Tailless crocodile rumble @ SBWR - 18July2020

'Tailless', a large crocodile frequently seen near the main bridge at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, had not been seen as regularly as it used to be. The incoming tide saw it entering the main river from the Johor Straits. As it crawled its way in the shallows, small groups of fish, likely mullet or milkfish, could be seen rippling the water surface swimming away from it. Earlier, there had been two smaller crocs about 3 metres long in the same waters but these had disappeared. Perhaps, they were male crocs and knew that Tailless was incoming. Tailless is after all a large male crocodile whose tail got stumped too many years ago likely in a fight with another capable croc. It's length is estimated to be about 2.5 metres from snout to stump. If it had a full tail, it might be about 4 metres long.

It headed below and past the main bridge much to the delight of the observing visitors and made its way to a small ditch nearby. There is usually a smaller crocodile about 3 metres long which uses that ditch and it had been seen earlier in the afternoon near the ditch but it was nowhere to be seen. My guess is that the smaller crocodile was a female and she was further up the ditch.

Tailless examined the ditch before turning out and backing his way in again. It then arched its back downwards raising its neck such that it angled the head down. Then it slammed the water surface with its head opening its jaw slightly before the water above its back exploded in vibration due to the low frequency murmur it was sending out claiming the area for itself and warning other male crocodiles that the area around the main bridge was his. There was too much noise from the visitors on the bridge to hear the murmur but I had seen and heard Tailless on another occasion about two years ago having performed the same territorial display. It repeated the vibration again before slowly making its way further upstream assisted by the incoming tide before crossing the river and following the bend to the right.

Find out more about crocodilian territorial and mating behaviour :

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160426-watch-a-huge-male-alligator-sing-to-attract-a-mate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCkTFEjo8qs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFeVAWrXrYs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAgRloUISEA

Whimbrel flypast @ Kingfisher pod-SBWR-22Sep2018

It was already 6.40pm and close to closing time for Singapore's Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. I had noticed the flock of whimbrels as they landed at the sandbar near Eagle Point. With the tide rising, it was only a matter of time before the sandbar would be covered with water and the birds would have to fly towards and into the reserve's controlled ponds for a safe roost on dry land. 

Luckily, the birds flew off at 6.50pm just when it was getting dark. They took just about a minute to traverse the about 1 kilometer of their flight path from the sandbar to just past Kingfisher Pod as they went behind the trees. This means they were flying at about 60km/hr just above sea level with a zero wind factor. That's fast! It's not obvious until about the end of the clip that the birds were flying in a V formation.

The whimbrels and some of the other shorebirds such as the common greenshanks and pacific golden plovers prefer to fly out to feed at the rich mudflats near the Singapore-Malaysia causeway at the mouth of the Sungei Pang Sua, Mandai Besar and Mandai Kecil estuaries. This is one of Singapore's last remaining northern mangrove mudflats. Although all three are short rivers and the mudflat is not wide, the area provides for sufficient food for a variety of these long-distance migratory shorebirds. 

Some of the shorebirds do also alternate visiting sites such as Sungei Danga and Sungei Sekudai across the Johor Straits roughly opposite of Sungei Buloh. Johorean birders have documented redshanks with Singapore green over white flags at Sungei Danga roosts.

Let's hope that the entire ecosystem triangle (taking into account future upriver and shoreline developments) is sufficiently protected for future generations of shorebirds.*

[UPDATE 7 Oct 2018 : It's been announced that the Mandai mangrove and mudflats will have the protection as a park managed by the National Parks Board. This is indeed fabulous news. Click these links for more info : 

https://www.nparks.gov.sg/news/2018/10/mandai-mangrove-and-mudflat-will-be-conserved-as-a-nature-park

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/mandai-mangrove-and-mudflat-to-open-as-nature-park-in-2022

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/mandai-mangrove-and-mudflats-be-singapores-newest-nature-park

marsh sandpipers & a curlew sandpiper @ SBWR-30Sep2018

Came across this bunch of sandpipers at the island across from the main hide at SBWR earlier in the afternoon as the tide was rising. The rising waters had caused the bunch to move up the slope on the island and they were moving out of their comfort zone.

All but one of the group was of the same species. Can you tell how many marsh sandpipers there are and can you also spot the lone curlew sandpiper?

This number of marsh sandpipers seems to be a recent record as they have not been recently seen at SBWR in such numbers.

The curlew sandpiper can also be considered a rare visitor now as it is difficult to spot especially at a distance.

