BTNR, PRP, Lower Peirce 07Jan12

From KH

Highlights:

BTNR
Juvenile Rufous-bellied Eagle 1
Pacific Swift 1
Forest Wagtail 1

PRP
Spotted Wood-owl 2 adults, 1 juvenile

Juvenile Rufous-bellied Eagle at BTNR:

From Con

This evening I went to Lower Peirce boardwalk at the y-junction from 6 pm to 7:20 pm. Nothing, no Short-tailed Babblers, in fact no birds at all ....., but finally at 7 pm a first winter male Siberian Blue Robin showed himself and bathed in the stream making his clicking noises. But I didn’t see any kingfishers. See Toh got a full adult male, but I didn’t see it.

From Danny

Refer to left and centre pic. (the same bird nearest to the juvenile), assumed to be the adult female and Owl 3, the bird furthest, the male Owl. I only manage to spot two subtle differences. Firstly, the assumed male has thick bold brownish bars (less white) on the upper breast (see #3). The female Owl has a pale ring around the face disk; 3 colors, rufous face, pale ring and brownish peripheral whereas the male has two colors without the pale ring.

Assumed to be female.

Assumed to be male.

MacRitchie, Lower Peirce, Springleaf, CCK Cemeteries, Mandai 21Feb09

From KH

I went with Danny to MacRitchie hoping to catch the Bat Hawk before dawn, but the bird did not show. On the boardwalk, we saw a Grey Nightjar sallying for insects. It would fly off and then come back to the same branch for a few times before it finally decided to disappear for good. I read somewhere that Grey Nightjar likes to perch parallel to the branch.

A Brown Boobook as calling but did not show. Also calling but not showing were Abbott's Babblers and Short-tailed Babblers. Other noteworthy birds here were a female Siberian Blue Robin in the undergrowth and a Grey-rumped Treeswift flying high.

Tinfoil Barbs are native freshwater fish and they are abundant in the reservoir.

Then, it was time for breakfast. After that, we dropped by the Yellow Saraca at Lower Peirce for the Purple-throated Sunbird. Several photographers were waiting around the tree, but the birds were few and far between. While walking to the tree, I spotted a Common Snakehead in the reservoir. This is the most common species of snakehead you'll encounter in Singapore.

We went to the Lower Peirce boardwalk from 0930-1045 for the famous Lesser Mousedeer and got more than I bargained for. When we reached the stream, two photographers were already there and a stench was in the air. Not that the photogs stank though! They pointed out the two softshell turtles lying motionless at the edge of the reservoir. One of them was very dead and bloated, while the other although still alive did not look very well.

Asian Softshell Turtle (Amyda cartilaginea)

Another photog pointed out that there was another dead turtle behind and a Water Monitor was feeding on it.

Soon, another monitor appeared and we all thought it was going for the first dead turtle. However, to our surprise, it crawled pass the first two turtles and headed straight for the one behind! Was it trying to save the trouble of ripping open a 'fresh' carcass? And as you can see from the photo below, the turtle that is alive did not even attempt to hide its head. Something must apparently be wrong with the water condition here...

Back to the monitors. The first monitor was larger and it managed to chase the scheming opponent away. The photo below shows the first monitor strolling pass the two turtles back to its bounty.

Then I spotted the Lesser Mousedeer I came here for. It was interesting observing it moving stealthily in the undergrowth. It would take a few steps, stay still for a short while, and then repeat the sequence. Soon, all the photogs in the vicinity where congregating at the spot. Time to exit to a less crowded place. Our lovely mammal has a distinctive scar on it. Can you see it?

There was also an Orange-headed Thrush, an Arctic Warbler, a Japanese Sparrowhawk and a dark morph Changeable Hawk-eagle in the vicinity.

Recently, there was a Jerdon's Baza sighting at Springleaf, so we were off to the location. We did not see the Baza, but got this common bird - Pacific Swallow.

The next spot that the Jerdon's Baza had been encountered was Choa Chu Kang Cemeteries. We did not see the rare baza again, but we got the common one - Black Baza.

There were also the resident White-bellied Sea-eagles and Brahminy Kites.

A pair of Red-wattled Lapwings had took residence on an open grass patch. They allowed us to get close as long as we stayed in the car.

Here are some of the other birds seen at the cemeteries (clockwise from top left): Brown Shrike, Coppersmith Barbet, Paddyfield Pipit, male Little Bronze Cuckoo.

At about 1430, rain started to pour in the West and it was time to stop birding. On my way home, I passed by Orchidville and there was no rain here. So I decided to continue. To my surprise, a Forest Wagtail was perching on the railing right outside Orchidville.

Further down the road, two birds were making a lot of noise. It was a Black-naped Oriole whacking a male Asian Koel and the oriole actually took a feather off the koel! In the photo below, the black piece is the koel feather.

