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The definition of insanity

I found myself at the Singapore Botanic Gardens again hoping to sight the Fairy Pitta. The rainforest trail where it was sighted had been closed till further notice due to a fallen tree.

There was one sighting of the Fairy Pitta reported on eBird just 3 days ago at an accessible part of the trail. I waited there for about an hour with nothing to show for. Not wanting to waste the entire morning away, I decided to move on.

I headed to the Learning Forest area where the Malayan Night Heron and Blue-winged Pitta were recently spotted. Unfortunately, I did not find the Heron or Pitta either. I did get to see this Oriental Pied Hornbill fly by.

As for other wildlife, I spotted three Smooth-coated Otters in the lake near the Learning Forest. I spent some time observing them hunt for fish.

This one looks like it’s about to take a large satisfying bite out of it’s catch.

Looking back up in the sky, it was a good day to spot raptors. I counted the Changeable Hawk-eagle, Grey-headed Fish Eagle, two Brahminy Kites and two Crested Honey Buzzards in rapid succession.

The clear, sunny weather was optimal for thermaling – a phenomenon where raptors exploit the updraft created by temperature difference in the air to allow it to gain elevation with minimal effort.

Finally, on the way to the MRT station, I spotted this Asian Openbill looking for snails at the Eco-Lake.

It was thrashing this snail very hard from side to side, presumably to separate the flesh from the shell for consumption.

eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S298553360

No fairy tale ending.

I don’t usually go chasing for rarities especially a freshly reported one. But the sighting of a Fairy Pitta on Saturday evening in the Singapore Botanic Gardens piqued my interest. I was hoping that by arriving early in the morning, I could get a few record shots and move on before the crowd came in.

Alas, things do not always go as planned. That day, there were so many birders onsite that I could not even see the bird before it disappeared for the morning. Though, I did get to see this Orange-headed Thrush in an open perch position. That will have to do for the day.

eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S297442150

Exploration.

Fresh from the high of spotting the Greater Painted Snipe, I continued to explore the open fields around the Marina Bay area. The wishful-optimistic voice in me was hoping to see a Black-winged Kite.

First, I spotted a flock of Scaly-breasted Munias resting on a small tree. These birds are very common in this part of Singapore often seen foraging for seeds on grass.

This small bird in a canal caught my attention. It looked like a Wagtail or Snipe from afar but upon closer inspection, it was just a Common Sandpiper.

Next, I stopped by the Marina Grove pond as it was on the way to the Gardens by the Bay MRT station. The usual rarities like the Little Grebe, Baillon’s Crake and Taiga Flycatcher were still around.

A female Ornate Sunbird was seen hovering and feeding on this plant. I’ve been wanting to photograph this hovering pose for awhile and this was probably my best attempt to date.

Finally, I spent some time observing the Yellow Bittern catch it’s lunch. It waited patiently at the surface of the water and struck with speed and accuracy when a prey came close enough.

eBird checklists:
1. https://ebird.org/checklist/S297138012
2. https://ebird.org/checklist/S297139138

The quest for the Greater Painted Snipe.

So there’s this thing that I do every Fri night where I would scour all the latest bird sightings on eBird and local notification groups (Facebook and Telegram) to decide where to go birding on the weekend.

This eBird hotspot named “Park Street Pond and Field” caught my attention as the Greater Painted Snipe was spotted there just last week. There were only 6 eBird checklists (as of time of writing) but the place seemed promising. I started to wonder if I was about to uncover the next birding hidden gem of Singapore.

Arriving on Sat early morning, the place was very much alive with birds calling. Birding here felt more challenging as the birds were more skittish. Most of them will bolt the moment I had direct line of sight on them. Not surprising as this place is not a public park or one frequented by birders / photographers hence the birds are not used to human presence.

From afar, I spotted a bird flying in between some trees. Before I could take a shot, the bird took off toward my direction. There was no time to think. I reacted purely on instinct to shoot first, identify later. It turned out to be a Large Hawk-cuckoo. Not a bad find. Perhaps a sign of good things to come?

Over above, a pair of Brahminy Kites was seen perched on a tree. The Crows didn’t seem to like that though as they kept harassing and chasing the pair around.

As I continued to scan the thick reeds on the edge of the pond, something caught my eye – an odd looking shape in between an opening in the reeds. I wasn’t convinced it was a bird, maybe it was a rock or rotting vegetation. But I decided to take a photo to zoom in for a closer look anyway.