These birds used to be more common and in much greater numbers about a decade or more earlier. 

Seeing the lone curlew sandpiper at SBWR in 2018 is indeed a rare opportunity.

marsh sandpipers & a curlew sandpiper @ SBWR-30Sep2018 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

feral dogs, river dogs, a croc (five actually), 35 redshanks & 2 common sandpipers @ SBWR - 12Aug2018

feral dogs, river dogs, a croc (five actually), 35 redshanks & 2 common sandpipers @ SBWR - 12Aug2018 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

These feral dogs were furiously barking at some unseen target whilst another within their group was swimming towards them after apparently investigating two otters which made a fast sprint past it underwater towards the main bridge. The dogs were sufficiently distracted long enough for the otters to make it away safely without being chased. (Dogs have been seen to chase after and attack otters. Although the otters are in their element in water, they can be cornered on land.)

The unseen element eventually showed itself as it peeked out from the shallows. Although it did not seem like it was of significant length, it was enough to prevent the dogs from going after it. The one that had swum after the otters was lucky to run the gauntlet of crocs in the shallows. Stumpy croc would have been somewhere nearby too.

The two otters had been seen exiting the river earlier in the morning and they must have explored a good part of the North-Western coastline the whole day as they only returned as the sun was setting. They swam to a spot about 20m just before the main bridge to survey the surrounding mudflats no doubt to see if the dogs had followed them. Seeing that it was safe to carry on, the otters swam past the main bridge much to the delight of visitors who had already been treated to observing Tailless and another smaller (but still formidable) croc waiting patiently in the lagoon near the sluice gate by the bridge.

The otters must have been tired as they did not stop to say hello to the two crocs. Instead, they swam straight past the bridge under water and towards the central sandbar in the river before running up the sandbar and crossing it before returning to the safety of the water and disappearing out of sight around the bend away from another set of gnarly teeth in the shallows to the left of the sandbar and watched by the line of common redshanks which had only recently arrived from their Northern summer grounds. (Can you spot the two common sandpipers flying off?).

The dog-croc-otter relationship triangle is a complicated one but Sungei Buloh can certainly do without invasive feral dogs. Let's hope the two otters decide, despite the dogs, that it is safe enough to start a family. Sungei Buloh has not seen any resident otter families for a few years now and this is likely due not because of the crocs but because of the dogs which can track down the otters to their holts which are necessarily above ground.

Sand Plover @ SBWR 9 Aug2018

Lesser or Greater?

Sand Plover @ SBWR Hide 1D - 9Aug2018 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Had a bit of a problem identifying this sand plover. The weight of opinion seems to be that this is a Lesser Sand Plover. It's got a rounded crown, legs which are not quite grey but slightly yellow-green. The feet were black but this could be due to being soaked in dark mud. The bill is also not as long as it should be if it was a "Greater SP'. Without a better picture, it'll have to be an LSP.

greenshanks & a murder @ SBWR - Nov2017

The crows had a few moments ago ganged up against the visiting whimbrels successfully causing them to flee for fear of being clawed at. This time it was the greenshanks' turn (and a hapless common sandpiper who thought the greenies were safe to hang around with). With the crows being repeatedly concentrated within the safe refuge of the wetland reserve due to the crow-culling team shooters regularly lingering outside the boundary of the protected wetland reserve, their numbers have increased to such a level that any species even remotely competitive would eventually be harassed away by the relentless murders of crows. This change in the avian dynamics within Singapore's only wetland reserve seems inevitable given the persistent crow culling just outside. The crows have also begun their taste experiments with organisms within the muddy mangrove substrate. No doubt they had plenty of opportunity to watch and learn from their shorebird cousins. This puts them in direct competition with the shorebirds which unfortunately have a much less aggressive disposition as compared to the average marauding murder of house crows. This perhaps explains why the crows harass the shorebirds.

greenshanks & a murder @ SBWR - Nov2017 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Redshanks @ SBWR-30July2017

The morning low tide was, as usual, dominated by the resident crocodiles (and there were 5 today) including a rather small one just over a metre long.

Then there was a flash of white and red that flew past the main bridge towards the sand bar. Could this be a redshank? One of the over-summering ones or a returning adult?

My first thought was that the two birds seen were over-summering juveniles. This is now some doubt as to whether the two birds in the videoclip are over-summering redshanks which did not return north with the larger group of shore birds in late April. After the main group had left in late April, there were about 7 redshanks seen in the weeks after at SBWR throughout the better part of May, occasionally being seen at the sand bar south of the bridge in the main river.

