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24 hrs in Singapore this weekend - where to go? (1 Viewer)

The Botanical Gardens are good and easy to access (MRT station next to one of the gates) - possibly the easiest site anywhere for Red-legged Crake. Go early as the gardens get busy.

Pasir Ris Park is also easy to reach via MRT, and a good stake-out for Spotted Wood Owl.
 
If your on a stopover at the airport you’ll waste time getting to the big parks and if it’s in the middle of the day they will be busy and the birding will be slow. Stay in the Changi area. Check out the small forest and golf course round the back of the Changi Village Hotel. You’ve a good chance of Oriental Pied Hornbill plus loads of other stuff like White bellied Sea Eagle, Brahminy Kite, Dollarbird and lots of other goodies. Also a stroll along the sea walk will get you Kingfishers. All very close to the airport. Just get a cab to the Changi Village Hotel.
 
Digbert Doobrey said:
If your on a stopover at the airport you’ll waste time getting to the big parks and if it’s in the middle of the day they will be busy and the birding will be slow. Stay in the Changi area. Check out the small forest and golf course round the back of the Changi Village Hotel. You’ve a good chance of Oriental Pied Hornbill plus loads of other stuff like White bellied Sea Eagle, Brahminy Kite, Dollarbird and lots of other goodies. Also a stroll along the sea walk will get you Kingfishers. All very close to the airport. Just get a cab to the Changi Village Hotel.
Click to expand...

That could be a really good game plan if you have only a few hours. Besides the species mentioned above, red-breasted parakeets are all over the place in that area and you should have a great chance of spotting Tanimbar corellas and possibly other introduced cockatoos. From the Changi boardwalk you may see passing terns and the Ubin telecoms tower, from which migratory peregrine falcons have often been reported, can be seen. I spent a late December morning there hoping that one would appear and hunt, but alas, the only raptors I saw (great views though) were the two mentioned by Digbert above. Changi village seafood centre also offers grub and cold drinks (not to be underestimated when tramping around Singapore!).
 
Pasir Ris Parklands are a great spot not too far from the airport. I went there twice during our recent short stay in Singapore and it was some of the more enjoyable birding. Easily accessible, not too busy, not as humid as some of the catchment parks, a few friendly and helpful local bird photographers around.
 
Managed to see a confiding oriental dwarf kingfisher whilst walking through gardens of the bay This weekend through again Singapore (36 hrs) and I intend to spend most of that time on Pulau Ubin. https://ebird.org/hotspot/L1055540

Mangrove Pitta is around ... hmmmm anyone know where to see this species on the island?
 
A little bit of research and it seems like the German Girl Shrine mangrove and Chek Jawa Wetlands are the 2 main spots for the pitta.....
 
Just thought that I would add that Pulau Ubin is very easy to access - I've transited through Singapore many times and hadn't thought of birding here. Anyway briefly it's $3 each way for the 'Bum boats' (7am-7pm) to Pulau Ubin - operates very regularly and cycle hire $10 cash/day is almost straight off the jetty - easy biking around the island. Only got one call (playback) of mangrove pitta at the spot viator mentioned; no where else. Nice view of grey headed fish eagle at the same spot (a pair of oriental pied hornbills also hung around) and White-bellied Sea-Eagle and accipiters were seen many times. nothing else notable; maybe going back at 7am for a few hrs...
 
Hi folks,

sorry to add to this thread but it seemed more sensible than starting a new one.
I will be in Singapore on the 2nd January, en route to New Zealand.
I'm staying in the Clarke Quay area. I suspect I'll see stuff I've never come across in the hotel garden (if it has one) and nearby waterways. My partner has organised a city tour for us in the morning, so time might be tight.

My question is not so much where to go but what to read in advance in terms of field guides.
 
Hello

I always spend at least one day at the Sungei Wetland Reserve when I´m in Singapore. Of course, Botanical Garden is a sure thing.

Arriving early to the wetlands 6 in the morning and it is pitch dark. They open at 7 but to be in the area when the day light breaks is very nice. And you get a chance to see crocodiles.

Botanical Garden, the Swan lake and there is a small pond where there is a Blue eared Kingfisher every now and then, you see all the bird watchers there with their cameras. And they are friendly, if the bird is not there try the Symphony Lake. Right hand side when you face the scene. There is also the place where they spot the Blue eared Kingfisher. And the famous White throated sitting on the ARROW fishing

You see the Red Legged Quail, flower peckers and Sunbirds. Look up the trees and you are almost guaranteed to see an oriental pied hornbill. They are there almost every time I have been there

Places where I have been looking for birds in Singapore map

Kind regards
Aladdin
 
Last edited:
Richard Prior said:
Echoing Mike's thanks Aladdin (we have a one day stopover a few days after Mike and are staying in Changi Village Hotel).

Cheers

Richard (former Heaton Moor Rugby Club player Mike!)
Click to expand...

Cheers!

One day, then I would have choosen the wetland, 45 - 60 minutes with taxi

Stop at the Sungei Bulho bridge between the visitor centre and the wetlands. I have seen a Stork Billed Kingfisher there almost every time. Never any pictures as the bird is just flying by.

IF YOU GO!!!! BRING A BOTTLE TO FILL WITH FREE WATER: The vending machines only seems to have "sweet" water and 2018, who is running around with cash? But I have learnt, have a bottle with you, and a picnic snack

Kind regards
Aladdin
 
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