And there it was, staring back at me, the Greater Painted Snipe. I was elated. Unfortunately, it had already disappeared by the time I realized what I saw. I waited for awhile more hoping that it would come out into the open but alas it did not.

While waiting, I saw a Long-tailed Shrike out looking to catch it’s breakfast.

A flock of Lesser Whistling Ducks was seen resting on an island in the middle of the pond.

Thus, completes my quest for the Greater Painted Snipe. I continued on to explore the surrounding fields before making a stop at the Marina Grove pond (to be documented in the next blog post).

eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S297137104

Kingfishers galore.

I like birding at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve on Sundays because bus no. 925M goes directly to the entrance of the wetlands. On other days, bus no. 925 only stops nearby the Visitor Centre which requires another 1.2 km walk to the wetlands.

On this morning, I arrived at 7:00AM as I always do. Immediately, I was greeted by the familiar call of the Blue-eared Kingfisher at the pond near the wetland entrance. I had not even taken my camera out of my bag.

Under extremely low light conditions, I still managed to capture some decent shots of the bird (I later realized there were 2 of them). I am constantly amazed by how far image stabilization and noise reduction technology had progressed since my early days of photography in the late 2000s.

At the main bridge, I spotted the Rhinoceros Hornbill feeding high up the trees. For context, the Rhinoceros Hornbill is extirpated in Singapore. This individual is believed to have flown over from Johor, Malaysia in Dec 2025 and had been around since.

Inside the wetlands, it was surprisingly quiet, with hardly any shorebirds around. Hence, I decided to head to Eagle Point instead after hearing from another birder that there was plenty of raptor action the day before.

Along the way, I spotted more kingfishers – the resident Stork-billed Kingfisher and Collared Kingfisher.

At Eagle Point, I joined other birders to wait for more raptor action. The White-bellied Sea Eagles and Ospreys made their scheduled appearances. However, I did not expect to also spot a Peregrine Falcon.

Later, I spotted this Great Egret gliding across the water with it’s legs lowered. This was unusual as Egrets typically fly with their legs straightened behind their back. I thought the bird would grab a fish out of the water with it’s legs but it used it’s long bill instead.

This House Crow was seen carrying a decomposing dead fish. Coupled with the lack of feathers around the head, the bird looked like it came straight out of a post-apocalyptic horror movie scene.

Lastly, on the way out, I spotted one of the White-bellied Sea Eagles perched on a tree near the Visitor Centre.

eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S296140578

Surprise snipe.

This week, the appearance of the Common Hoopoe had driven the local birding community abuzz (it was frontpage on the national newspaper). However, I decided to give it a miss because I imagine it’s going to be crazy crowded and birding in a residential area felt rather jarring.

Instead, I headed to Marina Grove on Saturday morning. This little rain-logged pond overlooking the majestic Marina Bay Sands became a newfound birding hotspot in 2025 after the sighting of a family of Little Grebes here.

This was my 3rd visit to the location and I had already seen most of the rarities here. This time, my target was the Black-browed Reed Warbler (lifer), an uncommon migrant to Singapore which I had missed in previous visits.

It was my lucky day indeed as I managed to spot the bird within the first hour of arriving onsite.

Feeling more relaxed now that I’ve gotten my target bird, I took my time observing and photographing the other birds around. The family of White-breasted Waterhens (2 adults, 2 chicks) were out and about foraging for breakfast.

I observed the two Baillon’s Crakes seem to be much more skittish than the first time I saw them in Dec 2025. Back then, they came out openly to feed. This time, they hid among the reeds and only came out into the open briefly to dart between patches of reeds.

After awhile, I decided to walk further down beyond the pond to check the adjacent grasslands. The Blue-tailed Bee-eaters were perched low on the shrubs. Good chance to get some lovely eye-level shots.

As I walked by the tall grass, I spotted a bird that flew out from the grass. It was too fast for me to react but I managed to capture a few record shots. Upon reviewing the photos, it turned out to be a Pin-tailed Snipe (lifer), another uncommon migrant to Singapore.

Later, I saw a small group of photographers crowded on the left side of the pond. Apparently, the Taiga Flycatcher was spotted. I took some photographs of the bird however after reviewing the photos at home, it looked like an Asian Brown Flycatcher to me. What do you think?

And before I knew it, it was time to pack my gear and call it a day. All in all, it was a satisfyingly productive morning of birding.

eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S296135456