Nee Soon Swamp 13Aug05

From KH

It was a sunny day as we started another day of birding. This time it was at the Nee Soon Swamp. The meeting place was the Casuarina carpark. There were five of us: Danny our leader for the day, Con and Marisol Foley, Peck Chan and I. There was supposed to be an Australian guy but he went to the wrong carpark; and Charlie was supposed to be here too but he’s affected by the airline strike, so couldn’t make it. Con and Danny drove up to the bridge and the 3 of us, Peck Chan, Marisol and I, alighted while they carry on to the carpark beside the reservoir. They then hitched a ride back to the bridge. We saw some Pacific Swallows, Asian Glossy Starlings, Javan Mynas at the bridge. We then proceed to the trail along the pipeline. The first few birds are the familiar Blue-throated Bee-eater, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Olive-backed Sunbird. There were some other photographers there too. The first bird to really bring the heat on was a little "black-and-white" bird that kept flying away from us as we try to get closer to it and it’s really hard to get a photo ID of it as it merged into the leaf litters. At first impression, it looked like a wagtail. After a while, it flew off into the bushes and we had to move on wondering what it was. The trail was muddy at the beginning but gets drier as we went along. As we walked, some birds were flushed out but were too brief and far away to identify.

These 3 shots are from Marisol. Peck Chan and I were walking on the pipeline, while Danny and Con were way ahead of us in the backdrop. Marisol was on the pipeline too. I happened to see a pair of Olive-winged Bulbuls up close while walking along the high vantage point. The 2^nd and 3^rd photos show us at the end of the trail. Any further, we could potentially be shot by the army practicing their rifle-shooting nearby!

As we backtrack along the trail, we spotted some Crimson Sunbirds and Greater Racquet-tailed Drongos. We could get close enough to the drongo to take some photos. Then we chance upon the wagtail again. This time, the bird gave us a really hard time, flying off every time we tried to get closer to it. This continued for some time until finally we gave up. As we walked further, Peck Chan suddenly screamed and said she saw a snake charging towards her. Marisol, who was right in front of her, sprinted off immediately. Danny and I just stood there clueless. Finally, when we were about to call it a day for this trail, a Blue-throated Bee-eater put on a display for us. It was catching insects and constantly returning to its perch. An Olive-winged Bulbul and an Orange-bellied Flowerpecker were also in that area. As we waited at the bridge hoping to hitch a ride, Marisol decided to take a walk to the carpark. Not long after that, a car came by and offered to help. Peck Chan and Danny got in, while Con and I remained at the bridge. It was during this time that a Pacific Swallow flew in and perched on a signpost. We could get really close-up shots of it. A Common Tailorbird was also spotted.

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo ©Con Foley

Pacific Swallow ©Tan KH

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker ©Tan KH

Striped Tit-babbler ©Con Foley

We adjourned to a roti prata shop near to the Casuarina carpark and had a great lunch, thanks to Danny for his generosity. We all owe you one! After the sumptuous meal, we decided to carry on our birding at the path close to the Upper Peirce Reservoir carpark. This was where we saw the Striped Tit-babbler, more Olive-winged Bulbuls and the male Plain-throated Sunbird. What a beautiful sunbird which bears such a drab name! After Con left, we walked a little further down the path and came close to an Orange-bellied Flowerpecker. We were close enough to get some shots.

The best bird of the day is the Forest Wagtail. This is the little bird that kept us tormented but entertained throughout the whole walk. Thanks to Con, we finally got a good photo ID of it at the end of our forest trail. 21 birds for the day, an ok number considering that we are in a forest habitat. The Abbott’s Babbler is a forest bird that is most often heard (with the distinctive we-wo-we call). The swiftlets are the black-nest and edible-nest swiftlets, which there is no way to ID out in the field when they are flying in the sky.

Forest Wagtail ©Con Foley

01. Asian glossy starling
02. Pacific swallow
03. Blue-throated bee-eater
04. Forest wagtail
05. Yellow-vented bulbul
06. Olive-winged bulbul
07. Greater racquet-tailed drongo
08. House crow
09. Orange-bellied flowerpecker
10. Olive-backed sunbird
11. Plain-throated sunbird
12. Striped tit-babbler
13. Common tailorbird
14. Javan myna
15. Common pigeon
16. Asian koel
17. Crimson sunbird
18. White-throated kingfisher
19. Collared kingfisher
20. Swiftlet spp.
21. Abbott’s babbler (heard)