Given that one of the two birds has a geolocater in addition to the green-white tags, this means that the geolocater bird is not a juvenile and likely did return North (likely to the summer grounds in the Tibetan plateau) in April-May.

About two weeks ago, I had seen one redshank zoom past the main bridge but this was identified solely by a guess after momentarily seeing a very noticeable pair of red legs. This had been my first sighting of a redshank after even the over-summering redshanks had disappeared around mid-May. Perhaps this lone bird has been part of the over-summering group which had found another better place to roost.

Towards the end of the clip, a resident collared kingfisher greets the returning redshanks by dive-bombing one of the redshanks. Looks like SBWR is gearing up for the return of the migratory shore birds in August. It has begun.

Over-summering Redshanks @ SBWR - 30Jul2017 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Flight of the Whimbrels @ Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve - 16Apr2017

April is when the visiting shorebirds fly up North back to their summer breeding grounds. They will not be back until September-October as part of their annual cycle. In the videoclip, the birds appear to be rather plump as they fly past. Looks like they had a successful Winter stayover at SBWR.

All that feeding on the Mandai mudflats at low tides has paid off to restore the energy stores on these long range birds. They have to make the flight back up North. This is no easy task. This last weekend may be their last or rather our last opportunity to see the flock of whimbrels (numbering about 165 at the highest count this year) fly to, fro and about the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve along with about 60 greenshanks and up to about 250 redshanks for companionship. The counts vary every few days from September through April as the birds may alternate between roost sites.

Their reliance on the coastal mudflats is absolutely crucial and the birds' flight out from SBWR to the Mandai mudflats everyday in expectation of the best low tide window to feed is indicative of the importance of the mudflats for the birds. Without the rich feeding grounds presented by the mudflats and the safe open roosting sites nearby at SBWR, these birds would have disappeared from our skies in search of the right combination of feeding and roosting grounds elsewhere. Indeed, the numbers of shorebirds at SBWR ten years ago were in the thousands. In recent years, the number has reduced to just a few hundred and with a reduction in the number of species also. The reduction could be explained by the shorebirds preferring alternative roosting sites instead of SBWR.

Given that most of the shorebirds prefer open roosting grounds, it is possible that recent (within the last 4 years) mangrove land development across the Johor Straits has made open grounds temporarily available and the birds have flocked there instead. When the builders move in on that cleared land, the birds may choose to roost back at SBWR's open controlled water level ponds. It takes about 4 minutes for the birds to fly between SBWR and the Mandai mudflats and this short flight enables the birds to burn only a small amount of calories allowing them to stock up on their reserves without expending too much energy each day flying to and fro. Each day, they may get about 5 to 6 hours of feeding at the mudflats or more depending on how low or high the tides for the day were. The moon's effects on the tides nevertheless plays an intrinsic part as to how much the birds can feed each day. They even feed throughout the dark of night at Mandai if suitable low tides present themselves overnight.

Given that the SBWR birds often roost within the controlled ponds and do not have sight of the receding tides, the birds must have an innate sense for knowing when to fly out for the low tides. Generally, they fly out about 2 to 3 hours before the lowest tide and they fly back in about 3 hours after the lowest tide. The timing depends on how fast or slow the tides move. Sometimes, the birds are a little delayed in their departure out from the controlled water level ponds (where the water level does not change with the tides). This could be due to the 'leader' birds themselves losing track of tides and delaying their flights out.

Flying back is necessarily dictated by the rising coastal waters and the average length of the whimbrel's legs. Usually, the smaller plovers (eg. mongolian, pacific golden) take off first with the rising tide followed by the redshanks, then greenshanks. The whimbrels leave last. The whimbrels and greenshanks were not seen on 22 April 2017. It is possible they finally flew North sometime during the week. There were still about 30 redshanks and handful of pacific golden plovers seen at SBWR on 22 April 2017. Last chance to see them before they too fly North this year.

