February 6, 2006 19:45 - Tropical Birds: Great Grey Heron
Like a busy airport they come and go from all directions. A large heronry of these large Grey Herons, perhaps the largest bird in Singapore is found inside an army camp. There are some 200 nest built high up on several large Casuarinas oblivious to the military activities on ground zero.
Throughout the day, Grey Herons are coming and going. They are graceful in flight gliding in with their long legs swept back until they make a perfect landing on their nest or a nearby branch. Incoming Grey Herons can be seen carrying building materials like big twigs and there seem to be a constant state of home improvement going on. Each of these tall mature trees is laden with scores of nest. Every bit of prime real estate is taken by proud home owners.
Their outgoing flight paths point them towards various feeding places. Surveying the mangrove swamps, beaches along the coast line and the river lines, you will find solitary Grey Herons standing nearly a meter tall stalking with their stilt like legs in shallow water striking every now and then with their spear like bills at small fish, crabs and small crustacean. Back home at the heronry doting Grey Heron parents regurgitate the food into their hungry chicks. The state of the union is strong.
January 16, 2006 10:21 - Tips on scoping the Birds, My Recommended Bird Watching Scope
Sound, movement and shape - these are the first three indicators that help me to cue in on birds. Early every morning, the air is filled the sound of bird calls. It's the first order of the day as birds all around are busy reclaiming their territory. Territory is vital for attracting mates and securing ample sources of food.
Reclaiming territory is a noisy affair so the bird calls give me a good idea of what birds are present in the area. A bird-rich area is just filled with calls belonging to a variety of different bird species. Some of the most bird-rich areas I have been to are the restricted off-shore islands used by the military. Perhaps the fact that these islands are strictly off limits to the public have help a whole host of birds to find safe haven and refuge.
As birds go about searching for food there is a frenzy of movement. Birds are flying across to trees, moving through vegetation looking for insects or making the most of a fruiting fig tree.
Catching these movements with the naked eyes allow me to quickly home in on who is in the neighborhood. Next is to use the binoculars with good field of vision to get a close up on the bird. The Swarovski 8.5x42 EL is one of the best top line binoculars and one of the important investments that I have made. I started with an inexpensive no-brand 7x42 binocular that gave me very good field of vision but alas the lens lack multi-coating and it failed in robustness.
When it broke, I move a little upwards to 8x30 pair of "bins" but its short coming only made me resolve to look for a top line pair of dream bins. Watching birds is more demanding on the quality of binoculars because birds are a lot smaller than racing horses or military troop movements. Color and other subtle marking make all the difference between bird sub-species.
Recognizing shapes in foliage is a habit that many good birders pick up. It's the instinctive ability to notice the distinct shape of a bird perched on a tree or on a branch through the sunlight in a clutter of leaves.
This acquired skill is especially useful when the bird is keeping still. Cuckoos, raptors, shrikes and many passerines (perching birds) will come to a stand still so it helps to be able to notice the outlines even in a busy background. Once I have located the bird with my bins, it's important to note a prominent marker or object next to the bird like the tree branch elbow, flower or leaf patch before getting off the bins so you can still locate the distant spot. Keeping this spot in view, I would quickly use the scope to acquire the bird. Moving and focusing a scope in one fluid motion takes practice because every precious second counts.
Birds will move so once I have a lock-on with the scope, I would hand hold my trust Nikon Coolpix digital camera over the eyepiece of the Lieca scope, hold one third of my breath and get off as many shots as possible. All this has to be done smoothly and collected because sometime even a distant bird will be easily spooked by a birders panicky action.
A good day is when everything comes together and every photograph brings back each magical moments. That's the thrill of birding and scoping is also in stalking those little feathered beauties in their natural habitat.
January 9, 2006 12:10 - Bee Eaters Pictures
The canopy of trees rises like a cathedral deep in the heart of forest reserve bursting with life and the chorus of a million
insects. Sitting amidst the ferns just a stone throw off the forest track, I am relax and breathing calmly.
A moment ago even my best efforts to move stealth like into the bush caused a discernable hush above but keeping stationary for a few minutes, I could watch the birds resume their harmonic calls as if saying "notice to all neighbors, this is my exclusive territory, go get your breakfast elsewhere". The morning cool lingers in the air as I sit easy in my canvas stool, my optics and my digital camera on the ready.
A soft breeze blows over the treetops stirring a rustle of leaves, I am fully aware of all life that is around me. The familiar "kweee" call of the Banded Woodpecker draws my focus. Then a Laced Woodpecker come into view and slowly I bring the Lieca scope to acquire this beautiful bird.
Calmly I hold the faithful Nikon Coolpix 990 on the scope. The improvised plastic ring made from a plastic cap sits snugly on the eyepiece and receives the camera's aperture. The digital camera clicks are barely discernable as I breathe in just third and capture the woodpecker's search for a tasty meal. The beauty of digital photography is that I only need a few good shots and can erase the rest without feeling the pinch.
Singapore is a garden city and wherever there is a little spot of green, my heart jumps at the prospect of finding some interesting birds to watch.Sometimes it's just on a quiet roadside and in my office attire with the early morning is comfortably refreshing, it affords me a moment of stillness to watch the birds. I am mindful of a verse that says if God who feeds these birds everyday, will He not always provide for me too.
It's really amazing what turns up just sitting in a city park. Once Just as it was time to pack my gear the mighty "whop whop" sound of some great wing beat came overhead and suddenly I beheld the sight of a Great Hornbill landing on a huge Albizia tree just in front of me. It was there on that tree for just 10 precious minutes but enough for me to acquire a few good
digital photographs. Needless to say, that made my whole day even at the office!
