what they are going to do next.
Gear Acquisition Syndrome: As you improve, beware of the desire to constantly upgrade your gear. It’s an expensive path, so be mindful of your purchases.
Social Media: Posting your bird photos on platforms like Facebook and Instagram can be rewarding, but it’s too easy to get caught up in the chase for likes, follows and shares. Balance your time spent online with time spent enjoying the hobby.
Travel: Singapore’s bird species are only a small fraction of the world’s birdlife. Consider travelling to broaden your experience and deepen your appreciation of the world (and birding).
Passion Over Clout and Profit: Pursue it for the love of the hobby and the joy it brings you. If you’re no longer enjoying it, it’s okay to explore other interests.
Lastly, don’t hesitate to seek help when needed. Every experienced birder started as a beginner, and the birding community thrives on mutual support. As you gain experience, you’ll have the chance to pay it forward by helping others. Good luck, and happy birding!
P.S. I am not affiliated to any of the equipment and brands I recommend. Please feel free to shop around for the things you like, and get the best bargain.
