[SeeToh]

Singapore, being a small island, has an impressive list of around 400 bird specie (including residents, migrants and escapees) occuring in a wild state.

My lifer list for Singapore starting from no. 227 are:

227: Great-billed Heron (Rare Resident Breeder)
228: Blue-rumped Parrot (Rare Resident Breeder)
229: Whiskered Treeswift (Rare Non-Breeding Visitor)
230: Wood Sandpiper (Common Winter Visitor/Passage Migrant)
231: African Grey Parrot (Escapee)
232: Green Imperial Pigeon (Rare Non-Breeding Visitor)

Will update my SG lifer list using this thread from now onwards.

[SeeToh]

Got my #233 from a tip-off from my birding buddy on Sep 2. However, did not share his luck in watching/shooting a two usually very shy male greater painted snipe in an open field. I only managed to flush out a male bird (classified as a rare breeding resident in Singapor) which flew low for a short distance and disappeared into the bushes.

Also managed to tick off my last COMMON resident bird of Singapore at the same location - Asian Palm Swift (#234). Although classified as common, this specie seems to be overcrowded by the more abundant Germain's Swiftlet and Black-nest Swiftlet.

Then got my #235 in the form of the escapee - Orange-cheeked Waxbill. Both adults and juvenile were sighted, implying successfully breeding of this African waxbill in Singapore.

The day was wrapped up with a possible #236 - Common Snipe. Flushed a pair and saw quite a fair bit of white on their underwing. Will have to return to the same site for confirmation though.

[SeeToh]

Got my #237 this evening: a female Blue-breasted Quail (or King Quail), an uncommon breeding resident of Singapore.

[SeeToh]

Today, I have finally broken my jinx migrant specie which is the Terek Sandpiper (#238), a common winter visitor and passage migrant to Singapore. Saw a pair feeding at a fast pace on the mudflat at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

Also got my #239 at the same place: a juvenile Black-tailed Godwit. This is a uncommon winter visitor/passage migrant here.

[SeeToh]

Happy to break #240 by sighting the Crested Serpent Eagle in Singapore. Have seen it in Malaysia where it is common. It's a rare resident in Singapore where breeding is suspected but could not be proven.

[SeeToh]

Got my #241 this morning - a pair of white-winged tern in non-breeding plummage. This specie is a common winter visitor and passage migrant to Singapore.

[SeeToh]

Gone out to the high seas along the Singapore Straits on 1st October 2011 hoping to get some sea bird lifers. And was rewarding by sighting:

#242 Swinhoe's Storm-Petrel (uncommon passage migrant)
#243 Bridled Tern (uncommon winter visitor)
#244 Aleutian Tern (rare vagrant)
#245 Great Crested Tern (common winter visitor)

[chris butterworth]

Aleutian Tern is a cracking bird. Congratulations.

Chris

[SeeToh]

After reviewing all the photographs taken by my photographic buddies for this pelagic trip (http://www.naturepixels.org/phpBB3/v...p?f=22&t=16345), got my #246 in the form of a juvenile Sooty Tern moulting into adult plummage. Could not discern them among the large flock of Bridled Tern from my bino. The choppy waters did not help in this regard.

What is more amazing is that this is the first record of the Sooty Tern in Singapore (or at Horsburgh Lighthouse which is located at the eastern enterance to the Singapore Straits and about 54 km to the east of Singapore to be more exact).

[SeeToh]

The expert who confirmed the Sooty Tern ID now had doubts. Anyway, since I did not see it specifically among the flock, it should not be included as my lifer even if ID is confirmed. So the count is back to #245.

[SeeToh]

From the tip of a facebook acquaintance who lived at the edge of one of Singapore's last few protected forests, I got my #246 in the form of the black-headed bulbul. It's great to get to see a small flock (at least 3 birds) of this rare resident breeder feeding on a fruiting tree. It is quite common in Peninsula Malaysia though.

[SeeToh]

Sighted a flock of migratory terns at one of the reservoir and thought they were the common White-winged Terns. However, my ID was wrong. They were Whiskered Terns instead - a rare winter visitor and passage migrant to Singapore. This will be my #247

The digiscoped photo showed an adult Whiskered in non-breeding plummage on the left and a juvenile on the right.

