[Photography] Photowalk: Pasir Ris Park (Again)

Pasir Ris Park is a quaint and quiet park that I enjoy visiting. In addition one can spot many birds rather easily.

Today a juvenile Oriental Magpie Robin showed its finesse in hunting. It caught 3 insects in a minute. Later I came across the regular residents - Collared Kingfisher. There were a couple of them around. I did not see the Stork-billed or the Laced Woodpecker this time. I was hoping to see a one-eyed Fish Owl called Buffy though.

Oh well.

The juvi OMR greeted me when I arrived at PRP.

One of its catch. Couldn't get a sharper copy because this guy was moving around so fast! Before this bug, it caught an grasshopper. After this bug, it caught another bug!

Before it vanished back into the woods, it did a pose for me.

Collared KF is becoming a common sight in PRP for me. Here's one looking up. If you see closely there's another one on the right. I honestly did not see it when I was taking this photograph. 

This Collared KF was perching in another location while I was on my way to see if I could spot any owl.

~ZF

[Photography] Photowalk: Pasir Ris Park

Just went for a walk at Pasir Ris Park, and took the opportunity to spot some birds. Birdwatching in the afternoon is never a good idea. Not only the Sun is hot, not many birds are going to appear since most of them would have done their hunting and feeding in the morning.

I was just lucky, managed to capture a Common Iora, not 1 but 3 Stork-billed Kingfisher, a Collared Kingfisher and a pair of Common Flamebacks Laced Woodpeckers, with none other than the Fujifilm X-T1 and the XF 100-400mm lens.

A Common Iora. Their calls are actually very nice to listen too! But they can be challenging to photograph, given their size and speed.

A Collared Kingfisher. They are probably the noisiest kingfishers that I know of.

As mentioned, I saw not 1 but 3 Stork-billed Kingfishers. Not sure if they are a family. This is SBKF #1. Perching on one of the branches amongst the mangrove. Took this because I did not know they could turn their head almost 180 degrees.

Still SBKF #1 because it was the closest to me and easiest to photograph. I decided to use the Velvia film simulation in the X-T1 to do these colourful birds more justice.

SBKF #2. Perching on a tree beside a river (or canal). SBKF #3 not shown.

Near SBKF #1 were these beautiful Common Flamebacks Laced Woodpeckers. I suppose it was a mother-daughter couple, the mother is in the background, because I saw her feeding the one on the foreground. Highly elusive birds. The photo did not turn out crisp sharp, I was a tat disappointed, but I guess I'll accept this for now, since it is pretty rare to be able to photograph these.

~ZF

[Photography] Birdwatching: Bidadari

Bidadari is a birdwatching wonderland. It was a cemetery, yet it retains much of its rustic charms. Read more about it here. Many bird-watches come here to see the flycatchers and other exotic birds.

Here are some pictures taken during two recent trips to the defunct cemetery.

Yellow-chested Jungle Flycatcher. Taken on 1 Nov 2015.

Ferruginous Flycatcher. 8 Nov 2015

Ferruginous Flycatcher. 8 Nov 2015

 Besides flycatchers, some rare kingfishers can be spotted too, like the Oriental Dwarf KF:

Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher. 8 Nov 2015.

Occasionally, there will be birds of prey visiting the area. Spotted a Changeable Hawk during my visit on 8 Nov.

Changeable Hawk. 8 Nov 2015.

The Changeable Hawk was bobbing its head, presumably checking out the distance between us. 

Hope not too much development will happen on this little piece of natural haven. I shall go there more often in case it disappears one day...

All photos taken with the Nikon D750 and Tamron 150-600mm.

~ZF

[Photography] Scaly-Breasted Munia

One of my favourite birds :)

~ZF

[Photrography] Birdwatching: Pin-tail Wydahs Courting

Recently learnt that there is a new birding wonderland - Punggol Barat.

Being curious, I went to take a look. It was not difficult to find, but it was not really accessible. Nevertheless, I was surprised to find many people there.

Anyway the Pin-tailed Whydah is a gorgeous birds. Some pictures to share.

Taken on 14 June 2015.

Taken on 20 June 2015.

Taken on 20 June 2015.

The male will hover around the female like this during courtship.

I like grassland birds. They are small and cute, but they are fast and elusive, making it very difficult to photograph them. There are many other grassland birds in the area, and I will share time soon!

~ZF

[Photography] Birds Stand-off at the Pasir Ris Park

After a brief hiatus, I am back to bird-watching. Today I went to Pasir Ris Park.

I explored this park a few times before and did not cover the whole park. This park was huge, and because of this, there could be many types of birds to be spotted, which was very much dependent on the location. There was an area for fantails, an area for kingfishers, etc. There were some long canal with mangroves that were ideal for birds to perch and hunt.

Here are some pictures I took this morning.

When I reached the park, I saw this. This area is very popular amongst the birders. I followed a group and spotted a barbet before. 

