Heart-warming Moments

Unforgettable, Heart-Warming Moments

The past two weeks have been rather fortunate for me as I managed to capture on camera some rather fetching moments of our feathered friends in Singapore. I hope you will enjoy these photos and may they gladden your heart.

"Hello World" ~ Baby Laced Woodpecker (Picus vittatus) @Bukit Batok Nature Park

 "Have a snack of insect, dearie" ~ Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) @Pasir Ris Park

"Are you asleep?" "No, I'm awake" ~ Spotted Wood Owl (Strix seloputo) @Pasir Ris Park

"Angry Bird" ~ Straw-headed Bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus) @Bukit Batok Nature Park

Showing its displeasure to a Lineated Barbet on a nearby branch.

What a stretch ~ Orange-spotted Bulbul (Pycnonotus bimacolatus) @Singapore Bird Park

"That's a good baby, eat your grasshopper" ~ Olive-winged Bulbul (Pycnonotus plumosus) @Pasir Ris Park

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Pulau Ubin

Truly a bird sanctuary in its own right

Pulau Ubin is now famous for its population of the Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris), which went extinct a long time ago in Singapore. Through a concerted breeding programme, this bird is now thriving not only in Pulau Ubin, but also in parts of Singapore, including Sungei Buloh Wetlands, Singapore Botanical Gardens and even on the Nanyang Technological grounds. 

A short 12-minute bum boat ride from Changi Point is all it takes to go to Ubin*. But at Changi Point, you are preempted by the large flocks of parakeets calling loudly in the trees.

Over at the Ubun landing point, kingfishers and the red-eyed Asian Glossy Starling can be seen in the trees. And if you are lucky, you can see the hornbills fly past, too.

In Ubin, you can either walk, which is the best way to spot birds, rent a bicycle or take a van to various destinations. During the weekday, there are relatively fewer visitors and vehicular traffic. The roads, though small, are in quite good condition. The resident human populations is also quite small, so vegetation is lush and birdsong is heard all round at any time of the day.

During a recent morning's visit, I saw some of these birds, which I managed to capture on camera.

You can't mistake the loud calls of the Oriental Pied Hornbill (below), they are quite noisy but their calls are such a delight to hear. By the way, the hornbill taking off, is the Daddy, not Mommy.

A nest made for the hornbills

Ambling through the little roads, which have trees and shrubs on both sides, I saw doves eating by the roadside, sunbirds using their thin curved beaks to extract nectar from the flowers of the trees, bulbuls and pink-naped pigeons sitting quietly on the branches and hear the tok-tok sound made by the woodpeckers. 

By the shores of the quarry are herons and egrets, kingfishers and swallows.

On one cable, I spied a female Ashy Tailorbird pursued by two amorous males. Tiny in size but their trills are loud, giving the impression that they came from much larger birds.

Here's a pictorial display of these birds.

1. Ashy Tailorbird (Orthotomus ruficeps)

Male

Female

2. Purple-throated Sunbird (Nectarinia sperata), male

3. Olive-backed Sunbird (Nectarinia jugularis), male

Possibly a juvenile female Olive-backed Sunbird

4. Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis), juvenile ??

5. Stork-billed Kingfisher (Halcyon capensis), male, with fish-in-mouth. It held the fish in its beak for a long time, probably using it to attract a female.

6. Olive-winged Bulbul (Pycnonotus plumosus), immature

7. Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), adult breeding

8. Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis)

9. Blue-throated Bee-eater

10. Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis), male, a melodious singer

11. Common Flameback (Dinopium javanense)

12. Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri), male. Seen at Changi Village.

Note

* Mosquito repellant application is a must and watch out for the ants, some do bite.

* Food and drinks are available at the shops by the jetty.

* Toilets are found only at the main attractions, such as Chek Jawa and the NParks Visitors' Centre. But there are plenty of bushes around.

* Boat fare per person per way is S$2.50, or $30 if you charter the whole boat.

End

Fraser's Hill, Malaysia

The hill's alive with birdsong

Streaked Spiderhunter

There are about 300 known bird species of birds up in Fraser's Hill, Malaysia.

I've long heard about how easy it is to see these feathered creatures and finally on July 6-7, 2012, I was able to spend two days up there.

My local bird guide, Terence Ang, a knowledgeable man, commented that bird populations were thinner this time. That could be due to many reasons - not much rainfall, end of nesting season, etc. But no matter. For me, I saw about 20 types of birds on that trip, not a record, but decent sightings. (I saw more bird species in Khaoyai/Pakchong, Thailand - see earlier blog). And importantly, all except one, the Magpie Robin, were lifers.

Fraser's is in the state of Pahang, but the road up starts in Selangor. A piece of good news: there is now a road up and one that comes down. It used to be one road for up and down traffic and there were timing intervals to make either an up or down trip, the road being wide enough for only one vehicle.

Compared with the other hill resorts of Malaysia - Cameron Highlands, Bukit Tinggi - Fraser's is relatively quieter during the week day, which is great for birders. The scenery up there is gorgeous and you can see these photos on the Web. The air is fresh, cool, stench-free (unlike Cameron's), no swarms of flies and the little roads are in good condition. Vegetation looks rich and healthy and best of all, birds can be seen in every direction.