 
Flight of the Whimbrels @ Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve - 16Apr2017 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Interesting links :
https://www.facebook.com/AWSG.sat.tag/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE&fref=nf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W95SJ6BLdG0 - An Interview with a Bar-tailed Godwit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRPZYjsMUZ0 - Oh My Godwit, The longest bird migration in the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-mMMpl_T80 - TedEd - Bird Migration, A Perilous Journey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahm9x8QTQJk - the physics of bird migration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JUYyMHOHb8 - how do birds know where to go when they migrate?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwIT9pv4kh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhwBDjfWr_M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FcCJIpsH0U

http://www.worldmigratorybirdday.org/news/2017/stopping-habitat-loss-china-proposes-yellow-sea-be-added-world-heritage-tentative-list-0

http://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/chasing-ghosts-how-technology-helping-track-bird-mysteriously-disappeared

crows vs eagle @ SBWR - Feb 2017

This clip shows the ubiquitous house crows harassing a juvenile white-bellied sea eagle. The crows are certainly persistent and each brave enough to mess with the much larger eagle.

The eagle tried its best to maintain its balance but lost it and had to take to the air although it was clearly unprepared to do so and seemingly forgot to tell its legs that it was no longer on the tree.

crows vs eagle @ SBWR - Feb 2017 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Juvenile White-Bellied Sea Eagle Fishing @ SBWR Eagle Point - 2Oct2016

This juvenile WBSE appeared out of nowhere in the sky above at Eagle Point, SBWR and quickly drew the keen attention of the few visitors at the lookout point. It swooped down towards a dead fish (probably a milkfish which is one of the types of fish farmed at the nearby offshore 'fishfarms') floating at the water surface which it skilfully picked up with incredible precision. It soon flew off into the fringing coastal mangrove forest. What a wonderful sight!

(no audio - footage shot at 120fps)


Juvenile White-Bellied Sea Eagle Fishing @ SBWR Eagle Point - 2 Oct 2016 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

grey-headed fish eagles @ SBWR - 23Jan2016

The sight of a large raptor flying to rest in a nearby tree at the carpark of the Sungei Buloh Wetlands Extension was a pleasant surprise. But it was followed by another which came to rest very close to where the first one was perched.

The initial thought was that these were both the ubiquitous brahminy kites but a sneak of white showed at the tail and this piqued my interest more. Walking slowly towards the more visible bird, it was soon clear that it was a grey-headed fish eagle. The frontal lower legs of the other bird was also visible and it was then clear that both were adult grey-headed fish eagles.

Both stood firm despite the strong winds. Lets hope they are able to find a suitable tree nearby to nest in. This is a cause for concern as there has been much clearing of the tall albizias in adjacent areas.


grey-headed fish eagles @ SBWR - 23Jan2016 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

macaque family chasing python @ SBWR-Dec2015

I had seen the macaque family a little earlier in the afternoon complete with a new addition a baby male macaque which was likely only about 3 to 4 weeks old (my guess).  The four (papa, mama, 2 year old and baby) had moved across the main bridge towards the visitor centre about an hour earlier and were foraging in the trees nearby.

All was quiet until a sudden explosion of chatter and the very visible movement of the branches and leaves as the macaques jumped amongst the branches down towards the exposed mangrove mud below the trees.

The family soon showed themselves chasing something on the mud. The snake made headed straight for the water. It looked like a reticulated python about a metre long and it was sliding for its dear life away from the macaques. It managed to get into the water disappearing below the water surface not to be seen again.

Papa must have taken a very aggressive stance against the python due to the prescence of the baby and especially since the tree was amongst its most frequented spots near the main bridge.

flagged redshanks II @ SBWR - 01Nov2015

Another selection of flagged redshanks at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve on 01Nov2015.

2 of the birds (LU and AH) were fitted with geolocators.

The redshanks seen : TH, LU, TE, ET (misnamed in videoclip as UE), NB, TP, AH, UE, RP

A continuation of effort from https://vimeo.com/143501959.

flagged redshanks II @ SBWR - 01Nov2015 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

pilky stork hybrid & snake dinner @ SBWR - 01Nov2015

The mid afternoon saw a dense thunderstorm with rain beating down hard across the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. The resting shorebirds had spent the deluge turned into the wind and rain. As the rain clouds moved on, the mudflats came to life with the shorebirds actively looking for food on the mangrove mud that was now trickling with rain water running off the surface.

A stork had managed to come across a chunky snake, likely a dog-faced water snake (Cerberus rynchops). It looked like it was about 75cm long. The stork spent some time to juggle the snake head first up its bill whilst the snake haplessly tried its best to get out of really bad situation. The stork went towards the bund out of view to finish despatching its dinner. The snake presumably lost this battle.

