Category Archives: Birds

Ruddy Kingfishers in Bidadari

The Ruddy Kingfisher (Halcyon coromanda) is both a rare resident as well as an uncommon migrant kingfisher to the shores of Singapore. The resident subspecies (minor) is confined to the mangroves of Pulau Tekong, and not many people have seen them due to the restricted access.

The migrant subspecies (coromanda) on the other hand comes in small numbers in two waves during the migratory season. Once during the main influx in October to November and then on their passage home to the north between February and March.

I had looked at the recent records (2006 to present) to find the locality of their sightings. They have been sighted before at Jurong Lake district, Dairy Farm, Khatib Bongsu, Nee Soon Swampforest, Sungei Buloh, Malcolm Park, Lower Peirce reservoir, Pulau Ubin and even the Central Business District. The place with the most sightings is the former Muslim cemetery in Bidadari. The birds have been seen there annually since 2011.

Photographically, they pose a challenge as the bird tends to be skittish and can fly a good distance away once disturbed. However with patience, an observer can get close enough for a good look and photos.

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Giant Scops Owl of Mindanao

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The Giant Scops Owl (Otus gurneyi) is an endemic owl of the Philippines. Also known as the Mindanao Eagle-Owl, it is intermediate in size and structure to the scops and the eagle-owl. It is a threatened species due to habitat loss but little is known about it’s biology and behaviour.

On my trip to the Philippines to see the Philippines Eagle nesting in Mindanao, I had an opportunity to encounter this bird. While staying in a resort near Davos, our bird guide mentioned that he will be looking for this owl species at the resort itself in the early hours of the morning as he had heard its call on a previous trip. If he succeeded, he will wake us up immediately to get a view.

We thought little about it, and proceeded to sleep peacefully that night. In the middle of the night I was rudely awaken by some shrieks just outside my chalet room. I thought what an awful noise made by some unknown animal and try to get back to sleep. Just then, the phone rang, with our guide informing us that he had seen the bird. Without much preparation and just with my bare camera and lens, I rushed out to meet the guide who was shining his torchlight at a short distance away.

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Zitting Cisticolas of developed grasslands in Singapore

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One of the feature of Singapore birding is that the places for birding are getting less and less, and those that pops up temporarily eventually will give way to development.

Many of the mini patches of grassland that pops up are usually prior cleared land that is left temporarily untouched. These have finite lifetime as the land clearing is for developmental purposes.

While the grass grows, birds come and make it their home. And one of the most easily seen and heard is the Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis). Although often overlooked, they are in fact interesting birds. Their name is derived from the ‘zit-zit-zit’ sound that they make in flight.

Location name: Tuas Grassland
Previously status: A motocross venue
Current status: Being developed into a train depot.
Last accessible: 2011
Remark: The cisticola is holding a piece of material for nest building.

Location Name: Jurong West St 22
Previously status: Secondary forest cleared for development
Current Status: Partially developed as a building for a transport company
Last accessible: 2012

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Australasian Gannets at Muriwai Beach

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Muriwai Beach is a coastal area in the North Island of New Zealand about 40 minutes drive from Auckland. It is a popular beach for human activities, and also a dense breeding ground for the Australasian Gannets (Morus serrator).

It is an interesting place for photographers for two rather disparate reasons. It is a beautiful and unique place for landscape photography, as well as an excellent place to photograph flight shots of the gannets due to their huge numbers. For birdwatchers it is also an excellent place to learn about the social life of the birds during their breeding period. I had an opportunity to spend an hour or so to partake in all these.

Landscape photography is not my strength, but the coast is beautiful and the dense colony serve as an excellent subject against the backdrop of high cliffs and clear blue ocean. I am afraid I do not do the place enough justice, but here are some pictures nonetheless. I think the golden hour would accentuate the beauty of the place, but I was happy enough to get sufficient light for handheld photography.

A view from the trail leading down to the inland colony.

A closer view of the colony at the rocks further away from the beach.

Pleased with the nice landscape photo moments, I next turned my focus on bird flight photography. At any one time there are probably close to 100 birds in the air at various location, and getting flight shots was a breeze. It was a matter of getting the right bird, at the right angle and with the right background.

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The Japanese Sparrowhawk and the lizard

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The Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis) is a bird of prey that migrates from Northern Asia to South-east Asia during the winter months. They are birds of open or wooded area. Normally one can more easily see them near grasslands in Singapore, preying on small birds like munias by swooping them up in flight with their superior flying ability.

