During my (and my family's) trip to Australia, we had a 12h stopover in Singapore. As I have never been to southeast Asia, this was too good an oportunity to pass. So I started reading trip reports, asking questions on facebook etc. to prepare for this. I tried to find a guide but for some reason I didn't find the home page of Lim Kim Seng until about a month before going there (we booked the trip almost a year in advance...) I realised during my preparations that a guide would be preferable, to say the least...
Anyway, I contacted Kim and we arranged for some 4 to 5 hours of birding. He picked me up at the airport (Changi) and drove me back to the airport afterwards. Why not more than 5 hours when I had 12? The kids... When we arrived in Singapore, it was in the middle of the night in Sweden. The kids just had to sleep some before the next flight and both my wife and I were tired as well. I have this problem that I cannot sleep during flights.
We started off in the park Pasir Ris. Let's just also say that I did not see everything that Kim saw. It was quite overwhelming at first and particularly the calls were confusing. I did not have time to get a grip of all the calls. On the other hand, I had done my homework quite well when it comes to the visual appearance of the species. Before the trip, I had made an excel makro to randomly show pictures of the birdspecies in Singapore (and also for Australia) which I ran over and over again until I had learned all their names and how to recongnise them. Even with this preparation I knew, off course, that it is not that easy when you are there, watching the birds live but I did know most of them. Score 1 for preparation. :-)
If anyone reading this finds any mistakes, please let me know. The names are taken from the official Swedish list of all the birds of the world, so names might differ a bit from what the book says sometimes. I've also used HBW to assign subspecies - mostly based on distribution - which on the other hand became really confusing sometimes. E.g. it looks like HBW has split White-throated Kingfisher into White-throated and White-breasted (where the form in Singapore should be called White-breasted) but in my tick-list (www.igoterra.com - check it out, it's great!) based on IOC it is not split... Perhaps IOC will follow soon.
Well, some photos from this day in Singapore :-) and thank you Kim for a day, which I will always remember. I really hope I have the oportunity to go back and go birding some more. I'm not finished with Singapore...
Pasir Ris - first stop
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| Black-naped Oriole (svartnackad gylling, Oriolus chinensis) |
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| White-throated Kingfisher (smyrnakungsfiskare, Halcyon smyrnensis) |
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| Asian Koel (asiatisk koel, Eudynamys scolopaceus) |
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| Asian Koel (asiatisk koel, Eudynamys scolopaceus) |
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| Javan Myna (javamajna, Acridotheres javanicus) |
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| Common Flameback (guldryggig sultanspett, Dinopium javanense) |
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| Yellow-vented Bulbul (vitbrynad bulbyl, Pycnonotus goiavier) |
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| Yellow-vented Bulbul (vitbrynad bulbyl, Pycnonotus goiavier) |
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| Common Kingfisher (kungsfiskare, Alcedo atthis) |
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| Striated Heron (mangrovehäger, Butorides striata) |
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| Collared Kingfisher (halsbandskungsfiskare, Todiramphus chloris) |
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| Black-crowned Night Heron (natthäger, Nycticorax nycticorax) |
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| Otter (species unknown) |
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| Stork-billed Kingfisher (storknäbbskungsfiskare, Pelargopsis capensis) |
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| Red Junglefowl (röd djungelhöna, Gallus gallus) |
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| Red-breasted Parakeet (mustaschparakit, Psittacula alexandri) |
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| Stork-billed Kingfisher (storknäbbskungsfiskare, Pelargopsis capensis) |
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| Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (vitbrynad narcissflugsnappare, Ficedula zanthopygia) |
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| Ashy Tailorbird (askgrå skräddarfågel, Orthotomus ruficeps) |
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| Plantain Squirrel (bananekorre, Callosciurus notatus) |
I called this post speedbirding, but it was not like we hurried too much, I think. I wanted to take photos of as many of the birds as possible, it is much easier to remember what it was like seeing the bird when I have a photo of it. There are, off course, many poor photos in this post but still possible for me, when I read this post in the future, to remember what it was like I hope.
We were lucky, wheatherwise. It didn't rain at all, which all forecasts I had checked before the flight had said it would... In the end, I registered 60 species during these 4,5 hours and 44 of these were lifers. Although I believe Kim had a couple of species more than I, which is just as it should be as I couldn't keep up with him, especially when we had flying birds and calls. It has been the same situation the few times I have guided people, it's just difficult to show the birds some times.