There are upwards of about 25 storks flying about the SBWR during the height of the northern migratory season. It is hard to tell whether these are the endangered milky storks or the more likely painted storks or painted-milky 'pilky' stork hybrids. 

painted-milky stork hybrid stork & snake dinner @ SBWR - 01Nov2015 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Painted Storks are 'near-threatened' but seem to breed with the milky storks readily thereby thinning out the milky stork population over time.

Find out more with these links :
Painted Storks :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_storkhttp://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22697651/0

Milky Storks :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_stork
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22697658/0

Dog-Faced Water Snakes :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/snakes/cerberus.htm

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/verts/water_snake.htm

http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/dog-faced_water-snake.htm

flagged redshanks @ SBWR - 24Oct2015

A selection of flagged redshanks seen at the main hide in the afternoon of 24Oct2015 when there was a period of low tide. The water in the pool at the main hide had just drained out following the falling tide.

There was a group of about 30 redshanks, 1 terek sandpiper, 1 marsh sandpiper, 1 greenshank and 3 black tailed godwits.

Redshanks seen : SE, JM, BF, EP, C2, RU
(note : JM is more than 20 yrs old having been tagged in 1996 and RU is more than 16 yrs old having been tagged in 2000).

flagged redshanks @ SBWR-24Oct2015 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.


godwits & friends @ SBWR - 24Oct2015 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Across at the adjacent pool which had some water, a flock of greenshanks and some redshanks flew in at about 6pm (when the tide must have started rising at the open mudflats close to the reserve) and 3 godwits were with them. These stayed in the shallow water near some mangrove saplings near where the resident milky storks were resting.

preening common kingfisher @ SBWR - Oct2015

Common Kingfishers are usually seen in a flash of blue as they zoom by. Although they are named 'Common', these little kingfishers are not very common in Singapore as they are not considered residents but migrants more often seen in Singapore during the Northern Hemisphere's colder months from September to April.

Looking at the slightly reddish lower bill, this could be an adult female.
preening common kingfisher @ SBWR - Oct 2015 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Read about the Common Kingfisher :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_kingfisher
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Alcedo_atthis.htm
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/factsheet/22683027

and SBWR :
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/sbwr
http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/sbwr.htm
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/birds.htm

Terek Sandpiper @ SBWR - 04Oct2015

This Terek Sandpiper was amongst two seen at the wetland reserve's main pond on 4Oct2015. It kept running along the shoreline occasionally wading into the water close to the edge looking for food. It was about a third the size of a common redshank. Keeping it company were some Pacific Golden Plovers, Lesser Sand Plovers, lots of Common Greenshanks, lots of Common Redshanks, lots of whimbrels, a lone Eurasian Curlew, a lone Bar-Tailed Godwit and a couple of Black-Tailed Godwits. And also about 20 Painted Storks and about 45 Little Herons and an Great Egret along with the Reserve's more common resident birds.

The Terek Sandpiper looks quite a bit like the Common Redshanks although quite a bit smaller and with much shorter bright orange-yellow legs. It also has a rather long (for its size) bill which is slightly upturned. One of its characteristic traits is the short run along the water's edge or shore and probing with its long bill into the soft mud for food items. This time it managed to locate a tiny crab which it carried into the water away from the other birds where it carefully manoeuvred the crab in its bill as if to try to either stun it or despatch the crab's pincers. Finally after a short drop in the water, it picked it up before swallowing it whole. The Redshank behind it also managed to pick up something although I am not able to make out what it is.

Find out more about the East Asian Flyway : 

http://www.eaaflyway.net/about/the-flyway/

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/userfiles/file/sowb/flyways/8_EastAsia_Australasia_NEW.pdf

About the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve : https://www.nparks.gov.sg/sbwr

terek sandpiper @ SBWR - 04Oct2015 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about the Terek Sandpipers :
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terek_sandpiper
birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3026
environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=59300
audubon.org/field-guide/bird/terek-sandpiper
nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/terek-sandpiper
birdguides.com/species/species.asp?sp=057025

eurasian curlew swallows a stone @ SBWR-26Sep2015

The lone Eurasian Curlew amongst the whimbrels did something strange in that it swallowed a small pebble. Perhaps this is to aid digestion in some way.

