Changi, Pulau Punggol 05Dec09

From JS

Yesterday, Con, KH, my father, Jean Rene and I visited Changi Cove. We saw 7 black bazas, 1 pale morph juvenile changeable hawk eagle, 1 oriental honey buzzard orientalis, 1 brahminy kite, >3 black-winged kites, 1 female common kestrel and 1 subadult male eastern marsh harrier.

Subsequently, we went to Pulau Punggol to our usual booted eagle haunt. Sure enough, a dark morph booted eagle was present together with a female adult Chinese sparrowhawk (nice striking orange underparts contrasting with the dark greenish coniferous surroundings). Due to the timing and weather, there were no passing raptors, so the aforementioned raptors are most likely wintering here. Other raptors sighted include 3 brahminy kites (1 adult, 1 subadult and 1 juvenile), 1 juvenile pale morph changeable hawk eagle and 1 black baza. Other noteworthy bird sighted was a chestnut-winged cuckoo.

In summary, we saw the following raptors:

Resident species
1) Changeable Hawk Eagle (2)
2) Brahminy Kite (4)
3) Black-Winged Kite (3)

Migratory Species
4) Booted Eagle (1)
5) Chinese Sparrowhawk (1)
6) Oriental Honey Buzzard (1)
7) Common Kestrel (1)
8) Black Baza (8)
9) Eastern Marsh Harrier (1)

Here's a photo of a comparison between a brahminy kite and a booted eagle. Apparently, this photo not only helps to id the booted eagle, it also helps to tell its gender. According to my father, female booted eagle is larger than a brahminy kite while a male booted eagle is of the same size. Although the two raptors are at different attitudes, it is still very likely that the booted eagle in the photo is much larger than the brahminy kite because the attitudinal difference between the two is insignificant, judging from the obviousness of the features of the two birds.

Hopefully, by looking at this photo, we can get a feel for booted eagle and spot it immediately in future at PP when we can sneak in to "check" the tower again...

From Danny

Some interesting record shots from JS. Refer to perched pic, the paler landing light is visible off the 'shoulder' and the other pic shows the twisted tail manoeuvre (black kite also has this ability) and the upswept fingers, another characteristic of this eagle during gliding.

Close-up of the dark morph Booted Eagle from Con