A Her-man BY with Kit 2021

[Kitsafari]

188. Orange-cheeked Waxbill, Bishan-Ang Mo Kio

 

 

[Kitsafari]

189. Baya Weaver, Tampines Eco Green/ Lorong Halus

 

A resident  bird

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

190. Asian Golden Weaver, Tampines Eco Green

 

an introduced species from northern Thailand and Indochina. The male has more yellow than the male baya weaver. 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

190. Black-headed Weaver, Lorong Halus

 

An introduced species from Africa and Europe.

 

[Kitsafari]

191. Village Weaver, Neo Tew Harvest Lane

 

 

[Kitsafari]

192. Eurasian Whimbrel, Pulau Ubin

 

[marg]

@KitsafariPlease tell Herman that his photos are beautiful.

[Kitsafari]

@marg I just told him. Thank you!

[TonyQ]

Wow, lots of great additions and beautiful photos.

You are getting very close to 200!

[xelas]

More beauties from S’pore! Great photography by Herman, excellent annotations by Kit.

[PeterHG]

Another great batch with beautiful photos!

[Kitsafari]

Thanks much @TonyQ @xelas and @PeterHG from both of us. 

[michael-ibk]

Excellent additions again, looking forward to seeing your #200 already! Somehow it felt good seeing a Village Weaver there - gives me a cosy "Africa" feeling. 

[elefromoz]

Did you set out on a Yellow Weaver Day walk, or just got lucky finding them all?

[Kitsafari]

On 6/28/2021 at 1:39 AM, michael-ibk said:

Excellent additions again, looking forward to seeing your #200 already! Somehow it felt good seeing a Village Weaver there - gives me a cosy "Africa" feeling. 

 

Thanks @michael-ibkand you're right - we're getting a touch of "Africa" over here. 

 

16 minutes ago, elefromoz said:

Did you set out on a Yellow Weaver Day walk, or just got lucky finding them all?

 

@elefromoz fortunately, the various weaver species build their nests in the same places year in year out, so it is fairly convenient to go back to those places and check for their nests. 

[Kitsafari]

In early May, Herman went on his first pelagic trip with a few birding friends to find seabirds. Those who know me will know for certain I would not join a trip in rough sea waters unless it was on a cruise ship, and even then, the antarctic cruises are out for me. so i missed out the chance to see our

 

193. Parasitic Jaeger, Singapore Straits

 

Also known as the Arctic Skua, the Parasitic Jaeger breeds in northern Eurasia and America. eBird shows its presence along western coasts of India, north Asia and coastal areas of Australia. It is a rare migrant flying through our waters, so it was a great lifer sighting for Herman. The numbers are plunging, landing the species in the IUCN's endangered list. 

 

  

 

 

Edited July 1, 2021 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

194. Bridled Tern, Singapore Straits

 

Another species that is rarely seen inland or near our shores, the beautiful bridled tern is an uncommon visitor to Singapore. it is distributed along the coasts and offshore islands of Africa to Indian Ocean, Arabian peninsula, southern China, Southeast Asia, Australia, central and south America. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

195. White-winged Tern, Singapore Straits

 

Sometimes, the White-winged Terns come closer to our shores. It is an uncommon migrant and looks much like the whiskered tern except for a thinner bill and a whitish rump. 

 

(plumage turning into breeding colours)

 

 

Edited July 1, 2021 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

196. Little Terns, Bedok Canal/Singapore Straits/ Garden by the Bay

 

These are most common tern migrants to Singapore. They come inland as far as our canals. In fact, we had spent evenings watching two little terns diving into a shallow pool of water in a nearby canalised river, giving us minutes of entertainment. 

 

Singapore Straits

 

 

Bedok Canal

 

Male giving food to the female

 

 

[TonyQ]

Lovely Tern photos, and that 200 is getting very close!

[Kitsafari]

Thanks much @TonyQ!

 

so on with the countdown then to the 2nd century.

 

197. Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, Dairy Farm Nature Park

 

Generally, a reliable park to see these small active birds especially when the mulberry tree is fruiting.

 

 

[Kitsafari]

198. Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Sungei Buloh Wildlife Reserve

 

A very tiny and very active bird. The males have a scarlet strip that runs from his crown to his tail. 

 

[Kitsafari]

199. Brown-Hawk Owl, Hindhede

 

The owls in Singapore have been very productive this year! and the Brown-hawk Owl was no exception. The resident pair at the Hindhede nature park had two juveniles which were quite grown up when the family finally emerged into the open areas. The species is also known as Brown Boobook. 

 

Adults

 

 

 

Juveniles with the same large golden staring eyes

 

[Kitsafari]

200. Green Broadbill, Pulau Ubin

 

Early last Sunday morning, a post by one of the admins of a popular bird sighting group featured a clear shot of the IUCN near Threatened Green Broadbill, perched on an open branch. The alert sparked off a frenzy among birders and photographers for a week, continuing into this weekend. 

It is a very special bird. 

Extirpated in Singapore since 1941, the green broadbill has never been seen until 2014 when two juveniles were photographed in two separate locations. but they were not seen again after that session. In April this year, someone reported a sighting of a male on Pulau Ubin, a small island about 20mins on a sampan boat ride but subsequent visits by veteran birders were fruitless. Until last Sunday. 

The male stunning broadbill was very accommodating but probably has not been a long-term resident. Speculation is that a rapid pace of deforestation across the Straits of Singapore in Johor has forced birds there to seek new homes with some searching our shores for a potential home.

The luminous green broadbill is frugivorous. It is very distinctive with three black strips on its wings and comma-like black spot behind the ear. Its beak is covered with feathers. 

 Well, we had to of course jumped into the car, drove to the ferry terminal in late afternoon in light rain to see for ourselves. a delightful and enchanting bird, and reinforces my preferences for broadbills. 

Please allow us some more photos of this very special visitor. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tdgraves]

Wow! What great bird to get to 200 on Kit, congratulations