Why would a bird swallow a stone? and what is a gastrolith? ...and what possible link could this have to dinosaurs?
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/taxa/verts/archosaurs/gastroliths.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrolith
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2197205/
http://www.dinosaurhunter.org/26-0-Gastroliths.html
http://www.backyardnature.net/birdguts.htm

Location : Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Singapore.

eurasian curlew swallowing a stone @ SBWR - 26Sep2015 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about the Eurasian Curlew :
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3012
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_curlew
https://singaporebirdgroup.wordpress.com/tag/eurasian-curlew/
http://www.besgroup.org/2008/10/26/eurasian-curlew-at-sungei-buloh-wetland-reserve/
http://www.arkive.org/eurasian-curlew/numenius-arquata/
http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-eurasian-curlew.html
http://eol.org/pages/1049389/details

How do you tell a Eurasian Curlew apart from a Whimbrel?
http://shorebirdie.hubpages.com/hub/whimbrelvscurlew
https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=GANpBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA128&lpg=PA128&dq=eurasian+curlew+and+whimbrel&source=bl&ots=oPJPdSdo0q&sig=FsisRUVCczBUKW6VVUJlXxvGAZw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEcQ6AEwCGoVChMIutaM46uWyAIVC1aOCh2gHQUG#v=onepage&q=eurasian%20curlew%20and%20whimbrel&f=false

a selection of birds 1 @ SBWR - 13Sep2015

A selection of birds digiscoped at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve on 13 Sep 2015.
a selection of birds 1 @ SBWR 13Sep2015 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

lesser sand plover (a.k.a mongolian sand plover)
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Charadrius_mongolus.htm
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3138
http://www.arkive.org/lesser-sand-plover/charadrius-mongolus/
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22693855/0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_sand_plover
http://www.wetlands.org/Portals/0/publications/Book/lesser%20sand%20plover.pdf
http://birdingfrontiers.com/2013/07/29/mongolian-lesser-and-greater-sand-plovers/

pacific golden plover
http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/pub/wetlands/text/01-8-3-5.htm
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Pluvialis_fulva.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_golden_plover
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3112
http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/pacific-golden-plover
http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Pluvialis-fulva

marsh sand piper
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Tringa_stagnatilis.htm
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3018
http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-marsh-sandpiper.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh_sandpiper
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Tringa-stagnatilis
http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Tringa-stagnatilis

grey-tailed tattler [- spotted by John A.]
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/factsheet/22693289
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey-tailed_tattler
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Tringa-brevipes
http://www.birdsindanger.net/pdfs/Grey-tailed%20Tattler.pdf
http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Tringa-brevipes

common redshank
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Tringa_totanus.htm
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/factsheet/22693211
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_redshank
http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-common-redshank.html
http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Tringa-totanus

common greenshank
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Tringa_nebularia.htm
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/factsheet/22693220
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_greenshank
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/common-greenshank

little egret
(links to be provided)

black bitterns @ SBWR - June 2015

Looks like the black bitters are still around at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR).

There might actually be more than two black bitterns. The mizzle (miserable drizzle) added to the difficulty in spotting anything. More so for a well camouflaged bird. I only noticed the first two black bitterns when one took off from one far corner of the pond and flew towards another which caused the second one to fly off too and both landed in a sea hibiscus bush at the edge of the pond. The second one disappeared behind the branches and leaves soon after landing but the first sat exposed on a branch for a few moments before it too decided to seek cover further in the bushy thicket of sea hibiscus shrubs. With both birds well hidden, i thought that was the show for the morning. Then, after about 5 minutes, i saw a little movement on the marshy ground in front of me and realised that it was a black bittern out hunting in the rain. I had not observed the second bird flying back to roughly the same spot it must have been at earlier. This could be a third bird (or maybe it was the second bird sneaking back to the same spot.).

Despite the mizzle, it continued its extreme slow motion hunt for small fish in the shallows. The drizzle did not seem to affect it much at all. However, the constant splashing of raindrops onto the water surface might have made spotting fish near the surface of the water more difficult for the bird to spot prey. The fishkill success rate was much lower than what i had observed the previous weekend when i had seen a black bittern enjoy easy fishing in bright sunny conditions.

With its deceptively slow steps and slow-motion like movements, one would not be wrong to assume that this bird was not capable of fast movement. Nevertheless, when it did lunge for a fish, the action was incredibly fast. With its very dark almost jet black coat, this bittern blended in very well with the foliage at the pond. Perhaps this is why spotting this bird is so difficult.

black bitterns @ SBWR - June 2015 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about this rarely seen bird :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_bittern
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/factsheet/22697334
http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/12/black-bittern.html
http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/12/black-bittern-hunter.html
http://www.theguardian.com/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/feb/04/4
http://www.heronconservation.org/herons-of-the-world/black-bittern/