Gone Birding...

Frankly speaking, I'm not exactly a birder, so it does sound rather strange (even to myself) to hear me saying that I've gone birding. So guess the following photos are really more like by-products of my various recent nature trips :P

But then again, birds can look really nice on photos sometimes, so I certainly don't mind becoming a "birder" once in a while.


The intermediate egret (Egretta intermedia) is a medium size egret - bigger than a little egret, but smaller than a great egret. It feeds on fishes, crustaceans or insects. A common winter visitor to Singapore, it usually hunts and roosts with other egret species.


Here's a shot of the intermediate egret in flight.


There was a small flock of pacific swallow (Hirundo tahitica). I often see these swallows near the coastal areas of Singapore.


"Hey, watch where you are landing!"

Just thought it was rather cute to see the various little terns (Sternula albifrons) trying to compete for various spots on the metal railing. Not sure why, but they seemed to feel that the spot already occupied by another bird was better. Anyway, these are resident birds in Singapore. They feed by plunge-diving for fish.


This is probably a white-winged tern (Chlidonias leucopterus). Somewhat larger than the little tern, this bird does not dive for fish. It usually flies slowly over the water to pick up prey on the surface or catches insects in flight.


Here's another look at the white-winged tern settled down on a pole. It is not a resident bird, but a winter visitor.


This is probably an immature white-winged tern.


This is probably a whiskered tern (Chlidonias hybridus), also a winter visitor.


The rufous woodpecker (Micropternus brachyurus, previously Celeus brachyurus) supposedly builds its nests within the nests of ants of the species Crematogaster.


Different species of waders wading in shallow water.


Yet another mixture of different species of waders.


The white-breasted waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus) is commonly found in many parts of Singapore near water bodies. It usually feeds by probing for small fish or other little animals in mud or shallow water, though they sometimes forage for insects on the ground or among bushes too.


The stork-billed kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis, formerly Halcyon capensis) is a tree kingfisher which usually perches on tree branches while screening for prey, which ranges from fish, frogs, crustaceans, rodents to young birds.


Found this common sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) resting on this grass patch in the middle of Sungei Buloh Besar.


This is a common redshank (Tringa totanus).

Thanks to LK for the waders' ID! :)