Rifle Range, Tuas 15Nov14

From KH

Danny, JS and I went to Rifle Range in the morning. We reached Jelutong Tower at about 0745.
This morning's raptor watch (0745-1030) at Jelutong Tower with Danny and JS yielded 7 OHBs, 2 JSHs, 1 CSH, 3 Black Bazas, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 3 CHEs (2 dark, 1 juv pale), 1 GHFE (adult), 1 Brahminy Kite, 2 WBSEs.

The best animal today was a Red-tailed Racer, about 3 feet long.

Moving on to Tuas, we only got 2 migrant raptor species: OHBs and JSHs. The first surprise was the interesting flight pattern of Oriental Pratincoles. Eagle-eyed Low CH was the first to spot the flock of thermalling pratincoles. When we lock our bins on the flock, we witnessed about half of the flock flying clockwise and the other half anti-clockwise! We witness this pattern again later in the afternoon. The other surprise was a mixed flock of Cinereous and Streaked Bulbuls. Who would have guessed that these birds, that are known to associate with forests, appearing at Tuas.

From JS

Attached are three different photos of the Streaked Bulbul that we found in the small trees at TSA16 at 1pm.

Besides being a rare migrant, the sighting of the Streaked Bulbul presents a very good example of the passerine migration that could be taking place alongside the raptor migration.

So far, I have recorded 2 Brown-Chested Jungle-flycatchers, 1 Tiger Shrike, 1 male Mugimaki Flycatcher, 2 Streaked Bulbuls, 6 Cinereous Bulbuls, 1 immature Indian Cuckoo, 1 immature Malaysian Hawk-cuckoo, 1 Chestnut-Winged Cuckoo and 1 Black Bittern. These sightings reminded me of our birding at Pulau Punggol where we would see Large Hawk-cuckoo, Chestnut-Winged Cuckoos, Hawk-cuckoos, Indian Cuckoos, Drongo Cuckoos, Drongos and Asian Brown Flycatchers appearing at different timings. It may be coincidence but I can't help it to think otherwise.

Halus 9Nov14

Today is the Annual Raptor Watch, Danny and I covered Halus this year due to Pulau Punggol being deforested and construction work going on. Alvin joined us again.

Migrants: 1 Jerdon's Baza, 1 dark morph Booted Eagle, 3 Black Baza, 8 JSH, 12 OHB, 1 unid accipiter
Residents: CHE, BWK, WBSE, Brahminy Kite
Others: 1 unid raptor

Left: Jerdon's Baza. Right: Booted Eagle (dark morph)

Tuas 8Nov14

Danny and JS started the day at Turut Track and got a Lanceolated Warbler.

Due to the morning rain, I did not join then, but went straight to Tuas at 9+.

Counters: JS, Danny, me, Seetoh, Lim KK, Francis, Ee Ling, Low CH

0910-1345 + 1500-1630 Total 1 Jap SH, 9 OHB, 1 Common Kestrel, 1 unid accipiter, 1 Indian Cuckoo

Ground Wind SW. Cloud Direction: SW

1 Common Kestrel made a few appearances throughout the day
1000-1100 7 OHB, 1 JSH, 1 unid Accipiter
1250 1 Indian Cuckoo
1630 2 OHB

---

Tuas 7Nov14

From GC

Look how long the bill is! @ TSA16

Eurasian Curlew migrating over Tuas

Tuas 01Nov14

From KH

Counters: KH (1000-1700), Low CH/David Awcock (1430-1700), Woo Jiawei (1600-1700), Low CH/Lawrence Cher/Ron Chew/Chong Boon Leong/Ee Ling (0940-1200)

Ground Wind NW. Cloudy/overcast in morning. Light haze

0940-1700 Total 58 OHB, 10 JSH, 2 CSH, 2 Black Baza, 1 Common Kestrel, 1 P. falcon, 4 unID accipiter, 1 unID raptor, 1 Northern Boobook

0940-1000 1 Common Kestrel
1000-1100 43 OHB, 2 CSH, 1 BB, 3 unID accipiter
1100-1200 4 JSH
1200-1300 no migrant raptor
1300-1400 1 JSH
1400-1500 7 OHB, 1 unid accipiter
1500-1600 3 OHB, 1 JSH, 1 BB, 1 Northern Boobook
1600-1700 5 OHB, 4 JSH, 1 P. falcon, 1 unid raptor

Northern Boobook - 1st record for Singapore

Common Kestrel

Juvenile OHBs

Juvenile Japanese Sparrowhawk

Singapore Bird Race 25-26Oct14

Danny, JS and I participated in this year's bird race and managed to emerge the winner for the very first time!