Tyersall, Nee Soon Swamp 02Sep06

From Danny

Met Con & Pat @ Car Park, drove over to Tyersall Road, parked our vehicles & squeezed into Old Sultanate ground - see bird list. Around 8.50 am drove over to Nee Soon Swamp to continue hunt for sign of migrant birds.

High Point was the forest wagtail which eventually led us out all the way to the canal near the entrance. Maybe follow Con car to Orchard Road? The rambutan season on, please watch out for hanging parrot.

Forest Wagtail ©Con Foley

Tyersall Road
1) Laced Woodpeckers (1 pair)
2) Asian Glossy Starlings
3) Pink-necked Green-pigeons
4-5) Bulbuls (Yellow-vented & Olive-winged)
6) Dollarbird
7-8) Mynas (Javan & common)
9) Munias, Scaly-breasted
10) Drongo Cuckoo (heard)
11) Long-tailed Parakeets
12) Juv. WBSE (heard/one nest seen)
13) BN Orioles
14) Pacific Swallows
15) Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot (found on rambutan tree)
16-17) Sunbirds (Olive-backed & Plain-throated)
18-19) Tailorbirds (Common & Dark-throated)
20) Common Ioras
21) Red-breasted Parakeet

Nee Soon Swamp
22) Banded Woodpecker
23) Crimson Sunbird
24) Hill Mynas (heard)
25) Bulbuls (Cream-vented & Olive-winged)
26) GRT Drongo
27) Forest Wagtail
28) Tailorbirds (Common, Ashy & Dark-necked)
29) Flowerpecker, Orange-bellied
30) Red-crowned Barbet (heard)

From PC

We saw a pair of Common Tree Nymphs floating across the path. For a moment, we were quite stunned as if this pair of ghostly butterflies were like recarnations of a suicided couple from Tampines.

There was also a loud thrush on the branches of a tree while Danny and I were tailing far behind Con. We did not see any Leaf Monkey however. At this juncture, Danny dropped his bino with one string snapped off..

The Forest Wagtail escorted us all the way out from the moment we spotted it. It was the same one..probably we were disturbing some peace of the unknown..nobody around except 3 of us..spooky

Common Tree Nymphs are common medium-sized butterflies which are white with black spots all over.

Changi, Simpang 24Sep05

From KH

Another lovely day, this time Con, Danny and I were there. In the morning, we gathered at Changi Village and then headed towards Changi reclaimed land (accessed via lamp post 150 along Changi Coast Road). After we were done with that, we headed back to Changi Village for lunch. In the afternoon, we went recceing at Simpang.

While waiting at Changi Village, I recorded the usual birds there, including the Red-breasted Parakeets. As we entered the reclaimed land, Con went straight to the sandy beach, while Danny and I kept a lookout for the grassland birds. We saw a Lesser Coucal, a Black-winged Kite and some others. When we hit the beach, Con has already closed in on the birds. There were mainly Lesser Sand-plovers and Little Terns around. There were also a pair of Black-winged Stilts and a pair of Grey Plovers. As we were about to leave the beach, a Grey Heron flew in and there were a couple of small plovers among the rubbish. These turned out to be Malaysian Plovers. A rare gem in Singapore. Danny said :"cute little birds". Then we went to the cove proper and saw Whimbrels and Common Sandpipers.

Changi Cove:

Photos from Con:

Lesser Sand-plovers

Grey Plovers and Little Terns

Little Terns

Whimbrel. Paddyfield Pipit

After we were done with the coast, we headed to Changi Village for a break. While waiting for our fishball noodles and hor fun, 3 Tanimbar Corellas landed on a tree nearby and Con was off with his camera again. They were biting each others' beak and playing a fool, putting on quite a fun show for us.

Tanimbar Corellas

At Simpang, we were stunned by the variety of birds. These are mainly forest birds, like Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Forest Wagtail, Common Flameback, as well as others like Pied Fantail, Brown Shrike, Asian Paradise-flycatcher.

Asian Paradise-flycatcher. Forest Wagtail

Initially, we wanted to take the left path, but we were attracted by bird calls on the right. And it was a good choice! There are many forest birds flying around even when it was 1 pm in the hot afternoon.

When we reached Simpang, the first bird to greet us was a lone Little Egret. We entered Simpang through a treacherous path along the canal beside the fire station. But it was worth it because we found ourselves in a good birding site. Besides the bird mentioned so far, there were also a couple of birds that we could not ID. There was a kingfisher that Danny saw and he mentioned it was smaller than the typical kingfisher and doesn't look like the collared nor white-throated. Then there was the raptor in the sky that we couldn't ID. After Con left at 2 pm, we went on to recce the area. We walked along the stony path and were relieved that we didn't take it in the first place. The only new birds seen were a Brahminy Kite and the raptor mentioned above.

As per what Con mentioned, the star of the day is the pair of Malaysian Plovers. That's 44 birds for the day. Note: all bird photos by Con.

