Malaysian Plover

 Yoga on the beach. Male Malaysian Plover stretching at low tide. While Malaysian Plovers are residents of the region, sightings are rather uncommon.

 Female Malaysian Plover

 Male Malaysian Plover

Red and yellow lapwings

 Two red lapwings by a fresh water pond. 

Their cousin the yellow lapwing.

Whimbrel

Most migratory birds have left the mangrove mud flats of Sungei Buloh to return to Northern lands after the winter. A flock of whimbrels seems to be have decided to stay over. It could either be juveniles, who are too young for nesting or just over-stayers.

Whimbrels look very much alike curlews. The simplest way to differentiate them is to compare the ratio of the length of the bill to the the size of the head. It would be 2:1 for the whimbrel and 3:1 for the curlew.

Great-Billed Heron - Pulau Semakau

A better image of the great-billed heron, the "star" bird sight of Pulau Semakau.

The great-billed heron enters the record book as the tallest bird found in Singapore.

Great-Billed Heron - Pulau Semakau

Pulau Semakau is Singapore's first and only landfill situated offshore. To create the site, a 7 km perimeter rock dam was built to enclose part of the sea between Pulau Semakau and Pulau Sakeng.

Semakau Landfill is filled mainly with ashes produced by Singapore's four incineration plants. Upon efficient burning of the waste, ashes are shipped in covered barges to the island every night. Surprisingly, the landfill is neither dirty or smelly and, once sections are full, they are covered with a layer of soil on top of which plants are grown. To protect the surrounding sea, the landfill is lined with an impermeable membrane and any leachate produced is processed at a leachate treatment plant. Regular water testing is carried out to ensure the integrity of the impermeable liners. A show of trust of the quality of the protective work, is the location of a fish farm just off the island. Barramundis grown at the farm are sold at the fish markets in Singapore.

Featured on the image above is a rare great-billed heron, resident of the Southern islands of Singapore and photographed at Pulau Semakau.

Grey Heron in Flight

Grey heron in flight under a relatively harsh light. More practice!

Grey Heron at Sungei Buloh

Back at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve for some refreshing walk in the mangroves. All migratory birds have taken their flights back North and we are left with the resident population. It is still a good opportunity to dust off the long lens and get some practice...

Geese in a partly frozen pond

These geese just came back from a swim in a half frozen pond. They were in turn flapping their wings to dry their feathers.

Oriental Magpie Robin - Sungei Buloh

Another trip to Sungei Buloh, with some interesting results. Here is an oriental magpie robin taking a bath in shallow water.

Milky Stork - Sungei Buloh

A group of milky storks at Sungei Buloh Nature Park, Singapore.

Portrait of a Painted Stork

Portrait of a painted stork at the Jurong Bird Park. Interestingly, these birds are actually free to roam if they want to. Some do fly a few rounds and come back to their favourite location within the park.

Resting Pelican

Captive pelican at the Jurong Bird Park. The Singapore zoo and bird park are excellent venues to catch animal portraits.

Lesser Whistling Duck

Lesser whistling duck just back from a dive.

Black Crowned Crane

Black Crowned Crane held captive at the Animal Resort off Jalan Kayu. Interestingly, while they are left free to fly off the site, they do not escape.

Buffy Fish-Owl - Lower Pierce Reservoir

A change of subject with some encounter in the usual locale. This Buffy Fish-Owl was not very shy as I could capture this shot at 300mm with the D700 & 70-300VR.

Nesting Bird Colony - Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary

Another view of the birds nesting in groups on half flooded trees.

Oriental Darters at the Nest - Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary

Oriental darter feeding its chicks at the nest.

Nesting Bird Colony - Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary

Bird colony comprising mainly of darters and cormorans nesting on half flooded tree at the sanctuary.

Asian Openbill - Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary

The Asian Openbills is another species that can be easily spoted in the reserve.

Oriental Darter - Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary

Oriental Darters are common sights in the Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary.

To avoid carrying too much weight during the trip, the longest focal lens I had taken along was the 70-300mm VR. Used with a full frame camera, the reach was unfortunately not sufficient for bird photography...