The flag-off was at Bishan Park, where we quickly ticked a few common birds before we had to go wader-watching (low tide was at about 6 pm). Our plan was to do a quick check at Seletar Dam and then Mandai Mudflat. To our horror, there were no waders at Seletar Dam, except for Common Sandpipers! Where did the waders go??

As the lights are dimming, we made a dash for Mandai Mudflat and were fortunate to catch the last lights. We had a good haul of waders, including Red-necked Stints and a Broad-billed Sandpiper.

Moving on to Turut Track, we head several Savanna Nightjars but failed to see any... Fortunately, we managed to tick Large-tailed Nightjar and Buffy Fish Owl. By now, it was about 8 pm and the decision was to have dinner and have a good rest. The tally so far: 39 species.

The next morning, we were at Rifle Range carpark at about 6 am. We heard a few Brown Hawk Owl, before connecting with one. We only heard one Collared Scops Owl, but did not connect with it. Soon the sun was out and after ticking off a few forest birds, it was time to climb the tower. Red-crowned Barbet and Chestnut-bellied Malkoha were good ticks, so were some bulbuls and flowerpeckers. We stayed on the tower till 8 am. If we had stayed a while longer, JS would have cleared his nemesis - Blue-rumped Parrot!

At the pump house, Danny first noticed an interesting bird, which soon turned out to be the bird of the day - Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (this bird has only be added to the Singapore checklist early this year!). Near the Rifle Range carpark, all three of us got our SG tick - Grey-faced Buzzard!

Next stop, Halus. A quick check at the tidal gates revealed White-winged and Whiskered Terns. At the wetland itself, the Little Grebes did not disappoint, but a Malaysian Hawk Cuckoo was a surprise catch.

After Halus was Pasir Ris Park for the Spotted Wood Owls, but we made a wasted trip - there were none present. A quick drop-by at Changi Village for packed lunch was yet another disappointment - no corella, no parakeet, no sparrow! Changi Cove did give us several species, but not all the birds during our recce...

It was not time for Bidadari. Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher and Black Baza did not disappoint, but Tiger Shrike was nowhere to be found.

A quick check of NSRCC added Yellow Wagtail as expected. Turut Track and Neo Tiew added the final 10 species to our list, making 112. We later found out that we had only won the runner-up by 1 bird! All in all, a tiring, but rewarding race. Time to retired.

