Birding Around Singapore

Having done visits to the popular attractions on the previous days of my Singapore holiday, it was now time to go birding around Singapore. It all started with sighting an Arctic Warbler on a tree right outside the window of our friend’s apartment we were staying at.

To help me get a start, given I had limited days, I hired a local birding guide Lim. The plan was to spend the whole day birding around the island.

Our first stop was the Changi Village. We were here to see two birds in particular; the Tanimbar Corella and Yellow-crested Cockatoo. The first to show were a few Tanimber Corella. Here are a couple of them:

But then there was no sign of the Cockatoo yet. But the place was buzzing with bird activity, the most being Red-breasted Parakeets. Here are some of the action that I captured:

This was the only place were one could get to see the Yellow-crested Cockatoo around the island. It’s numbers were very few. So we decided to grab breakfast in the hope that it would eventually show up. And it did. Here it is as it came and landed on the tree just in front of the cafe we ate at:

Here it is seen fraternizing with a Tanimbar Corella.

From its behaviour it is likely that there will be some hybridisation at some point.

Next we moved to Pasir Ris Park Mangrove Forest. The main target here was the Monk Parakeet. A walk around and we could see one perched on electrical pole around what seemed like a community nest.

Here is a Red-breasted Parakeet that I saw as we walked around:

The park also gave us good sightings of other common birds like the Pink-necked Green-Pigeon, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Asian Glossy Starling, Brown-throated Sunbird and Blue-throated Bee-eater. There were also a couple of Arctic Warblers going around looking for food. As it started to raining heavily we were forced take shelter in a building. Unfortunately it continued raining heavily for almost 1.5 hours. Damn, that was precious birding time getting lost!

Once the rain reduced, we decided to move on. Reaching another spot where we going to try for some Reed Warblers, did not yield any result. It was still raining quite strongly. So had to dip on them. The only option left was to go for lunch.

Post lunch we went to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. This place was good for shorebirds and waders. I got good views of Milky Storks, Painted Storks, Common Redshanks, Common Greenshank, Pacific Golden-Plovers, Whimbrels, and a Collared Kingfisher. There was a Green-billed Heron calling, one of my target birds. We finally got views of it a bit later. Given that it was still drizzling, I had not taken my camera. But here is a pic I took on my phone through the binoculars.

It was time to drive back south-east of the island. We headed to Marina East. The main target here was the Malaysian Plover. It took quite a bit of walking around and almost giving up hope of seeing them, when we finally saw a pair!

Here is an Otter that I had seen during the day:

With that it was time to say goodby to Lim.

The next day morning, my wife and I did the Southern Ridges walk. During this walk I got lovely views of a immature Japanese Sparrowhawk perched and later on a Crested Goshawk in flight. In the afternoon I decided to visit the Singapore Botanical Gardens. It is quite an expansive place. Since I was not familiar with any specific birding spots, I decided to just walk around the various paths. Near the entrance itself, I got some views of 3 Oriental Honey-buzzards soaring. Here is one of them:

The walk near some fruiting trees showed up a flock of Pied Imperial-Pigeons feeding on the fruits.

I got to see several of the common birds like the Black-naped Orioles, Yellow-vented Bulbuls, Common Iora, White-breasted Waterhen and Javan Myna. My walk was yet again interrupted by rain. 40 minutes later, I headed out of the shelter. As I did, I saw a few birds noisily flying across. They turned out to be Coconut Lorikeets.

It was going to be dusk soon. So I started to find my way to the exit. As I reached near the Orchid gardens, I heard a Woodpecker calling several times. I finally saw it perched on an open branch. It was a Banded Woodpecker.

As I neared the Swan Lake, I noticed a big bird perched on a tree besides the lake. A closer inspection revealed it to be a Grey-headed Fish-Eagle. Here are a few pictures that I managed before a set of excited tourists scared it away:

The next morning too, I paid a visit to the Singapore Botanical Gardens. I spent the initial parts around the Healing Garden area. The first was good views of Asian Brown Flycatcher.

A lovely Tiger Shrike decided to show up and give excellent views.

Another flycatcher was a female of a Blue and White Flycatcher or Zappey’s Flycatcher. Unfortunately, females of these birds are difficult to tell apart in the field.

There was a perched Crested Serpent-Eagle on a tree near the garden.

And finally it was time yo head back. A perched Pacific Swallow was the last bird of the session.

Video

Here is a short video I made of some of the birds I got to see.

Summary

Singapore is not a large country. So getting around to various birding spots is not difficult, especially if you have a few days to bird. Unfortunately for me the weather played mischief. Being a tropical country, this is to be expected, especially in the time of the year that I went. So if you are planning for a birding trip there, plan accordingly with enough number of days.

If you have birded in other parts of South East Asia, then there will be significant species overlap with Singapore. This was the case for me. So quite a few of the target species I had were exotic ones that were escapees and have now formed a wild population on the island. So when you plan your target list, keep this mind.

Birding can be done on your own. Places are generally safe. You will however need a vehicle to get around, especially to ones away from the public transport. If you are short of time, hiring a local guide would be good. Else if you have time on your hand, then you could do so on your own.