Bird watching in Singapore - February 2025

OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizens visiting my web page. How hard can it be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page.

Jiffy (also jiff)

noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.

ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.

So I put a “Next” button here and I hope that there isn't any problem to understand how to use that one. So just CLICK the “Next” button on your left hand side and you will be on the next page in a jiff!

Marunong ka mag-tagalog? Walang problema! Magpunta sa kabilang pahina pindutin ang “NEXT” button sa itaas

Faites vous parlez le français? Pas de problème! Pour arriver à la page suivante faites s'il vous plaît un déclic le bouton “Next” ci-dessus!

Haga usted dice el español? No hay problema! Ver la siguiente página sólo hacer clic el botón “Next” encima!

Farla parla l'italiano? Non problemi! Per vedere la prossima pagina lo scatto per favore giusto Il bottone “Next” sopra

Sprechen sie Deutsch! Kein problem! Wenn Sie die folgende Seite sehen wollen gerade klicken der Knopf “Next” oben!

คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม ไม่มีปัญหา ถ้าคุณต้องการไปหน้าถัดไป ให้กดปุ่ม “Next” ข้างบนนี้

Вы говорите по-русски? Просто нажмите синюю кнопку "Next" с левой стороны и Вы моментально переместитесь на следующую страницу!

E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.

Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.

February 2025

Monday 24 ^th of February 2025 and I had tea and cheese in my room before going down to book a GRAB car. I will spend a few hours in the Botanical Garden to look for birds. I will check out from Bliss Hotel at 1 o'clock.

I start my eBird app at 08:07 when the taxi drops me at Nassim Gate and I walk down towards the Symphony Lake. I pass the Heliconia Walk to have a look for sunbirds.

The plan is to walk by the Swan Lake to the Tanglin Gate where I will take a taxi back to Bliss Hotel to have a shower and a change of clothes before going to the airport.

Walking the Heliconia Walk towards the Symphony Lake

Heliconia

Heliconia is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the western Pacific and Maluku in Indonesia. Many species of Heliconia are found in the tropical forests of these regions. Most species are listed as either vulnerable or data deficient by the IUCN Red List of threatened species.

Several species are widely cultivated as ornamentals, and a few are naturalized in Florida, Gambia, and Thailand.

Common names for the genus include lobster-claws, toucan beak, wild plantain, or false bird-of-paradise; the last term refers to their close similarity to the bird-of-paradise flowers in the Strelitzia genus. Collectively, these plants are also simply referred to as “heliconias”

Heliconia originated in the Late Eocene (39 Ma) and are the oldest known clade of hummingbird-pollinated plants.

The area is fill of Heliconia plants and there is always sunbirds feeding. And it looks beautiful with the bird on the colourful flowers. There were 3 sunbirds but they took off when I approached.

But there is a bench in the middle of the Heliconia plants and I took a seat. Did not take long before one female sunbird came back, Ornate or Brown-throated and as they look the same it was impossible for me to ID the bird.

Brown-throated Sunbird

Similar Species
Female can be distinguished from female Olive-backed Sunbird by larger size, straighter bill and the lack of white in tail.

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Brown-throated Sunbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brown-throated_Sunbird

But I could see the white feathers under the tail and thus I knew it was an Ornate Sunbird. Larger size, straighter bill this is features you can see when you have two bird side by side, otherwise it is impossible. So, I was lucky to see the white feathers.

Two birds landed in a tree very far away and I have not brought my binoculars, but I could see that it was the Red-whiskered Bulbul. Poor pictures as it was very far away. But good enough to ID the birds.

I enjoyed the sunbird on the Heliconia flowers, nice to watch the bird feeding, but I needed to move on as I don't have much time.

Walking around the Symphony Lake and there were no kingfishers, at least not any that I could see. I passed one more Ornate Sunbird and one more Pink-necked Green-Pigeon.

Ornate Sunbird

Ornate Sunbird

Ornate Sunbird

Ornate Sunbird

Ornate Sunbird

Ornate Sunbird

Red-whiskered Bulbul

Reaching the Orchid Garden and I buy some water and a bottle of cantaloupe something. I sit down on a bench enjoying my refreshments. Monday so there is not so much people, but there is a big group of Filipino baby sitters.

They are enjoying the park with the children. I see one bird in the palm trees, very far away, but I can see that it is a Spotted Dove through my camera.

One Pied Imperial-Pigeon landed close to the Spotted Dove and a little later another two Pied Imperial-Pigeons landed. The Pied Imperial-Pigeon is a new LIFER for me, the fifth since I arrived to Singapore.