One a fine morning in late October 2013, I was at Jelutong Tower to find some raptors in the forest as it was peak raptor migration period in Singapore. In the forest, it is harder to see them perched amidst all the trees and lower light level. The plan was to see them take to the sky once the warmth of the rising sun causes hot air to rise from the ground. Then the overnight roosting raptors, that are normally passaging through Singapore will start on their journey south to their wintering ground using the rising air as additional lift.

That morning I had the good fortune to find a Short-toed Snake Eagle (Circaetus gallicus) and a male Japanese Sparrowhawk, the former being much rarer in Singapore and only the second photographic record locally. But I digress.

(A male Japanese Sparrowhawk at Jelutong Tower, with red eyes mainly differentiating it from the female and juveniles with yellow eyes)

Fully satisfied with my find for the day, I made my way out of the forest via Rifle Range Link. Nearing a flat portion of the trail, there was a quick flash of a bird flying across. I hurriedly scanned the trees where it presumably landed. With a bit of effort, a raptor was sighted up on a tree trunk. Fortunately, there was a concrete structure around 1.2 meters tall that I climbed on to get a better view of the bird. It was immediately apparent that I was looking at a Japanese Sparrowhawk and it was staring back at me.

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Tiger slaying Dragon

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Tiger slaying Dragon or Dragon-slaying Tiger?

Tiger Shrikes (Lanius tigrinus) are a migratory bird species that winters or pass through Singapore. Normally in the autumn months, the juveniles will pass through in significant numbers, and the former Bidadari Muslim Cemetery is a good place to see them.

The lizards from the genus Draco (meaning dragon) are commonly called flying dragons. They have an outstretched membrane made of skin between their ribs that aid in their gliding. They too can be found in Singapore, and Bidadari is an ideal environment as there are plenty of insects that serve as their food.

(A juvenile Tiger Shrike with a flying dragon, Draco sumatranus)

This is a story told in pictures about the encounter of the Tiger and the Dragon that took place in September 2011.

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Ground foraging behaviour of the Buff-necked Woodpecker

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The Buff-necked Woodpecker (Meiglyptes tukki) is a forest woodpecker species found in South-East Asia. The species is listed as a near threatened due to habitat loss. It is already locally extinct in Singapore, but can still be found in nearby Malaysia.

(Female on a thin branch)

As the name implies, it has a buff-coloured neck patch. The male has a red submustachial stripe which the female lacks.

(Male, foraging on excavated soil embankment, with insect prey on bill. To get this shot, I has to crouch on the roadside.)

I has an encounter with a family of four of these woodpecker one morning at Panti Forest, Malaysia in July 2013. They were first seen perched on thin branches next to the roadside. There have been some excavation work done to widen drainage and as such, there were loosened earth that exposed insects.

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Pacific Black Duck in Queensland

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The Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa) is found in Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and islands in the southwestern Pacific.

The apartment I stayed in at Queensland, Australia had a pond just outside, which is home to a family of at least a dozen of these ducks. As we do not get to see ducks all that often back in Singapore, my family had great fun watching them go about their daily routine.

The clear blue water of the pond creates a calm and pleasant backdrop for this picture.

It is always nice to see the ducks in flight. In this case, it was in the process of landing with the feet down.

The bright splashes of water after landing make for an interesting and dynamic scene.

Spotted Nutcracker in Bhutan

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The Spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes) seems to have a wide range worldwide, and is pretty common within its range. But in tropical Singapore, we do not have the opportunity to see this species.

I was happy to see this particular bird at eye level, as my previous encounters were with birds high up in the tree. This bird was also high up, but I was in a monastery in the mountains and the tree where this bird was perched was below it.

This particular bird was perched on a unique looking branch, with hanging lichens (old man’s beard), which added much character to the picture.

Tui in New Zealand

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The Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) is an endemic New Zealand bird. It belongs to the honeyeater family. Its name is derived from the Maori language. In earlier times, the English settlers called it the parson bird, because of its dark plumage with white neck feathers.

The Tui photographed here is from a farm stay at Matamata district, in the North Island in December 2013. It is interesting to note that its feathers has a metallic blue-green sheen to their underlying black colour that changes hue depending on the angle of light.

It is seen here with it’s favourite plant, the New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax). The curvature of the bird’s bill matches the shape of the flower of the flax plant, enabling easy feeding of the nectar. This is a good example of mutualistic coevolution.

The orange colour around the bird’s bill and forecrown is actually the pollen of the flax plant. So for the price of some sweet nectar, the Tui gladly acts as a pollinator of the plant.

Interestingly, sometimes the nectar ferments and as a result, Tuis can be seen flying drunk. Perhaps that’s why there is a brand of beer called Tui!