Pasir Ris - second stop
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| Buffy Fish Owl (blek fiskuv, Ketupa ketupu) |
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| Rufous Woodpecker (rostspett, Micropternus brachyurus) |
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| Indian Cuckoo (indisk gök, Cuculus micropterus) |
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| Indian Cuckoo (indisk gök, Cuculus micropterus) |
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| Oriental Pied Hornbill (orientnäshornsfågel, Anthracoceros albirostris) |
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| Sooty-headed Bulbul (sothuvad bulbyl, Pycnonotus aurigaster) |
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| Long-tailed Shrike (rostgumpad törnskata, Lanius schach) |
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| Long-tailed Shrike (rostgumpad törnskata, Lanius schach) |
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| Brahminy Kite (brahminglada, Haliastur indus) |
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| Zebra Dove (zebraduva, Geopelia striata) |
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| Long-tailed Shrike (rostgumpad törnskata, Lanius schach) |
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| Long-tailed Shrike (rostgumpad törnskata, Lanius schach) |
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| Blue-tailed Bee-eater (blåstjärtad biätare, Merops philippinus) |
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| Malaysian Pied Fantail (svartvit solfjäderstjärt, Rhipidura javanica) |
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| Common Iora (parkiora, Aegithina tiphia) |
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| White-bellied Sea Eagle (vitbukig havsörn, Haliaeetus leucogaster) |
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| Olive-backed Sunbird (olivryggig solfågel, Cinnyris jugularis) |
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| Brown Shrike (brun törnskata, Lanius cristatus) |
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| Japanese Sparrowhawk (tajgahök, Accipiter gularis) |
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| Common Tiger (tigermonark, Danaus genutia) |
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| Magpie Crow?? - Probably not but I couldn't find out what it is. |
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| White-throated Kingfisher (smyrnakungsfiskare, Halcyon smyrnensis) |
Species list for Singapore, new lifers marked with * (which means that these 4,5 hours were the most "productive" I've ever had 😃 )
Pasir Ris
Birds
House Crow (huskråka, Corvus splendens)Javan Myna (javamajna, Acridotheres javanicus) *
Black-naped Oriole (svartnackad gylling, Oriolus chinensis) *
White-throated Kingfisher (smyrnakungsfiskare, Halcyon smyrnensis) *
Red Junglefowl (röd djungelhöna, Gallus gallus) *
Laced Woodpecker (indokinesisk gröngöling, Picus vittatus) *
Common Flameback (guldryggig sultanspett, Dinopium javanense) *
Asian Koel (asiatisk koel, Eudynamys scolopaceus) *
Yellow-vented Bulbul (vitbrynad bulbyl, Pycnonotus goiavier) *
Grey Heron (gråhäger, Ardea cinerea)
Striated Heron (mangrovehäger, Butorides striata)
Great Egret (ägretthäger, Ardea alba)
Little Egret (silkeshäger, Egretta garzetta)
Collared Kingfisher (halsbandskungsfiskare, Todiramphus chloris) *
Stork-billed Kingfisher (storknäbbskungsfiskare, Pelargopsis capensis) *
Common Kingfisher (kungsfiskare, Alcedo atthis)
Black-crowned Night Heron (natthäger, Nycticorax nycticorax)
Whimbrel (småspov, Numenius phaeopus)
Common Sandpiper (drillsnäppa, Actitis hypoleucos)
Red-breasted Parakeet (mustaschparakit, Psittacula alexandri) *
Rose-ringed Parakeet (halsbandsparakit, Psittacula krameri)
Common Iora (parkiora, Aegithina tiphia) *
Red-whiskered Bulbul (rödörad bulbyl, Pycnonotus jocosus) *
Arctic Warbler (nordsångare, Phylloscopus borealis) *
Ashy Tailorbird (askgrå skräddarfågel, Orthotomus ruficeps) *
Common Tailorbird (långstjärtad skräddarfågel, Orthotomus sutorius) *
Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (vitbrynad narcissflugsnappare, Ficedula zanthopygia) *
Olive-backed Sunbird (olivryggig solfågel, Cinnyris jugularis) *
Brown-throated Sunbird (brunstrupig solfågel, Anthreptes malacensis) *
Asian Brown Flycatcher (glasögonflugsnappare, Muscicapa dauurica) *
Spotted Dove (pärlhalsduva, Spilopelia chinensis) *
Buffy Fish Owl (blek fiskuv, Ketupa ketupu) *
Rufous Woodpecker (rostspett, Micropternus brachyurus) *
Pied Triller (svartvit drillfågel, Lalage nigra) *
Oriental Pied Hornbill (orientnäshornsfågel, Anthracoceros albirostris) *
Indian Cuckoo (indisk gök, Cuculus micropterus) *
Mammals
Plantain Squirrel (bananekorre, Callosciurus notatus)
Otter (species unknown to me)
During the drive to Lorong Halus
Crested Honey Buzzard (tofsbivråk, Pernis ptilorhynchus)
Common Myna (brun majna, Acridotheres tristis)
Lorong Halus (several of the species seen in Pasir Ris were also seen here but only new for the trip are noted here)
Sooty-headed Bulbul (sothuvad bulbyl, Pycnonotus aurigaster) *
Brahminy Kite (brahminglada, Haliastur indus)
Rock Dove - Feral Dove (klippduva, Columba livia)
Long-tailed Shrike (rostgumpad törnskata, Lanius schach) *
Zebra Dove (zebraduva, Geopelia striata) *
Blue-tailed Bee-eater (blåstjärtad biätare, Merops philippinus) *
Oriental Reed Warbler (kinesisk trastsångare, Acrocephalus orientalis) *
Little Grebe (smådopping, Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Malaysian Pied Fantail (svartvit solfjäderstjärt, Rhipidura javanica) *
Pacific Swallow (kustsvala, Hirundo tahitica) *
White-bellied Sea Eagle (vitbukig havsörn, Haliaeetus leucogaster) *
Oriental Dollarbird (rödnäbbad blåkråka, Eurystomus orientalis) *
Asian Glossy Starling (orientstare, Aplonis panayensis) *
Slaty-breasted Rail (brunkronad rall, Gallirallus striatus) *
Brown Shrike (brun törnskata, Lanius cristatus) *
Changeable Hawk-Eagle (variabel hökörn, Nisaetus cirrhatus) *
Japanese Sparrowhawk (tajgahök, Accipiter gularis) *
Yellow-bellied Prinia (gulbukig prinia, Prinia flaviventris) *
Oriental Magpie-Robin (orientshama, Copsychus saularis) *
Paddyfield Pipit (orientpiplärka, Anthus rufulus) *
Black Baza (svart baza, Aviceda leuphotes) *
