Jurong Lake, Tuas, SBWR 15Nov08

From KH

Today was an extraordinary day. We went looking for the Ruddy Kingfisher at Chinese Garden and harriers at Tuas but ended up getting the mega bird not seen in Singapore for the last 27 years at SBWR - Nordmann's Greenshank. Jia Sheng, Danny, Gim Cheong and I had the chance to observe this fine bird feeding and roosting at close range at Hide 1C. After confirming its ID, I rushed to the visitor centre to get David Li, Mendis Tan and gang. There was also a flock of 8 Great Knots at Hide 1C, the largest flock ever recorded in SBWR.

We observed the single bird from about 1-2 pm at SBWR. Interestingly, during this period, the bird did not associated itself with the Common Greenshanks and instead was feeding more or less alone, although there were a few Marsh Sandpipers around it. It fed by constantly walking in the water in a seemingly random manner giving us all round view of it. It seemed to feed more on small crabs than other creatures. After it has had its fill, it stood amongst a few PGPs and remained there for some time. At one time, it lifted one of its legs and stood one-legged. In the meantime, a flock of Great Knots flew in and we counted 8 of them. Gim Cheong was there for a longer time and took much photo. He actually took photos of 2 Nordmann's Greenshanks at 2 separate hides!

There was also a Terek Sandpiper, a few Lesser Sand Plovers and the usual suspects in good numbers: Whimbrels, PGPs, Curlew Sandpipers, Marsh Sandpipers, Common Redshanks and Common Greenshanks.

Raptor-wise, here's what we got for today:

Jurong Lake
1 pair of adult Brahminy Kites (resident to the area)
1 Chinese Sparrowhawk in flight
1 Black Baza perched
1 unid accipiter in flight
1 adult White-bellied Sea Eagle in flight

Tuas
1 Black-winged Kite perched
1 adult Brahminy Kite in flight

Sungei Buloh
1 Osprey in flight at main bridge
1 adult White-bellied Sea Eagle in flight
1 adult Brahminy Kite in flight
1 Oriental Honey Buzzard with tattered wings outside SBWR

No harrier at Tuas, but a Schrenck's Bittern was good company for us. The only disappointment today was to dip at the Ruddy KF at CG.

From GC

On the way to Hide 1C, I stopped by Screen 1.1 and took shots of some roosting shorebirds. Later on the lone Nordmann's Greenshank was sighted at Hide 1C at 1313H. When I reviewed the pics back home, i realised that the Nordmann's Greenshank was among the birds at Screen 1.1 and i had actually taken a few pictures of the bird earlier, at 1148H! The bird was roosting near a few Common Greenshanks - so quite handy for comparison. In the 2nd pic, I 'moved' the 2 birds closer together.

The Nordmann's Greenshank's main prey was the little reddish crabs which the bird caught in shallow water.

A total of 8 Great Knots were seen on 15 Nov 08

From Danny

More digicscope pics. First shows crab being caught, 2nd think it's a fish?

The 3rd pic shows spots instead of streaks on the neck, toe nails and below the translucent water, partial webs between the 3 toes.

From JS

The Nordmann's Greenshank has a long list of subtle differences from the Common Greenshank but the main differences are the following:

1) Has a paler head because there is an extended white supercilium beyond the eye
2) Has no streaks on the neck, instead has grey spots. (Including feature (1), the bird would look like a giant grey-tailed tattler)
3) Yellow legs and feet
4) Thick, short, bi-colored bill
5) Stout frame and short legs, making it look like a giant terek sandpiper
6) Feeds in deep waters

Just an id shot of a female Von Schrenck's Bittern to share... The bird was photographed today (15/11) at Tuas at around 11.30 am. It was sighted very close to the main road, so try to photograph it while the place is still wet.