1)	White-Vented Myna	1700h	Bishan Park
2)	White-Breasted Waterhen	1700h	Bishan Park
3)	Asian Koel	1700h	Bishan Park
4)	Common Pigeon	1705h	Bishan Park
5)	Barn Swallow	1705h	Bishan Park
6)	Pacific Swallow	1720h	Yio Chu Kang Rd
7)	Olive-Backed Sunbird	1720h	Yio Chu Kang Rd
8)	Black-Naped Oriole	1725h	Yio Chu Kang Rd
9)	Coppersmith Barbet	1728h	Yio Chu Kang Rd
10)	House Crow	1728h	Yio Chu Kang Rd
11)	Spotted Dove	1733h	Jalan Kayu
12)	Brown Shrike	1737h	Seletar
13)	Asian Glossy Starling	1740h	Seletar
14)	White-Throated Kingfisher	1740h	Seletar
15)	Little Egret	1750h	Seletar Dam
16)	Yellow-Billed Egret	1750h	Seletar Dam
17)	Grey Heron	1750h	Seletar Dam
18)	Striated Heron	1750h	Seletar Dam
19)	Daurian Starling	1750h	Seletar Dam
20)	Common Sandpiper	1750h	Seletar Dam
21)	House Swift	1800h	Mandai Ave
22)	Crested Honey-Buzzard	1800h	Mandai Ave
23)	White-Bellied Sea-Eagle	1805h	Woodlands Rd
24)	Brahminy Kite	1815-1855h	Mandai Mudflat
25)	Common Kingfisher	1815-1855h	Mandai Mudflat
26)	Collared Kingfisher	1815-1855h	Mandai Mudflat
27)	Common Redshank	1815-1855h	Mandai Mudflat
28)	Common Greenshank	1815-1855h	Mandai Mudflat
29)	Lesser Sand Plover	1815-1855h	Mandai Mudflat
30)	Pacific Golden Plover	1815-1855h	Mandai Mudflat
31)	Whimbrel	1815-1855h	Mandai Mudflat
32)	Marsh Sandpiper	1815-1855h	Mandai Mudflat
33)	Red-Necked Stint	1815-1855h	Mandai Mudflat
34)	Broad-Billed Sandpiper	1815-1855h	Mandai Mudflat
35)	Curlew Sandpiper	1815-1855h	Mandai Mudflat
36)	Great Egret	1815-1855h	Mandai Mudflat
37)	Little Tern	1815-1855h	Mandai Mudflat
38)	Large-Tailed Nightjar	1915h	Neo Tiew Lane 3
39)	Buffy Fish Owl	1950h	Turut Track
40)	Brown Hawk Owl	0615h	Rifle Range
41)	Siberian Blue Robin	0645h	Rifle Range
42)	Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo	0650-0715h	Rifle Range
43)	Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker	0650-0715h	Rifle Range
44)	Pin-Striped Tit-Babbler	0650-0715h	Rifle Range
45)	Dark-Necked Tailorbird	0650-0715h	Rifle Range
46)	Asian Paradise Flycatcher	0650-0715h	Rifle Range
47)	Fork-Tailed Swift	0650-0715h	Rifle Range
48)	Blue-Tailed Bee-Eater	0650-0715h	Rifle Range
49)	Asian Fairy Bluebird	0650-0715h	Rifle Range
50)	Short-Tailed Babbler	0650-0715h	Rifle Range
51)	Long-Tailed Parakeet	0650-0715h	Rifle Range
52)	Olive-Winged Bulbul	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
53)	Banded Woodpecker	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
54)	Red-Crowned Barbet	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
55)	Common Hill Myna	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
56)	Oriental Dollarbird	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
57)	Forest Wagtail	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
58)	Thick-Billed Green Pigeon	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
59)	Crimson Sunbird	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
60)	Chestnut-Bellied Malkoha	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
61)	Blue-Crowned Hanging-Parrot	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
62)	Asian Brown Flycatcher	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
63)	Arctic Warbler	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
64)	Pink-Necked Green Pigeon	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
65)	Red-Rumped Swallow	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
66)	Scarlet-Backed Flowerpecker	0720-0825h	Jelutong Tower
67)	Asian Red-Eyed Bulbul	0830h	Rifle Range
68)	Sakhalin Leaf Warbler	0850h	Rifle Range
69)	Grey-Faced Buzzard	0910h	Rifle Range
70)	Yellow-Rumped Flycatcher	0910h	Rifle Range
71)	Sooty-Headed Bulbul	0947h-1025h	Halus
72)	Common Goldenback	0947h-1025h	Halus
73)	Changeable Hawk Eagle	0947h-1025h	Halus
74)	Pied Triller	0947h-1025h	Halus
75)	Brown-Throated Sunbird	0947h-1025h	Halus
76)	Little Grebe	0947h-1025h	Halus
77)	Japanese Sparrowhawk	0947h-1025h	Halus
78)	Yellow-Vented Bulbul	0947h-1025h	Halus
79)	Golden-Bellied Gerygone	0947h-1025h	Halus
80)	Baya Weaver	0947h-1025h	Halus
81)	Malaysian Hawk Cuckoo	0947h-1025h	Halus
82)	Common Iora	0947h-1025h	Halus
83)	White-Winged Tern	1030-1100h	Halus
84)	Paddyfield Pipit	1030-1100h	Halus
85)	Savanna Nightjar	1030-1100h	Halus
86)	Long-Tailed Shrike	1030-1100h	Halus
87)	Whiskered Tern	1030-1100h	Halus
88)	Cattle Egret	1103h	Pasir Ris Farmway
89)	Grey-Headed Fish-Eagle	1133h	Pasir Ris
90)	Black-Winged Kite	1200-1300h	Changi
91)	Common Myna	1200-1300h	Changi
92)	Zebra Dove	1200-1300h	Changi
93)	Scaly-Breasted Munia	1200-1300h	Changi
94)	Black-Headed Munia	1200-1300h	Changi
95)	Common Tailorbird	1200-1300h	Changi
96)	Zitting Cisticola	1200-1300h	Changi
97)	Asian Drongo-Cuckoo	1200-1300h	Changi
98)	Chinese Sparrowhawk	1200-1300h	Changi
99)	Brown-Chested Jungleflycatcher	1400h	Bidadari
100)	Black Baza	1400h	Bidadari
101)	Yellow Wagtail	1455h	NSRCC
102)	Red-Breasted Parakeet	1455h	Neo Tiew Lane 3
103)	Tiger Shrike	1500-1600h	Turut Track
104)	Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker	1500-1600h	Turut Track
105)	Pied Fantail	1500-1600h	Turut Track
106)	Red Turtle Dove	1500-1600h	Turut Track
107)	Lineated Barbet	1500-1600h	Turut Track
108)	Purple Heron	1500-1600h	Turut Track
109)	White-Crested Laughingthrush	1500-1600h	Turut Track
110)	Red-Wattled Lapwing	1500-1600h	Turut Track
111)	Sand Martin	1500-1600h	Turut Track
112)	Large-Billed Crow	1500-1600h	Turut Track