So here are the samplers:

1. Spectacled Laughingthrush (Garrulax erythrocephalus), below, formerly known as Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush. They are easily seen at places such as Bishop's Trail and Jelai Resort. They are quite used to human presence.

2. Large Niltava (Niltava grandis), below, adult male. It had just had its breakfast and was perching quite contentedly by the Bishop's Trail. 

3. Large Niltava (juvenile), below, identified by the scale-like feathers on its breast. Seen at Bishop's Trail.

4. Red-headed Trogon (Harpactes erythrocepphalus), female, below, seen at Telekom Loop.

5. Javan Cuckooshrike (Coracina javensis), below, seen at Jelai Resort.

6. Orange-bellied Leafbird (Chloropsis hardwickii), below, seen at Jelai Resort.

7. Buff-breasted Babbler (Pellorneum tickelli), below. Seen outside Hemmant Trail.

8. Silver-eared Mesia (Leiothrix argentauris), below, moves in flocks. Seen at Jelai Resort.

9. Mountain Fulvetta (Alcippe peracensis), below.

10. Long-tailed Sebia (Heterophasia picaoides), front view, below.

Back view, below.

11. Fire-tufted Barbet (Psilogon pyrolophus), below.

12. Rufous-browed Flycatcher (Ficedula solitaria), below.

13. Streaked Spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna), below, seen at Jelai Resort and Silverpark Resort.

14. Blyth's Hawk Eagle (Spizaetus alboniger), below.

End.

Lorong Halus Wetlands, Singapore

Bird life's maturing nicely here

Two years ago, when the Lorong Halus Wetlands (http://www.streetdirectory.com/asia_travel/travel/travel_id_54360/travel_site_1/), formerly a landfill in a swampy area, was officially opened by the pristinely landscaped banks of the Serangoon River, it was already well known for its bird life. Today, I am happy to blog that birdlife is not only healthy but in such numbers and diversity as to make a birder's heart thump with joy.

Of course, it is no walk-in-the-park in getting the birds to stay still long enough for one to take shots, but sometimes one can be fortunate. But anyone with a good pair of binoculars can see these birds in the bushes and trees.

Over the past two months, I managed to capture on camera a number of birds, which I am sharing here. Many are lifers. Unfortunately, not all shots are good, owing to poor shooting technique, cameras and light conditions but the birds were mostly clearly captured.

At the entrance to the park, several large lantern-like nests hang from the trees (above). These are simply stunning to look at. They are made by the talented Baya Weaver bird (Ploceus philippinus). Apparently, the male are the architects and the usually drab bird grows a golden crop of head feathers during the breeding season (December to March). They tend to nest in flocks and the males are promiscuous.

At Halus, puddles of fresh water and the heat wave attract the weaver birds and other small birds, such as the Golden-backed Weaver (Ploceus jacksoni), Common Waxbill (Estrilda astrild), a passerine finch from the sub-Saharan region and introduced here, Orange-cheeked Waxbill (Estrilda melpoda) from western and central Africa, and several kinds of munias - Chestnut, Scaly-breasted and White-headed. Here are some group photos of the birds bathing together.

Some weeks ago, there was a buzz in the birding circle that the Rusty-breasted Cuckoo (Cacomantis sepulcralis virescens), below, were spotted in Halus. This is a lowland bird and is endemic to Singapore. A very nice lifer, thank you.

Another lifer for me, a seldom seen bird, is the Little Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx minutillius), below. The little bird is the world's smallest cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It weighs just 17 gm and is 15 cm long.

For weeks, I had wanted to photograph the Blue-throated Bee-eater (Merops viridis), below. They were always too far away or flew off before I could focus my camera on it. One morning, as I was driving out of the park, I suddenly spied the familiar shape perching on a low branch by the roadside. It also made several spectacular aerial flights to catch its breakfast of insects. Staying in the car I managed to drive close to it and snapped some photos (below). The gray sky didn't help to produce great photos, unfortunately. 

Breakfast time

Interestingly, this bird breeds in Singapore from April to September, then flies off to Indonesia. The Blue-tailed Bee-eater then flies into Singapore.

One bird, who I will not fail to see whenever I drive to Halus is the White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smymensis), below. A rather large bird (up to 28 cm in length), it's bright turquoise, brown and white feathers and very prominent red beak makes it stand out from afar. There are four of them in the area and they like standing on the road railings. They would make sudden take-offs to catch prey in the grass, canal and trees. 

A shy bird that often hides among the reeds is the Yellow-bellied Prinia (Prinia flaviventris), below. You would hear its call but not see it. It does respond to calls but will still not come right into the open.

Other birds seen with regular frequency were the Paddyfield Pipit, Common Iora, sunbirds, Pied Fantail, Yellow-vented Bubul, Orange-backed Woodpecker, Pacific Swallow, parrotlet, herons, bitten, among others.

End