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

bar-tailed godwit @ SBWR - 04Oct2015

Another good spot by a chap with a scope at the main hide this afternoon. It took the rest of those coming after him some time before we could get a confirmation that this was a bar-tailed godwit. The slightly upturned bill with a good portion of it pink leaving the last bit much darker together with the legs being rather dark were not sufficient indicators. Good thing AO and SR was around to confirm a well timed pictured showing the bars on the tail taken by SS. There were at least two or three black-tailed godwits elsewhere in the flock amongst the many common redshanks, greenshanks, plovers and whimbrels (and not forgetting the lone eurasian curlew).

The bars marking the tail of the bar-tailed godwit were very difficult to spot as it did a good job of hiding its tail below its primaries. This godwit spent most of the afternoon probing for food at the edge of the water instead of in deeper water like the black-taileds. The slowmo extracts show the bird exposing its bar-tail.

Update 26Oct2015 : Bar-tailed Godwit named NZ Bird of the Year :
http://forestandbird.org.nz/what-we-do/publications/media-release/bar-tailed-godwit-kuaka-crowned-bird-the-year 
http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/nz-bird-of-the-year-bar-tailed-godwit-2015102609#axzz3pgQbXd00

 bar tailed godwit @ SBWR - 04Oct2015 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about the Bar-Tailed Godwit :
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sowb/casestudy/22
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3005
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar-tailed_godwit
http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/shorebirds/barg.php
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/070913-longest-flight.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100609102052.htm
http://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2011/09/14/140467059/the-toughest-little-bird-youve-never-heard-of
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/map/9184/bar-tailed-godwits-migration-route
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/bar-tailed-godwit
http://www.3news.co.nz/environmentsci/godwits-long-migration-heralds-spring-2011091416#axzz3pgQbXd00

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)

crested goshawk @ JEG-Aug2015

Walking along the nature trail at Jurong Eco Garden, i thought i had spooked a nightjar resting close to the trail. Seeing it in the shadow of the canopy, i realised that it was not a nightjar but something else. The bird was sitting upright and looking about actively. The resident laughing thrushes were making a lot of noise likely because of the prescence of the crested goshawk.

The raptor flew to another branch closeby where it received a earful from a racket-tailed drongo which was also not happy about its prescence. It finally flew off to another set of branches followed by the drongo.



Read more about this resident accipiter :
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3420
http://www.malaysianbirds.com/bird-family/goshawk.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_goshawk
https://singaporeraptors.wordpress.com/crested-goshawk/
http://www.besgroup.org/2012/04/30/crested-goshawk-sighted-with-prey/
http://www.besgroup.org/2012/02/22/crested-goshawk-caught-a-myna/
http://www.besgroup.org/2015/03/15/crested-goshawk-feasting-on-a-common-palm-civet/

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/