Tag Archives: Sungei Serangoon

Another otter encounter at Sungei Serangoon

In my previous otter encounter, I had written about one of them eating a fish along the bank of Sungei Serangoon. Although there were other otters nearby, I did not manage to fit them in frame and the lighting as poor.

Going back to the same place about a month later, I managed to find the family again. This time around, the lighting was better and the family was more comfortable with my presence. One of them was eating a freshly caught tilapia fish, while the others looked on. A happy encounter. I have uploaded higher resolution files this time around.

Continue reading

Sashimi, wasabi and otter

The Smooth-coated Otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) are a perennial favourite of mine. From the early days of my wildlife photography journey, I have encountered and written about them here, here and here.

I continue to bump into them repeatedly in recent years, but unique photographic opportunities have been rarer.

On an early morning in April this year, I managed to track down a family of these otters at Sungei Serangoon near to the barrage. Lighting condition was still low, but these otters were happily frolicking by the bank of the river. One of them had a fish and seem more interested in eating than playing with the rest of the group. My long lens setup was ideal for some close-up shots, as it was unconcerned about my presence, while the rest went away soon after.

What’s with the mention of wasabi? Go to the photo gallery to find out.

Continue reading

Brahminy Kite at Sungei Serangoon

The Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) is a common bird of prey that is widely distributed in the South Asia, South-east Asia and Australia. The subspecies in the Malay Peninsular and Singapore is intermedius.

In Singapore, they are found in all habitat except forest, and especially common in coastal areas. One of the easier area to see them is Sungei Serangoon.

Because of their abundance, most bird photographers have no problem taking close photos of the species and take no further notice of it. Most photos taken, including mine are mainly of the bird in flight seen from below, with nice blue skies if possible.

On a sunny morning in November 2013, I brought my daughter along for a nature stroll at Lorong Halus. As we walked to the bridge across Sungei Serangoon (Serangoon River), we spotted an adult kite flying around the river. Having lugged along my camera and lens, I thought it’ll be a good opportunity to take some shots of it. I mainly wanted to get some unusual angles and background.

Brahminy Kite
A bird flying upwards after a failed fishing attempt. I chose to position myself to see it fly in front the green foliage next to the river. Technically the background is considered busy so the autofocus must be set on a smaller area to avoid misfocus.

Continue reading