Bidadari, SBWR, Pulau Punggol, Coney Island 26Oct12

From KH

Following the Japanese Paradise Flycatcher sighting last Sun-Thu, I headed to Bidadari hoping to tick this bird off. Alas, only managed to get two of its cousin, Asian Paradise Flycatcher. The Black-backed Kingfisher we saw during the bird race was also gone, while the Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher that we missed was present. In fact, there were two of them! How did we miss them during the race??

Other notables were an immature Chinese Goshawk, 6 OHBs, 5 Drongo Cuckoos, 1 Indian Cuckoo, 1 Crow-billed Drongo, Ashy Minivets, Flycatchers (Asian Brown, Yellow-rumped), Arctic Warblers.

Seetoh came and reported the Chinese Egret was still at SBWR. But by the time I reached SBWR, the bird was nowhere to be found... Nevertheless, it was nice to record 50 Red-necked Stints at Hide 2D. There was also a Broad-billed Sandpiper. Raptor-wise, there were only 1 dark morph Changeable Hawk Eagle and 2 adult White-bellied Sea Eagles.

How many stints can you see here? Hint: one of them is not a stint.

Red-necked Stints and Curlew Sandpiper in direct size comparison. Also note difference in bill length and shape.

Broad-billed Sandpiper showing upperwing and tail pattern. Also note the split supercilium and kink in bill.

At Pulau Punggol, a Japanese Sparrowhawk was roosting, an adult Brahminy Kite was thermalling and most importantly, the Booted Eagle is back! This sets the early date back by 11 days (from 6 Nov). The dark morph Booted Eagle was gliding with an avian prey in talon and with a bulging crop. It must be keeping the remains for dinner!

Dark morph Booted Eagle with avian prey.

Finally, at Coney Island, there were hardly any birds. Nevertheless, there was a roosting Chinese Goshawk, 1 Black Baza flying away, 3 Brahminy Kites (2 adults, 1 juv.) and 2 White-bellied Sea Eagles (1 adult, 1 juv.).

Sime Forest, SBWR, Singapore Quarry 24Oct09

From KH

Today, we started at Rifle Range. There was a 100-km trail marathon going on, so we were not optimistic about rare birds. Besides the usual birds, there was also 1 OHB, 1 Indian Cuckoo, AB and YR FCs, 3 Blue-crowned Hanging Parrots and 1 Short-tailed Babbler.

The most interesting find was, however, a Blue Malayan Coral Snake.

Next stop, SBWR. While having our favourite SBWR lunch, a SBKF flew pass the pond - a tick we missed last Sun... 1 Grey-tailed Tattler, 4 juv BBSP, at least 4 RN Stints, at least 1 GSP were still around besides the usual waders. While leaving, 2 Ospreys soared in - another tick we missed during the race.

Danny: More on the GT Tattler. Refer pic on the left, clearer why it is called grey-tailed. Pic on the right shows the Tattler on the tree due to rising tide - possibly reason why you don't find it at Main Hide or 1C.

Danny: How many Broad-billed Sandpipers in the attached pic?

Danny: Below is another pic showing the same waders but cropped to focus on the essentials. There are total 3 Broad-billed Sandpipers, 2 juvenile (right and centre) and one non-breeding adult (centre top) as in the attached pic. One of the feature separating the BB from the Curlew Sandpiper as pointed out to me by JS but not mention in text in any reference books (note have 2 only) is color of the legs - Curlew Sandpiper has black legs but BB has grey greenish or light yellow legs (sometimes become black due to habitat). Size wise, Curlew Sandpiper is slightly bigger than LSP (usually black legs as in pic for comparison). The split supercilium of the adult bird is visible and the relatively straight bill (not sharp but apparent in the 1st pic). Based on the 4 features mentioned, think it is an adult BB.

Besides birds, there were also these mudskippers. The Giant Mudskipper (left) is very common at SBWR, while the Yellow-spotted Mudskipper (right) is less commonly seen. The Giant Mudskipper is the largest of the mudskippers, while the Yellow-spotted Mudskipper is medium-sized.

