Mandai, Kranji 08Oct05

From KH

It was yet another good day for birding. Con picked me up at Orchard MRT station and we headed towards Orchidville at Lor Lada Hitam. Along the way, we saw someone with the familiar bird cages which are often used for catching doves. The road ends at a little roundabout. Con parked the car by the side and right in front of us was a Dollarbird and an Olive-backed Sunbird chirping away. The Dollarbird stayed there for a long time and offered Con some great shots.

The first bird to get us excited was a Greater Coucal. There was also a small bird which kept flying around, not giving us a chance to ID it. There were also Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Yellow-bellied Prinia and Common Flameback there. Soon, Con received a call from Danny and we had to leave this area to meet him. As we went back to the roundabout, we saw a male Asian Koel on the tree and the Dollarbird was still there, now with another of its kind. So the two Dollarbirds perched there, minding their own business while we admired them.

Blue-tailed Bee-eater. Dollarbird

Greater Coucal. Tiger Shrike

Con picked Danny up from the petrol kiosk near the Honda service centre and we headed for Jalan Kwok Min. There were some interesting birds here, namely a friendly Drongo Cuckoo, a pair of Chestnut-bellied Malkoha, many Common Flamebacks and some Tiger Shrikes. There was a raptor which was blocked by a thick branch. Blue-tailed Bee-eaters had arrived too.

Close to the end of the trail was an abandoned well, remnant of an old kampong. Having reached the end of the trail (where there were some constructions going on), we backtracked. Instead of going back to the entrance of Jalan Kwok Min, we took a side track, which happened to lead us to a road that goes to a shooting range. There were two friendly bikers who ended up at the road too. However, by this time the rain is imminent and we had to head towards the main road (Mandai Lake Road). We then went to Ten Mile Junction for our lunch and discussion on our afternoon excursion.

Well at Jalan Kwok Min

Jalan Kwok Min

After lunch, we were off to Kranji for our second round of exploration. The first location we stopped to look was a part near the reservoir, where there were some canal construction going on. Then we went to the opposite of the Kranji bund at a PUB station and there were some birds flying around, including Little Terns, a pair of Brahminy Kites, a Little Heron and swallows. After that, we headed to the Kranji Dam and a crake caught Danny’s eyes, too bad Con and I missed it. Feeling adventurous, we went on foot along the reservoir edge and saw a White-winged Tern with its characteristic black dot behind the ears, a Greater Coucal and some Pink-necked Green Pigeons.

Finally, we wanted to head for Mandai mudflat to recce. However, we ended up at the railway track at Woodlands Road. We cross the railway track and I saw a monitor lizard dashing across and soon after I heard a hissing sound and right in front of us behind the fence was a Black Cobra!! The snake ended our day since we could not get pass it on the narrow trail. The last birds to entice us were a pair of White-bellied Sea Eagles perching far away, high up on the transmission tower.

The most priced bird of the day was the Drongo Cuckoo which put on a great display for the three of us, flying around and perching on the branches for many minutes, more than enough time for Con to get some great shots.

Drongo Cuckoo

Lor Lada Hitam
01. House crow
02. Javan myna
03. Barn swallow
04. White-throated kingfisher
05. Spotted dove
06. Greater coucal
07. Dollarbird
08. Asian koel
09. White-breasted waterhen
10. Blue-tailed bee-eater
11. Common myna
12. Common flameback
13. Asian glossy starling
14. Black-naped oriole
15. Yellow-vented bulbul
16. Yellow-bellied prinia

Jln Kwok Min
17. Crimson sunbird
18. Plain-throated sunbird
19. Rock pigeon
20. Chestnut-bellied malkoha
21. Greater racquet-tailed drongo
22. Common tailorbird
23. Tiger shrike
24. Pied triller
25. Drongo cuckoo
26. Scaly-breasted munia
27. Straw-headed bulbul (heard)

Kranji Reservoir
28. Pink-necked green pigeon
29. Little heron
30. Little egret
31. Brahminy kite
32. White-winged tern
33. Little tern
34. Long-tailed parakeet

Woodlands Road
35. White-bellied sea eagle