Turut Track, Tuas 25Oct14

Danny and I started the day recceing Turut Track and were rewarded with a juvenile Greater Spotted Eagle! It was first mobbed by 2 WBSE and 1 Brahminy Kite at about 10 am. Then at about 1030 am, we saw it being mobbed again, now by 2 Brahminy Kites.

Later we found Brahminy Kites nesting on a tower.

A quick drop-by at NSRCC revealed only Yellow Wagtails and no plover. Then, at the sand pile area, Danny spotted a few Sand Martins.

After Turut Track, we headed to E2I to fetch Jia Sheng and then to Tuas.

1330-1515 Total 3 JSH, 101 OHB
Ground Wind - SW. Hot and slightly hazy
(1330-1400 90 OHB
1400-1440 3 JSH, 11 OHB)

Tuas 23Oct14

From GC

Greater Spotted Eagle, 1st of the season!

It just gets better... 10 mins after the GSE... 1st of the season... a Black Kite!

Changi, Pasir Ris, Serangoon, Tuas 22Oct14

Danny, JS and I went on a recce before the bird race. We started at Changi. Not bad - Black Drongo, Red Avadavats, Oriental Reed Warbler, Red Collared Dove and 3 species of munias (White-headed, Black-headed and Scaly-breasted).

Moving on to Pasir Ris Park, the Buffy was not around, but the pair of Spotted Wood Owls were.

Next at Serangoon Tidal Gates, the terns were still around, so was the Rosy Starling.

Lastly, we went to Tuas for lunch and some raptor-watching, but the rainy and overcast
weather seems to have prevented any raptors from migrating - there was a grand total of
0 raptor!

Rifle Range, Tuas 18Oct14

Danny and I went to Rifle Range for the Asian House Martin reported by Francis Yap on 16-17 Oct, and sure enough the bird was still around. So are Grey-rumped Treeswift, swallows (Red-rumped, Barn, Pacific) and swiftlets. There were also 3 species of bulbuls (Red-eyed, Cream-vented, Olive-winged) and a juvenile Japanese Sparrowhawk.

Juvenile Japanese Sparrowhawk at Jelutong Tower

After that, we headed to Tuas for our usual raptor count.

Counters: Danny, Tan KH, Lee EL
Weather: slightly cloudy turning to overcast, PSI in 70+
Ground Wind: SW
1230-1615 Total 1 Booted Eagle, 18 OHB, 14 JSH, 2 CSH, 15 Pacific Swift, 1 Schrenck's Bittern, 10 White-shouldered Starling, 50 PGP

1230-1300 6 OHB, 1 JSH
1300-1400 2 OHB, 9 JSH, 2 CSH
1400-1500 1 Booted Eagle, 10 OHB, 4 JSH, 4 Pacific Swift
1500-1600 11 Fork-tailed Swift, 1 Schrenck's Bittern, 10 White-shouldered Starling
1600-1615 50 PGP

Collage of a single dark morph Booted Eagle

Juvenile Japanese Sparrowhawk hunted an Eurasian Tree Sparrow and tearing it up!

Pacific Swifts

Pacific Golden-plovers

Japanese Garden 15Oct14

From Con

Immature Chinese Sparrowhawk taken over JG on Wednesday.