Fun But Organized

Just returned from 8 days in Singapore, where we went for a wedding (a beautiful affair, congratulations and best wishes to Wilson and Siew Ping!).  Photos of our trip are on my flickr site: bit.ly/1esGNgy.

"Fun but organized" was a phrase I read in the text accompanying an exhibit at the Singapore Flyer (World's Largest Giant Observational Wheel, FYI) and it seems like an apt description for the country as a whole.  We had a great time seeing friends, doing touristy things (National Museum of Singapore, Singapore Art Museum, the aforementioned Flyer, the Marina Bay Sands (big mistake), lots of restaurants and shopping), and birding.

Oh, the birding! We booked a private birding guide (the amazing Kim Seng: http://birdingsingapore.com/) for two hot, somewhat grueling, incredibly productive days in Singapore and Malaysia.   List of birds right here Please note that Brian and I would never claim to have ID'd each of these birds ourselves, but we did actually see each of them and relied on Kim Seng's identifications. Also please note that these are not complete lists for each location, as I've only listed the first sighting of each bird - we saw many species in multiple places.

October 8, 2013, Central Catchment Area near MacRitchie Reservoir, Singapore:

Collared Scops Owl (H)

Pink-necked Green Pigeon

Thick-billed Pigeon

Tiger Shrike

Red-crowned Barbet

Olive-winged Bulbul

Striped Tit Babbler

Magpie Robin

Brown-throated Sunbird

Asian Glossy Starling

Long-tailed Parakeet

Raquet-tailed Drongo

Stork-billed Kingfisher

Brahminy Kite

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker

Pacific Swallow

Arctic Warbler

Hill Myna

Butik Batok Park, Singapore 10/8/13:

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher

Dollar Bird

Blue-throated Bee-eater

Crimson Sunbird

Duck-necked Tailorbird

White-crested Laughingthrush

Common Golden-backed Woodpecker

Laced Woodpecker

Banded Woodpecker

Lineated Barbet

Glossy Swiftlet

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker

Changeable Hawk-Eagle

White-throated Kingfisher

Straw-headed Bulbul

Common Myna

Java Myna

Sungei Buloh Wetland Preserve, Singapore 10/8/13:

Long-tailed Shrike

Grey Heron

Common Sandpiper

White-bellied Sea Eagle

Emerald Dove

Black-naped Oriole

Copper-throated Sunbird

Collared Kingfisher

Kranji Marsh, Singapore 10/8/13:

Red-breasted Parakeet

Zebra Dove

Rose-winged Parakeet

Iora

Ruddy-breasted Crake (H)

Pied Triller

Black Koel

Panti Forest Preserve, Malaysia 10/9/13:

Little Green Pigeon

Buff-vented Bulbul

Grey-breasted Spiderhunter

Red-rumped Swallow

Rufous Woodpecker

Black-headed Bulbul

Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker

Raffles' Malkoha

Black-naped Monarch

Tree Swift

Barn Swallow

Black Magpie

Yellow-vented Tailorbird

Hairy-backed Bulbul

Red-eyed Bulbul

Crested Serpent Eagle

Asian Fairy Bluebird

Pasir Ris Park, Singapore 10/9/13:

While Bellied Waterhen

Blue-tailed Bee-eater

Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Red Junglefowl

Golden-fronted Gerygone

Citron-crested Cockatiel (exotic)

Little Egret

Long-tailed Shrike

White-bellied Sea Eagle

Lorone-Holus Wetlands, Singapore 10/9/13:

Whiskered Tern

White-winged Tern

Purple Heron

Scaly Brown Muna

Baya Weaver

Pacific Golden Plover

Other critters encountered:

Plantain Squirrel

Three striped ground squirrel

Long-tailed macaque

Leaf monkey

Water Monitor

Clouded Monitor

Flying Lemur

Giant Mudskipper

Crocodile

Gibbon (H)

Tapir

Changeable Lizard

Flying Lizard

(H = heard, not seen.)

Library!

Five Reasons to Love Boise!

1. They don't just have a Library, they have a Library!

2. Birds everywhere! California Quail in the backyard next to our inn! Wood Ducks in a city park (below)! Prairie Falcons nearby at Snake River Canyon! Peregrine Falcons in downtown Boise! With a nest cam! 

3.  The aforementioned Snake River Canyon! Very beautiful!

4.  The Idaho Central Credit Union has a big ol' party van and sends it out on Friday night with a DJ and street dancer! 

5.  Huge rocks!  Deposited by glacial melt!

 And here's a bonus reason to love Boise! The Northwest Lineman College in nearby Meridian!  I kid you not! Hard to tell from the photo, but there is a whole complex of different types of poles, towers, and power lines here! How else do you think they learn how to be linemen?!

Boise, Baby!

Happy New Year!

We started the new year off right with a spectacular day of birding at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (mainly at the Sacramento Unit, but with a stop at Colusa) with our friends Kevin and Susan.  Yes, we dragged out butts out of bed at 3:30 a.m. on New Year's Day in order to be there before dawn, but it was worth it.  We saw a gorgeous sunrise and many thousands of birds on a beautifully sunny, clear and cold day, and even managed breakfast at the Black Bear Diner in Willows. Here's our list for the day (all seen at the Sacramento Unit unless otherwise noted, many were seen at both locations): 

Pied-billed Grebe

American White Pelican

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Green Heron (at Colusa)

Black-crowned Night Heron (at Colusa)

Turkey Vulture

Greater White-fronted Goose

Snow Goose

Gadwall

American Wigeon

Mallard

Cinnamon Teal

Northern Shoveler

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Bufflehead

Ruddy Duck

Bald Eagle

Northern Harrier

Cooper's Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Ring-necked Pheasant

Black-necked Stilt

Long-Billed Curlew

Great Horned Owl (at Colusa)

Northern Flicker (at Colusa)

Black Phoebe

Loggerhead Shrike

Western Scrub Jay (heard only, at Colusa)

American Crow

Common Raven

Tree Swallow (at Colusa)

Bushtit

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

American Pipit (at Colusa)

Yellow-rumped Warbler

California Towhee

Song Sparrow (at Colusa)

White-crowned Sparrow

Red-winged Blackbird

Western Meadowlark (at Colusa)