Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo- A shining light in a birdless month in Singapore

 16th July 2023

It was a boring morning in a boring month. With almost no rarities appearing the past few weeks, birding activity in Singapore was extremely dry. That changed however on 5th July when Singapore's only Austral migrant, the Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo decided to dock on our shores for the first time since 2018. Previously, it occurred almost annually, even in high numbers so this was a shocking sighting. I was itching to twitch it, but the chains of the life of a student shackled me. I had a piano examination. Immediately after the nerve-wrecking examination, a mad rush was made to the spot where it was sighted. 

A grassland dotted with mimosas, surrounded by coastal parkland attracted pipits, herons and tree sparrows. However the fateful cuckoo which had just made an appearance an hour before my arrival was MIA. Dressed in formal clothing, I baked in the hot and humid climate of Singapore. Unable to stand being roasted, dressed in my fancy aluminum foil, I gave up.

Fast forward to today, in math tuition learning about the Trigonometric Ratio, I was so anxious to the point I was about to vomit. Floods of messages and notifications came in from Telegram, Facebook, Whatsapp and literally any social media platform you can think of. Skipping lunch, when tuition ended I bolted out the door with sine, cosine and theta still fresh in my mind. On the drive towards the site, I was bouncing up and down in my seat, unable to contain my joy. However each passing minute felt like pricks of needles as the bird could easily depart off our little red dot and continue its return journey to Oceania. 

When we arrived at Tuas South, specifically this area (1.264965, 103.622650), the landscape was barren, dominated by construction barriers and tall grass. That was when I noticed a tiny dot flying in the sky. A sunbird? Too big? A Mynah? Too small. A Little Bronze Cuckoo? Wait, it's the Horsfield's! I blasted away gripping tight on my lens like a sniper as the bird landed in a nearby tree and gave astounding views.