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Monthly Roundups
May 26, 2025 / May 26, 2025 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
Chek Jawa delivers a national first record for the third year in a row!
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April 26, 2025 / April 28, 2025 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
March is usually the last month for rare birds before we go into the quiet summer months. Some good birds usually make an appearance as they move northwards, like the needletails and flycatchers this year.
Science
April 1, 2025 / April 1, 2025 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
AI is all around us now. In our search engines, image editing apps, and even in our phones. How will this affect the way we keep track of bird records?
March 30, 2025 / March 30, 2025 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
The Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans is a relatively new addition to the Singapore Bird Checklist. It was added to the list in 2013, when a small group of birds stayed briefly in January. Sightings have grown more frequent, suggesting it is no longer a "vagrant" in Singapore.
Checklist Revisions
March 27, 2025 / March 27, 2025 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
The latest update of our checklist, version 2025-1, has been published. It can be accessed at our Downloads page.
March 26, 2025 / March 26, 2025 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
The Hair-crested Drongo at Mount Faber, which lingered into the first days of Fabruary, was the main draw this month. There was also a Himalayan Vulture, only the second record from a month other than December or January.
Science Significant Records
February 28, 2025 / March 1, 2025 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
If you were birding in 2022, you might have seen the Ruby-cheeked Sunbirds that were frequenting the area near the Aerie Tower at Sungei Buloh. But did you know that during their stay they actually built not one, but two nests during their nearly three-month stay?
February 26, 2025 / February 26, 2025 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
So it turns out Mount Faber is good for other birds too, not just raptors.
January 26, 2025 / January 26, 2025 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
2024 opened with a White-throated Rock Thrush at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve on New Year's Day, and closed with Singapore's first Black Stork – on the last day of the year. There were other nice birds in December too, like a male Narcissus Flycatcher and at least two Thick-billed Flowerpeckers at Dairy Farm.
January 4, 2025 / January 4, 2025 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
A pair of ducks at Jurong Lake Gardens and a rare spiderhunter at Dairy Farm provided a dash of color in a month where most activity happened at Mount Faber.
Uncategorized
January 2, 2025 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
The Bird Society of Singapore hopes that all of you had a great 2023!
November 23, 2024 / November 23, 2024 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
Bat Hawk!
October 23, 2024 / October 23, 2024 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
In September we welcomed most familiar migrants back to our shores, but most of the action this month was concentrated offshore, with seabird migration through our waters in full swing.
September 20, 2024 / September 20, 2024 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
August was a month of rare shorebirds, but most only stayed for one day. We also welcomed the reappearance of the Black-and-red Broadbill that was first ringed at Sungei Buloh in 2019.
ID Articles
September 8, 2024 / September 10, 2024 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
September marks the arrival of Whiskered Terns to our shores, followed closely behind by White-winged Terns. However, these two species are among the most mis-identified in Singapore, with juvenile Whiskered Terns being easily confused with White-winged Terns.
September 5, 2024 / October 11, 2024 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
The latest update of our checklist, version 2024-2, has been published. It can be accessed at our Downloads page.
August 25, 2024 / August 25, 2024 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
The main attraction in July was a Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo, with the stilts at Tuas South a welcome addition as well.
July 24, 2024 / July 24, 2024 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
The Black-winged Stilts drew much attention in June, and a lucky few managed to see a single Pied Stilt in their midst – just the sixth record for Singapore. Not to be forgotten was a single Jacobin Cuckoo at Kallang Riverside Park (this record is still under review by the Records Committee).
June 22, 2024 / July 28, 2024 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
An otherwise slow month was brightened by Singapore's first record of Two-barred Warbler, and a Short-tailed Shearwater that unfortunately died after being rescued.
June 13, 2024 / June 13, 2024 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
By Raghav Narayanswamy Thanks to CN Lee’s hard work and sharp eyes, as well as Vincent Ng’s follow-up, many of us were fortunate enough to twitch Singapore’s fourth Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola in January. I was lucky to have the opportunity to visit several(…!) times and observe its moult over the course of its 2.5-month […]
Significant Records
May 24, 2024 / May 24, 2024 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
Raghav Narayanswamy On 5 May 2024, Frank Rheindt discovered Singapore’s first record of the Two-barred Warbler Phylloscopus plumbeitarsus at Kent Vale. The excellent photographs of this bird, but more importantly the audio recordings of its call and song, eventually left no doubt as to its identification. This photo captures all the features which immediately rule […]
May 22, 2024 / May 22, 2024 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
A very profitable April for van drivers at ferry operators at Pulau Ubin, but unfortunately neither of the standout birds at Chek Jawa stayed longer than a day.
April 24, 2024 / April 24, 2024 by raghavnarayanswamy | Leave a Comment
With three confirmed records of the Oriental Turtle Dove in Singapore over the last 6 years, and clear signs pointing to captive provenance for the latter two records, the Singapore Bird Records Committee reviewed the status of this species in Singapore.
April 22, 2024 / April 22, 2024 by raghavnarayanswamy | 2 Comments on Monthly Roundup: Mar 2024
With Chek Jawa not quite taking off (yet?) this year, March was mostly quiet with just a few lingering rarities from earlier in the season.
