Dover Road 09Sep06

From KH

It all started with an email from PC. We thought we were looking for barn owls at UWC. So we thought we might as well put Sheares bridge on the agenda as the barn owls have been sighted there too. Upon reaching Marina Bay MRT station, we had to call for backup as we did not know which part of the bridge to look for them. After consulting Dr Ho, my memory was revived. One of the places to look for them was at Tanjong Rhu. I was there during the 2002 bird race with LKK's group. By this time, it was getting close to 7 pm and we decided to head to UWC first. We arrived at the security post and right on the wall of the guardhouse were photos of these owls. Immediately we realised these were no barn owls. Sree's son exclaimed, "Spotted Wood-owls!" We started chatting with the guards. They told us the owls have been here for a few years already. In fact, recently, a chick fell from the trees and was sent to the birdpark. The parents however are still around. As we were searching high and low for the owls, the guard walked towards us and pointed at the tree. The two parents birds were perched there all this while! It was still bedtime for them as their eyes were still close.

Spotted Wood-owls ©Tan KH

Soon, they started calling. Like what Danny told us of his encounter with this beautiful large owls at the Botanic Gardens, one will call who1 and the other will respond with who2 (If you know hanyu pinyin, you'll know what the numbers after the who mean). This went on for a short while and soon they were back to their snooze. Meanwhile, the flock of more than 5 Yellow-crested Cockatoos were squabbling and making a whole lot of noise in the school compound. Also, a Brahminy Kite decided to join in the fun and was circling right above us.

Then a fabulous thing happened, one of the owl walked towards the other and started preening it! They preened for a few mins and then one of them flew out of sight, but was still in the vicinity calling. An angmoh drove passed and told us that the owls have been hanging around here for the last 4 years. Seems like the regulars here are no strangers to the owls. By this time, it was getting dark and a Large-tailed Nightjar flew past behind the owls. Satisfied with the owl sighting, we headed to locate the barn owls. We visited both parts of the bridge and, alas, no owl was seen. However, we did hear a sharp screech at Tanjong Rhu. We are not sure what it was though. We ended this evening's owl hunt with a great meal at the temporary hawker centre at Old Airport Road.

Night scene

Fantastic photo from Sree!