Another bird landed and I took a picture and even though it was very far away I could see that it was a Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrot. I was trying to get pictures, but suddenly, a raptor came flying in from behind the parrot.

All the birds took off and I never got any pictures of the raptor.

Pink-necked Green-Pigeon

Pink-necked Green-Pigeon

Pink-necked Green-Pigeon

Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrot

Throwing the empty bottles in a trash bin, not easy to find a trash bin. Walking towards the Swan Lake and I realised that it was a very long time since I was here the last time.

Been in Singapore Botanical Garden and I knew the park very well, but now I got it wrong. The general direction was correct, but I ended up at the Singapore Botanic Gardens Bandstand.

But it was just to walk across the lawn to get down to the Swan Lake. I ran in to an elderly couple from Australia that was here to look for birds.

We had a chat and I showed them the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve Centre on the map and they would go there tomorrow to look for crocodiles. I gave them a few tips on where to find sunbirds. And if they were lucky, they would see the Schrenck's Bittern on the pond behind the building.

Swan Lake

Red Junglefowl

There was one Mute Swan in the Swan Lake, but I do not report it to eBird as it is a prisoner. Swimming freely in the lake, but there is not enough space for the swan to take off. A huge lake, but surrounded by trees so not possible for the swan to get away.

Walking towards the Tanglin Gate and I did not see any birds, just before reaching the Tanglin Gate and there was a female Red Junglefowl with three babies. The adult helped the babies to look for food under the leafs on the ground.

I stop my eBird app and I book a car on my GRAB app when I reach the Tanglin Gate. The car arrives after a few minutes and I am on my way to Bliss Hotel.

eBird Report

Singapore Botanic Gardens, Singapore, SG
Feb 24, 2025 08:07 - 09:49
Protocol: Traveling
2.12 kilometer(s)
13 species

Red Junglefowl (Domestic type) 9 2 Female + 3 babies
Spotted Dove 2
Pink-necked Green-Pigeon 4
Pied Imperial-Pigeon 3 LIFER
Plaintive Cuckoo 1
White-breasted Waterhen 1
Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrot 1
Malaysian Pied-Fantail 1
Red-whiskered Bulbul 4
Yellow-vented Bulbul 1
Javan Myna 2
Oriental Magpie-Robin 1
Ornate Sunbird 4 ID by the white tail

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S215144352

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Today's track at Singapore Botanical Garden

eBird Trip Report

Since April 2023 eBird offer a new feature, to create Trip Reports. At least this is when I first heard of this feature and I have decided to make the eBird Trip Reports instead of my list of OBSERVED birds.

And of course, this also means that I will HAVE TO go back and do the same for my old birding adventures, WHEN I HAVE THE TIME!

Today's Trip Report: | Click HERE

Download | PDF

Lifers
Icons for lifers used in the eBird trip reports

Species lifer:First time that someone observes a species in their life

Photo lifer:First time that someone photographs a species in their life

Audio lifer:First time that someone audio records a species in their life

Exotic species
Exotic species flags differentiate locally introduced species from native species.

Naturalized:Exotic population is self-sustaining, breeding in the wild, persisting for many years, and not maintained through ongoing releases (including vagrants from Naturalized populations). These count in official eBird totals and, where applicable, have been accepted by regional bird records committee(s).

Provisional:Either: 1)member of exotic population that is breeding in the wild, self-propagating, and has persisted for multiple years, but not yet Naturalized; 2)rarity of uncertain provenance, with natural vagrancy or captive provenance both considered plausible.

When applicable, eBird generally defers to bird records committees for records formally considered to be of "uncertain provenance". Provisional species count in official eBird totals.

Escapee:Exotic species known or suspected to be escaped or released, including those that have
bred but don't yet fulfil the criteria for Provisional. Escapee exotics do not count in official eBird totals.

Finish my last diet drink in my room and I went to the reception at 1 o'clock. I booked a GRAB and I was soon on my way to Changi International Airport and flight SQ 714 to Bangkok.

Check-in and it was about 3 and a half hours to kill before departure. Automatic immigration kiosks so no stamp in my pass port. I grow to like this very much, see if I can use my passport for the full 5 years this time.

I went to the lounge and I had a coconut water and a soda water. I had been to the Japanese restaurant at the shopping mall coming back from the Botanical Garden. But they did not open until 11 o'clock, so I took the opportunity to have a noodle soup in the lounge.

Wasn't very good and I left the lounge when I had finished my drinks, two hours remaining to kill. I walked towards the gate as I prefer to wait at the gate. Passing a Tumi store and I have a look for a new bag for my lap top.

I am excited to go look for birds with my Honda Giorno in Thailand and you just need to click HERE to find out if I see any birds.

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