Finally, at Sg Quarry, no needletail, no fork-tailed swift, but it was nice to see these:
1 Osprey (flight shot: Kok Hui. perched shot: Danny)

Danny: Notice the yellow eyes and the eye band did not touch the eye - feature of male. Visible is the bluish grey tinge on cere and feet.

1 CHE (dark morph)

4 WBSE (1 juv, 2 subadults, 1 adult)
1 Black-capped KF and 1 Common KF
3 species of swallows
1 Straw-headed Bulbul
>6 Little Grebes

SBWR 19Oct09

From GC

This uncommon wader is quite small and usually seen at a distance. Got my chance this afternoon as it came close by to Hide 1C, feeding actively.

From the field guides, they look very similar to the Curlew Sandpiper but the body structure is quite different - Broad-billed Sandpiper has short legs and straight bill dipping at the end while Curlew Sandpiper has long legs and bill is curved all the way. Plus the Broad-billed Sandpiper tends to be paler above.

Wader Workshop at SBWR 3-4Oct09

From KH

Danny, GC and I attended the Wader Workshop by David Bakewell on these two days. JS was able to join us on Sat 3Sep only. There were also many experienced birders who attended this workshop. It was a great workshop covering wader moulting/aging and ID of difficult pairs. Moreover, each day, we spent about 2 hours in the field. We also learnt to draw sketches of waders - just draw 2 eggs! It was a great workshop.

Waders recorded were:
Broad-billed Sandpiper (4)
Greater Sand Plover (1)
Red-necked Stint (>6)
Ruddy Turnstone (1)
LSP, PGP, Curlew Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Common Redshank.

In the afternoon of 4Oct, Yamane showed up in Singapore and Danny was here to receive him.

From Danny

Took pic with Yamane. The wader with leg flag was a Lesser Sand Plover and to its left a Broad-billed Sandpiper. The paler wader in the centre was also a Broad-billed Sandpiper and the smaller bird on the ground without split supercilium was a Red-necked Stint.

BTNR, SBWR 08Nov07

From KH

We met at BTNR carpark at 0630 and met with heavy rain on way up the steep slope. My friend Soo Yen and his teacher were with us today. It's always good to have some photographers around for the record shots!

The heavy rain continued till about 0730 and then drizzle followed till about 0900. During this period, we thought we were having really bad luck with the rain, the big crowd of noisy public and a troop of macaques. Nevertheless, we did see these birds: a big flock of AG Starlings, some TBG Pigeon, Arctic Warblers, RE & OW Bulbuls, 1 BC Bulbul, 1 JF Dove, 1 pair of AF Bluebird, 1 AB Flycatcher and 2 GRT Drongos. Twice the starlings were dispersed by passing sparrowhawks.

Kim Seng arrived about 0830, followed by Willie, Sunny, Ashley, Kim Chuah, Ben. At about 0930, KS spotted the Siberian Thrush! The bird flew off after the initial few minutes, but made a reappearance later staying all the way till we left at about 11. Finally, we tick the target bird of the day and left happy and satisfied. Photos from JS:

Between 0930 and 1100, additional birds that showed up were Crimson Sunbirds, 1 DS Flycatcher, 1 GG Leafbird, 1 Common Tailorbird, 1 Dollarbird. A Banded Bay Cuckoo was also heard, but no visual.

JS's account of the Siberian Thrush and their (Danny and JS's) afternoon at Sungei Buloh

After several days of reading about the sightings of the beautiful rare Siberian thrushes, I finally saw it today. Although it is a lone bird compared to earlier sightings of three birds, the bird was a stunning first winter male. (see Ben's photo) I am not sure if anyone noted a different bird during its second appearance because there seems to be a difference. The first bird has no blue while the second has blue. Thrush apart, other notable birds were a Black-crested Bulbul, the Jumbu Fruit Dove and three swiftlet-size swifts with long slender wings (Himalayan Swiftlets?).

After lunch, I went to SBWR, hoping to see one-day wonders. Well, meeting so many birders is to me a one-day wonder, birdwise, the only noteworthy birds are a Terek Sandpiper at Main Bridge, a Broad-billed Sandpiper at Main Hide and 2 Grey Plovers at Hide 1c, which snowballed to a surprise count of 9 birds.

Left Whimbrel, right Bar-tailed Godwit

Broad-billed Sandpiper

Grey Plovers