[SeeToh]

Got my #248: a flock of Grey Plovers resting on a rocky outcrop off the coast of Pulau Ubin.

[SeeToh]

Nailed #249 today. It was a pair of Black-winged Stilt considered a rare winter visitor/passage migrant to Singapore. One individual was sighted on 20-21 Oct but I missed it. Prior to this sighting, the specie was last recorded in Singapore in 2005.

[SeeToh]

Wonder whether the floods in Thailand are forcing migrants to stopover at Singapore. Got my #250 in the form of a Juvenile Grey-headed Lapwing. This specie is considered a vagrant to Singapore. Great to hit 250 Singapore lifers with such a rarity

[SeeToh]

Got an unexpected lifer today at a new location that I never been before. My #251 is a Grey Wagtail in non-breeding plummage (uncommon winter visitor and passage migrant to Singapore). Just love the bright yellow underwear (vent) it is wearing

[SeeToh]

It had been a lucky 5-day for me where I managed to chalk up 1 lifer a day except for one day Got my #252 after a tip-off from a birding pal. Sighted and digiscoped (using fixed 30x eyepiece) a flock of Lesser Crested Terns (common winter visitor/passage migrant) resting on a floating fish farm about 250-300m from the coast. Hope my streak will continue this week

[SeeToh]

Got my #253 this afternoon. I was about to leave the current hotest birding spot in Singapore as rain was approaching but a birding pal spotted this juvenile Chinese Sparrowhawk perching high up but in the open. This specie is a uncommon winter visitor and passage migrant to Singapore.

Hope I get my ID right here

[SeeToh]

Luck continued with me this weekend. Added three lifers into my Singapore list amazingly in a single day

#254 - Booted Eagle - rare passage migrant.
#255 - Common Buzzard - uncommon winter visitor
#256 - Fork-tailed Swift - uncommon winter visitor/passge migrant

Record shots by my birding/DSLR photography pal which helped to confirm the ID of the lifers are attached.

[SeeToh]

Lifer #257 for Singapore: Grey Nightjar - a rare winter visitor and passage migrant

[SeeToh]

Lifer #258: Jerdon's Baza - Rare winter visitor/passage migrant to Singapore.

Photograph taken by my birding companion.

[SeeToh]

Lifer #259: Swinhoe's Plover (also known as White-faced Plover) - rare winter visitor/passage migrant.

Currently classified as a sub-specie of Kentish Plover.

[SeeToh]

#260: a flock of at least 6 Brown-backed Needletails - uncommon winter visitor/passage migrant to Singapore (I was along - so no photo as they were too fast and furious for my digiscoping setup)

#261: Red-rumped Swallow - uncommon winter visitor/passage migrant (photo by my birding companion who shot the swallow using his Canon 300mm f/2.8 lens).

[SeeToh]

Sighted a short but wide body eagle with mostly whitish underparts being mobbed or mobbing a Oriental Honey Buzzard on December 10. Did not bother to check out what speice this could be until I saw a photograph of an identical-looking bird shot about 3 weeks earlier in a nearby location. My unexpected lifer #262 is a juvenile Rufous-bellied Eagle - a rare non-breeding visitor to Singapore

[SeeToh]

My lifer #263 is the Pied Harrier. Saw a juvenile gliding low over the grassland and also caught a glimpse of a handsome male in flight (but much further). The Pied Harrier is considered a rare winter visitor and passage migrant to Singapore.

Lifer #264 is an escapee parakeet specie which is supposed to be very common in Argentina - Monk Parakeet. A flock of at least 8 birds were seen in flight over the coastal reclaimed grassland (with one bird seen perching on the perimeter fence of a building) which is the only location they were sighted in Singapore. As this specie has already established feral population in the UK and part of continental Europe, I reckoned they would probably also establish themselves in Singapore like the feral Red-breasted Parakeets, Rose-ringed Parakeets and Tanibar Corella which have become fairly common.