Kranji Marsh 16Dec17

From KH

Con, Danny and JS left after ticking off the Booted Warbler, and they also got some recordings.

The Booted Warbler's favourite hangout: the dark-leaved trees beside the arch.

I stayed till lunchtime and happened to get this Oriental Reed-warbler in the open for comparison. Besides the difference in habitat preference, the other clear distinctions are the bill, facial pattern, leg colour, and overall body coloration.

Raptor-wise, there were 1 Osprey, 1 BWK, 2 OHBs, 1 BB, 1 CHE, 2 Brahminy Kites and 2 WBSEs.

Black Baza


Pale orientalis Oriental Honey-buzzards: adult male (left) and juvenile


Osprey, faraway but eye stripe visible. Adult Brahminy Kite

Wader-wise, there were 10 Little Ringed Plovers and 9 Wood Sandpipers in the wet field.

4/10 of the Little Ringed Plovers


3/9 of the Wood Sandpipers

Both Blue-tailed (left) and Blue-throated Bee-eaters were present.

There were 2 Asian Brown Flycatchers.

Some of the less common resident birds: Banded Bay Cuckoo, Purple Heron and Large-billed Crow.

At this distance, it's hard to tell whether these swallows are Pacific or Barn.

After lunch, I went to the old Sungei Buloh and saw 4 crocodiles!

Kranji Marsh, SBWR 13Dec17

From KH

A Booted Warbler was first seen at Kranji Marsh on 4-Dec. I went today and the bird was still around!

Some folks from NParks were trying to mist net the warbler to confirm its identity, but the bird saw the net and flew above it! Here's a photo of the net as it was being set up.

There were a few OHBs flying around.

The Brahminy Kite went fishing (left). The dark CHE also showed up.

In the big open field were some Red-wattled Lapwings, Wood Sandpipers and egrets.

Red-wattled Lapwings


Wood Sandpiper (left) with Little Egret

At the Tower, a juvenile Blue-throated Bee-eater perched at eye level (left), and a male Long-tailed Parakeet flew past.

On the way out, there were a Lesser Coucal in the bush (left) and a Little Egret in the drain.

In the drain, there were Common Snakeheads (left) and Nile Tilapias.

Finally, a Common Bluebottle to wrap it up at the marshes.

After lunch, I went to the new Sungei Buloh, and got an Arctic Warbler on the way to Eagle Point.

At Eagle Point, I counted 111 Whimbrels.

A lone Common Greenshank with Whimbrels.


E2 feeding on a Mangrove Horseshoe Crab.


An untagged Whimbrel feeding on the same horseshoe crab.


Wired E8 feeding on a polychaete worm.

Some of the luckier Mangrove Horseshoe Crabs were seen mating or burrowing into the mud.

Finally, it was fish galore at the boardwalk!

A tilapia guarding its fries. An injured mullet


Green Chromides guarding a shallow ditch. Goldman's Goby


Kops' Glass Perchlets. Sea Bass


Stripe-nosed Halfbeaks. Spottail Needlefish