Kit's Fledgling BY

[Kitsafari]

118: Yellow-vented Bulbul

 

 

One of the most common birds in SIngapore, the yellow-vented bulbul is one of 13 species of bulbul found here. They are always found in pairs, and are very industrious birds. both sexes look the same. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2018 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

119: Zebra Dove

 

A small dove, the zebra dove is also very common here - at home in a house garden or in the park. YOu can see how it got its name. Its call is a lovely cooing sound and are often found in a small group. we always knew this bird as Merbok, a Malay name that is given to this species. 

[Peter Connan]

What a beautiful dove! Very beautiful collection you are gathering here.

[Galana]

6 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

I could have easily nailed at least 200 species at home by the end of this year.

No time like the present. Go for it. It's only April.

 

Lovely collection again.   

[PeterHG]

Beautiful additions! Love the Zebra Dove pics.

[Kitsafari]

@Galana Thank you for the encouragement. I'll be happy to end up with around 150 but the experience and the learning are what counts. 

[Kitsafari]

120: Olive-backed sunbird, Eastwood vicinity

 

The female was in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserves

 

The really tiny olive-backed sunbirds wake every morning singing their hearts out at the crack of dawn at the top of the trees, but trying to spot where they are in the dense thick tree foliage is an impossibility. Fortunately, for us, they love the nectar in the bottle brush flowers and the tiny hibiscus that are in my garden. but then we see them in all the parks. They are always in a pair. They were honoured on Singapore's S$20 notes in the 1970s-1980s and were shortlisted to be a national bird. 

 

Edited April 29, 2018 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

121: Oriental white-eyed, Eastwood vicinity

 

 

Another beautify tiny sunbird - this was a favourite caged bird bought by collectors and bird enthusiasts. and the escapees bred very successfully. we called them mata puteh, which means white (puteh) eyes (mata) in Malay. Here it seemed to be gathering spiderwebs, probably for a nest. 

 

 

Edited April 29, 2018 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

122: Oriental Dollarbird

 

The oriental dollarbird is the only roller species found in Singapore. It is named for the round white patch just under the wing that resembled a dollar coin, not that it does for me. It is a common bird, but always perched at the top of some really tall tree and such a hard reach for my camera. 

 

 

[elefromoz]

@Kitsafari, I was enjoying the Red-breasted Parakeets, until you mentioned they were pushing out your native Parakeets, pity. I have Crepe Myrtles in my garden too, but nothing, none of the Parrots here touch the fruit, each year round about now I prune them all off.

[Kitsafari]

@elefromoz curious - i wonder why they won't eat the fruits in your tree but they do here. Perhaps they have fewer food options here and being resident, they have since adapted. 

[Geoff]

nice parakeets

[Kitsafari]

123. Spotted Wood Owl, Pasir Ris Park 

 

Juvenile over a 3-week period

 

 

Parents

 

the reason for its name

 

This cute juvenile caused quite a buzz in the park. local residents who frequented the park kept an eye out for the fledgling, which fell to the ground several times as it tried to stretch its wings to fly. the organisation caring for rescued wildlife in Singapore was called in a handful of times to help the juvenile back upon  the tree as it struggled to climb back up on its own. Its parents were always close up but up high in the nearby trees. I guess the parents seemed to guess the humans were mostly out looking after its youngster's welfare. This park appears to be a favourite spot for the spotted wood owls to bring their young up. this is a very shy species of owls and found very high in the trees so we were lucky to have the fledgling to alert us where the parents were. 

[Kitsafari]

124: Sunda Scops Owl, Pasir Ris Park

 

can you spot it? I left the humans in to show how small the owl is, and a clue to where it is. 

 

This is a resident nocturnal owl and tough to see because of its size and its fondness for thick foliage to sleep in. it looks like the oriental scops owl but has dark eyes while the latter has yellow eyes. 

Edited May 19, 2018 by Kitsafari

[Geoff]

Always exciting to see (and photograph) owls.

[xelas]

And so tough to find them! Excellent photos, @Kitsafari as they like to stay in deep shade.

[Dave Williams]

That's an impressive collection you're building not only excellent photos but numbers too for a small location. 

[lmSA84]

Love the owls. Great shots 

[PeterHG]

Great owl shots; never easy, but always rewarding. I remember someone pointing out a Scops Owl to me in a Kruger Picnic spot and still I had so much trouble actually seeing it. They seem to blend in completely (well, that was my excuse at the time, anyway...;))

[TonyQ]

Amazing owl sightings, well done on the photos!

[elefromoz]

@Kitsafari, terrific little Owls, poor little fella falling out of the tree...

[Zim Girl]

Also loving those owls.

[Kitsafari]

On 5/24/2018 at 6:08 PM, elefromoz said:

@Kitsafari, terrific little Owls, poor little fella falling out of the tree...

 

@elefromoz  "the little fella" is almost all grown up. We saw the family yesterday in the park again. It's gone far high in the tree and have almost all the full markings of an adult. It's heartwarming that the parents are still close by to keep an eye on the fella as the oriental pied hornbills tend to be rather intimidating, athough we didn't see the hornbills harassing the owls. 

 

the "lil fella" laughing at a private joke

 

 

the "lil fella" still in shock over his celebrity status

 

 

Papa dozing close  by...

 

 

...but a family of hornbills fly around papa...

 

Papa was not amused, and flew down to tell them off. his wing spans were impressive - nearly 2m wide! we were suitably awed but all of us (four of us photographers) were taken by surprise, so no photo evidence.  Papa below keeping a close watch on those pesky hornbills, which weren't too close to the lil fella. 

[Kitsafari]

well back to my thread, which I have kinda neglected......

 

125: Pied Triller, Eastwood vicinity/ChangiBusiness park

 

 

Also known as pied cuckooshrike, the triller likes to typically stay high up in the tree so it is not easy to see the species. it is a native bird in Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries. 

[Kitsafari]

126: Brown-throated sunbird: Eastwood vicinity

 

female: 

 

a very obliging male, after several unobliging ones. 

 

It is hard to distinguish the olive-backed and brown-throated sunbirds in the dark just with our eyes, especially when they come flying into our bottle brush plant. But with a camera, you can tell the differences in the colours on the throats, the olive-backed male sunbird having a luminous blue throat. the females are far harder. the female brown-throated sunbird has a whitish-yellowish area around the eyes. Both are very common and native in Singapore, and both sunbirds sing beautifully in the early mornings.