Look, In the Sky, It's a Bird! Birding Paradise in Singapore
by Marta Ferrer Lubeck
Dark-Sided Flycatcher at Dairy Farm Nature Park
The National Parks Board (NParks) website lists over 400 bird species in Singapore. The island is home to kingfishers, pittas, bulbuls, hornbills, owls, and many other birds. The list includes resident birds, migrants, and vagrants—birds that show up in a location outside their normal range. Birdwatchers, also known as birders, have reported common and uncommon bird sightings in most nature areas, including Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve, Botanic Gardens, Pasir Ris Park, and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Collared Kingfisher at Pasir Ris Park
Blue-Winged Pitta at Lower Pierce Reservoir
Birds as Small Celebrities The migratory bird season runs from October to March, and Singapore is a favored stopover for birds traveling thousands of miles south from as far as Siberia. Some migratory birds can become local celebrities. Last November, an Oriental dwarf kingfisher was spotted in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. This bird is found in parts of India, China and Southeast Asia, but rarely in Singapore. This uncommon migrant raised huge interest, and a queuing system had to be set up to ensure safe distancing between photographers. To the dismay of all onlookers, the bird did not surface after one of its dives into a pond, leading many to believe it was swallowed by a large fish. Birding Community Mervyn (Merv) Soon is a passionate birder. I met with him in Pasir Ris Park, one of his preferred nature areas, to ask about his interest in birding and about the birder community in Singapore. Merv was a landscape and architecture photographer previously and had a good understanding of photography. His interest in birds started about a year ago. Initially, he would take photos of birds and ask other birders to help identify them. “I learned as I went,” he explained, “and nowadays, I roughly know what bird I am seeing.” I asked him why there are so many birders in Singapore: “Last year, many migrant birds went off course and came to Singapore. This is rare, so many people were interested. Also, many people who started working from home during the pandemic picked up bird photography. Birders spend a
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AWA Magazine March/April 2022