So I looked up...

It's a pretty rare sight. A Crested Goshawk and a Spotted Wood Owl in a "stand-off". The owl is a resident in the park, so everyone was actually got excited by the hawk, which is nationally critically endangered. Some saw the hawk was consulting  the wise.

A closer look at the Crested Goshawk.

Another shot of the Crested Goshawk. The feather behind the head is kinda cute.

A closer look of the Spotted Wood Owl.

Another shot, more elegant perhaps, of the Spotted Wood Owl. Look at the talons!

So... apparently, the hawk was eyeing on one of the owlets perching on the same tree. But with the parent keep watch, the smaller hawk dared not advance, but everyone, including myself, was anticipating something. It was very much like NatGeo! In the end, the hawk just flew away.

One of the two owlets. The other was higher up. Cute eh?

This was not the only interesting sight I encountered. I also spotted the Banded Bay Cuckoo for the first time!

At first, I thought it was a Tiger Shrike, but the bird was too big to be a shrike.

The same cuckoo, with a prey in its mouth. It was fast, and caught that fly in am instant.

Also I got trolled (well, somewhat) by this Collared Kingfisher...

The Collared Kingfisher perching. In retrospect, this is one of the closest shot I've got. Normally, they would have flew away when I tried to walk closer.

This is where the troll began...

The bird started to prone down, and I anticipated it to strike at some insect it saw, but in the end it did not...

All in all, it was a fruitful trip. I was glad I made the trip to Pasir Ris Park, especially after the recent spate of dead farm fish in the eastern region.

For higher resolution of all the photos, visit the following links:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cheehuat/
http://yzhifa.smugmug.com/

~ZF

Last Birdwatching Trip for Jan 2015

How time flies quickly! We are in the second month of the year 2015!

Here's some photographs I took during my last birdwatching trip on 30 Jan 2015.

Waiting and waiting.

A White-collared Kingfisher.

A Common Flameback Woodpecker.

A pair of Sooty-headed Bulbul.

A Pacific Swallow. 

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve *Enhanced*

Recently I visited the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR). It is a common place for the bird-watching community, and a haven for migratory birds. The Reserve is also an ASEAN heritage site.

The reserve was recently extended to include the nearby mangrove, closer to Kranji Way. See the maps below! Anything to the right of the Buloh Besar River is the new extension.

The tracks were recorded my the My Tracks app by Google. Unfortunately, I am unable to export the photograph markers from the app, so I am going to share what you may expect when visiting this awesome place.

Total distance covered: 6.1 km. 

Time taken: approximately 3 hours.

The entrance was a clean and well-curated carpark. It was quite empty on a Saturday morning.

Entrance to the SBWR Extension. It is called the Kranji Carpark.

Near the entrance you may see a deck. It is called the Little Heron Deck. It has quite a view.

Little Heron Deck.

Mudskippers are common in mangroves.

Little Heron Deck. Nope, there's no Little Heron spotted, though.

The extension has some new structures installed that are meant for bird-watching. They are called pods and shaped like an onion. The Fantail Pod will be the first one you will see.

The Fantail Pod.

There is also one at the boardwalk, beyond the coastline, called the Eagle Point. You will see it if you take the Coastal Road. BTW there are two routes which you can take, the coastal road being one of them. The other is the Forest Route, which I think is meh~.

The plate says it all.

This pod is perhaps a good place to camp for larger birds. There were indeed some birds of prey flying that day, possible a kite or a sparrowhawk, but I did not manage to capture any of them in picture :(

The Kingfisher Pod.

Further down is the Kingfisher Pod. An elevated pod that lets you have a better view. Nice place to camp to see kingfishers in action.

There is an activity area for people to learn about the mangroves. A link bridge that actually let your feet get dirty. Adult supervision encouraged.

Activity area at the SBWR extension. Here, visitors can get their feet dirty to "feel" the mangrove.

Walking further you will reach the old SBWR site.

For those who are familiar with SBWR, this would be nostalgia after a walk at the extension.

The old carpark has been paved over and renamed Butterfly Trail. The new carpark is just nearby.

The Main Bridge at SBWR. Here you can actually see the new map.

There wasn't much changes in the older site, but Route 2 and 3 were closed for renovation when I was there. Possibly for the Phase 3 development to incorporate the nearby Kranji Marsh. So the loop shown in the map is pretty much the part that is still accessible to the public.

There were plenty of migratory birds but I did not take photos of them this time.

The Aerie Tower, somewhat a landmark of SBWR. Awesome view on top!

To me, the extension is very curated. I suppose that is one way to attract the urban dwellers to get in touch with nature. To me, older SBWR is still charming with its rustic ways,

Regardless, do visit SBWR soon! Admission is free BTW. 

**Bonus** OK, not quite. This is the map I snapped at the entrance. You can always go  the SBWR website to find out more.

All photos taken by the Sony Xperia Z1.

~ZF