“Black-winged Stilts (Himantopus himantopus himantopus) are a joy to watch both for their grace and also as they are usually in a social group. Uncommon at the Peninsular prior to 1996, they now occur in large numbers in my region (Wells 2007). At this wetlands site alone there are an excess of 80 birds.
“There are number of feeding techniques used. In shallow waters, besides pecking at prey, they also probe (below, male and female probing).
“In... Read More
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The Birds of Singapore – an online book
In May 1943, GC Madoc published “An Introduction to Malayan Birds.” He wrote his manuscript in Singapore’s Changi Prison where he was interned when the country fell into the...
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Videocam: A powerful tool for studying birds
1. Collecting birds: In the 19th century the equipment needed to study birds was the gun. Another skill necessary was a good stuffing technique in order to preserve the specimens....
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Documenting bird calls and songs
Many local birdwatchers are able to recognise the birds behind the songs. However, interest in most cases ends there except for a few who make basic recordings. Erik Mobrand...
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Should attempts be made to tame wild birds?
The first part of the series by aviculturist Lee Chiu San deals with whether birds can be tamed and whether they will remain tamed. The second part looks at whether it is...
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Postings your observations and images
Why should you post your observations and images? Southeast Asian birds are poorly studied in terms of behaviour and ecology. By posting your observations (and this include...
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Nature Society: The struggle for Singapore’s nature areas
The above paper has just been published. Nature in Singapore is a peer-reviewed, online journal that publishes articles on the flora and fauna (e.g., biology, botany, zoology,...
Black-winged Stilt – feeding, flight and call
“Black-winged Stilts (Himantopus himantopus himantopus) are a joy to watch both for their grace and also as they are usually in a social group. Uncommon at the Peninsular prior to 1996, they now occur in large numbers in my region (Wells 2007). At this wetlands site alone there are an excess of 80 birds.
“There are number of feeding techniques used. In shallow waters, besides pecking at prey, they also probe (below, male and female probing).
“In... Read More
Common Greenshanks’ aggressive behaviour
William Ip is sharing his images of waders that he photographed in Nam San Wai, Hong Kong, somewhere near the Wetland Park sometime last year. Field ornithologist Wang Luan Keng thought the above pair of birds to be Spotted Redshanks (Tringa erythropus) and suggested that David Li of Singapore’s Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve should be consulted as he is among the best in shorebird identification. Well, David confirmed Luan’s ID.
David also identified the Common... Read More
Black-winged Stilt at Seletar, Singapore
“Here’s an uncommon winter visitor hanging out at a monsoon pond in a disused area at Seletar. The Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) has a long bill for probing into mud, but in this case, it seems quite happy snacking on water bugs at the water’s surface.
“It also bobs its head like a kingfisher from time to time, I wonder why.”
Lena Chow
Singapore
9th December... Read More
Australian Pied Oystercatcher foraging
Lena Chow‘s video clip of the Australian Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris) was taken at Perth’s Rottnest Island around August this year.
The oystercatcher was patrolling the shores of an inland saltwater lake foraging for food. “Its bright red bill was even more conspicuous on a lawn where it was diligently drilling for grub,” wrote Lena (see video above). Its long pointed bill did not fail it as it found and pulled out a long worm from... Read More
Red-necked Stints in a feeding frenzy
The end of the year is the migratory season LINK and Lena Chow is busy documenting the arrival of the shorebirds.
The above video shows a small flock of another winter visitor, the Red-necked Stints (Calidris ruficollis) in a feeding frenzy. These migrants, arriving as early as July, feed in mudflats, sandy shores and shallow freshwater ponds. They constantly probe or jabs into the substratum to look for invertebrates like worms, crustaceans and insect larvae.... Read More
Arrivals of the migrant shorebirds…
This is the migrating reason and we are seeing the arrivals of many shorebirds in Singapore. The following video clips were sent in by Lena Chow, documented during September 2012 feeding along Singapore’s shores.
The Sanderling (Calidris alba), an uncommon winter visitor, was sighted in Seletar busy feeding (above). It breeds in Siberia, Alaska, Canada and North Greenland and migrates as far south as Singapore, Java, Bali and Australia.
On the other hand the Terek... Read More
Common Sandpipers’ Tail-Fanning & Raised-Wings Displays
“The migratory season is hotting up with the arrival of more and more migratory birds at end September 2012. On this stretch of river bed that had been exposed by the receding tide, some migratory waders were spotted. Two Common Sandpipers (Actitis hypoleucos) that were actively chasing each other, vying for territory, caught my attention.
“The Common Sandpipers were engaged in territorial fight. The individual that was doing the chasing pounced on its rival... Read More
Bar-Tailed Godwit’s Reach …
“Was at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserves on Tuesday 18th September 2012 observing migrant birds which mostly consist of waders. However did catch sight of a Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) nearby.
“What fascinated me most was this Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) who was foraging for worms in the mudflats. Most of the time it did not use the full reach of it’s bill, as can be seen in the first picture where the mud was only halfway up the bill... Read More
A Common Sandpiper Coming Face-to-Face with A Wasp
“According to Wikipedia, the Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) forages by sight on the ground or in shallow water, picking up small food items such as insects, crustaceans and other invertebretes; it may even catch insects in flight.
“No, don’t have the luck to observe a Common Sandpiper catching insects in flights yet. But, here is a series of pictures showing one with an insect prey – a wasp, which it picked up from the sloping rocky surface... Read More
Common Sandpiper: Sex for pleasure?
“The Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) breeds April to July, and only north of the Tropic of Cancer (Shorebirds, John Marchant et al, 1986). In the Thai-Malaysian Peninsular, including Singapore, it is a common passage migrant and winter visitor.
“I was interested, therefore, to observe and photograph the behaviour of a pair of Common Sandpipers on a mangrove lake on the island of Koh Samui, Thailand.
“First seen perched on a pole embedded... Read More
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