Changi, Halus, Pulau Punggol 23Nov13

From JS

Today, we welcomed Con back from Down Under. However, the weather in the morning was not cooperative. With persistent drizzling, the only birds that showed well were the half a dozen of Ruddy-breasted Crakes and Slaty-breasted Rails. For inexplicable reasons, Changi was void of migratory raptors except the skittish sparrowhawks and 3 Common Buzzards! Feeling letdown by the weather, we decided to have an early lunch. By 11am, we were sitting at Loyang Canteen having lunch.

After a nice chat over lunch, Kok Hui, my dad and I headed over to Lr Halus to continue birding. Upon arriving, we immediately spotted some raptors (namely an OHB, 2 Brahminy Kites and a Japanese Sparrowhawk) thermalling in the sky. What a great start!

Next, an accipiter flew overhead and started circling above us. It appeared to have 6 fingers, but this is an artefact of moulting. It is a Japanese Sparrowhawk.

This time it was an immature Malayan Night-heron trying to cross the reservoir below our noses - but to no avail. It landed on one of the Sipoh Ayer that was lining the water edge. Since our interest was on raptors, we put off any attempt to find the heron.

Soon, we realised that the raptors were not going to come in, so we decided to search for the heron. Unfortunately, the bird was so skittish that it flew off when it saw us. There goes our heron... With interest in reed warblers, we decided to walk to the dam. Stopping us in our track was another fly-by Japanese Sparrowhawk.

Kok Hui decided to head back to the bridge to look out for more raptors while my father and I continued to the dam. Alas, all of us did not see any other noteworthy, identifiable bird. Seeing our not so good fortune with the raptors changing, we decided to go with the momentum and headed over to Pulau Punggol. As a result of the continuous disturbance to the casuarina forest, Pulau Punggol only hosted a flock of Black Bazas and a pair of Ospreys. The Booted Eagles seem to have stopped using the place as its wintering ground.

The only noteworthy bird at Pulau Punggol was a pale Sand Martin that was flying the swiftlets above the pond. Otherwise, the site has lost its charm.

In short, our choice of sites covered both the future and the past. Changi and Pulau Punggol are going to be histories while Lr Halus has much to offer in terms of raptor-watching in the future.

Here's the list of raptors seen:

Changi Cove
1) Common Buzzard (3, including one dark morph)
2) Black-winged Kite (2)
3) Accipiter (2)

Lr Halus
1) Japanese Sparrowhawk (3)
2) Peregrine Falcon (1)
3) White-bellied Fish-eagle (2)
4) Grey-headed Fish-eagle (2)
5) Changeable Hawk-eagle (1)
6) Oriental Honey-buzzard (1)
7) Black Baza (6)

Pulau Punggol
1) Black Baza (10)
2) Brahminy Kite (2)
3) White-bellied Sea-eagle (2)
4) Osprey (2)