Malaysian Plovers - female left, male right

Changi Village
01. House crow
02. Javan myna
03. Black-naped oriole
04. Rock pigeon
05. Spotted dove
06. Olive-backed sunbird
07. Golden-bellied gerygone (heard)
08. Asian koel (heard)
09. Red-breasted parakeet
10. Collared kingfisher
11. Common myna

Changi Grassland
12. Yellow-vented bulbul
13. Black-winged kite
14. White-throated kingfisher
15. Lesser coucal
16. Zitting cisticola
17. Barn swallow
18. Paddyfield pipit
19. Eurasian tree sparrow
20. Red collared dove

Changi Cove
21. Grey plover (2)
22. Black-winged stilt (2)
23. Whimbrel
24. Little tern
25. Malaysian plover (2)
26. Lesser sand-plover
27. Common sandpiper
28. Striated heron
29. Grey heron

Changi Village
30. Tanimbar cockatoo

Simpang
31. Little egret
32. White-breasted waterhen
33. Plain-throated sunbird
34. Brown shrike
35. Forest wagtail
36. Asian paradise-flycatcher
37. Zebra dove
38. Blue-throated bee-eater
39. Asian glossy starling
40. Common flameback
41. Sunda woodpecker
42. Greater racket-tailed drongo
43. Pied fantail
44. Brahminy kite

Nee Soon Swamp 13Aug05

From KH

It was a sunny day as we started another day of birding. This time it was at the Nee Soon Swamp. The meeting place was the Casuarina carpark. There were five of us: Danny our leader for the day, Con and Marisol Foley, Peck Chan and I. There was supposed to be an Australian guy but he went to the wrong carpark; and Charlie was supposed to be here too but he’s affected by the airline strike, so couldn’t make it. Con and Danny drove up to the bridge and the 3 of us, Peck Chan, Marisol and I, alighted while they carry on to the carpark beside the reservoir. They then hitched a ride back to the bridge. We saw some Pacific Swallows, Asian Glossy Starlings, Javan Mynas at the bridge. We then proceed to the trail along the pipeline. The first few birds are the familiar Blue-throated Bee-eater, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Olive-backed Sunbird. There were some other photographers there too. The first bird to really bring the heat on was a little "black-and-white" bird that kept flying away from us as we try to get closer to it and it’s really hard to get a photo ID of it as it merged into the leaf litters. At first impression, it looked like a wagtail. After a while, it flew off into the bushes and we had to move on wondering what it was. The trail was muddy at the beginning but gets drier as we went along. As we walked, some birds were flushed out but were too brief and far away to identify.

These 3 shots are from Marisol. Peck Chan and I were walking on the pipeline, while Danny and Con were way ahead of us in the backdrop. Marisol was on the pipeline too. I happened to see a pair of Olive-winged Bulbuls up close while walking along the high vantage point. The 2^nd and 3^rd photos show us at the end of the trail. Any further, we could potentially be shot by the army practicing their rifle-shooting nearby!

As we backtrack along the trail, we spotted some Crimson Sunbirds and Greater Racquet-tailed Drongos. We could get close enough to the drongo to take some photos. Then we chance upon the wagtail again. This time, the bird gave us a really hard time, flying off every time we tried to get closer to it. This continued for some time until finally we gave up. As we walked further, Peck Chan suddenly screamed and said she saw a snake charging towards her. Marisol, who was right in front of her, sprinted off immediately. Danny and I just stood there clueless. Finally, when we were about to call it a day for this trail, a Blue-throated Bee-eater put on a display for us. It was catching insects and constantly returning to its perch. An Olive-winged Bulbul and an Orange-bellied Flowerpecker were also in that area. As we waited at the bridge hoping to hitch a ride, Marisol decided to take a walk to the carpark. Not long after that, a car came by and offered to help. Peck Chan and Danny got in, while Con and I remained at the bridge. It was during this time that a Pacific Swallow flew in and perched on a signpost. We could get really close-up shots of it. A Common Tailorbird was also spotted.

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo ©Con Foley

Pacific Swallow ©Tan KH

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker ©Tan KH

Striped Tit-babbler ©Con Foley

We adjourned to a roti prata shop near to the Casuarina carpark and had a great lunch, thanks to Danny for his generosity. We all owe you one! After the sumptuous meal, we decided to carry on our birding at the path close to the Upper Peirce Reservoir carpark. This was where we saw the Striped Tit-babbler, more Olive-winged Bulbuls and the male Plain-throated Sunbird. What a beautiful sunbird which bears such a drab name! After Con left, we walked a little further down the path and came close to an Orange-bellied Flowerpecker. We were close enough to get some shots.

The best bird of the day is the Forest Wagtail. This is the little bird that kept us tormented but entertained throughout the whole walk. Thanks to Con, we finally got a good photo ID of it at the end of our forest trail. 21 birds for the day, an ok number considering that we are in a forest habitat. The Abbott’s Babbler is a forest bird that is most often heard (with the distinctive we-wo-we call). The swiftlets are the black-nest and edible-nest swiftlets, which there is no way to ID out in the field when they are flying in the sky.

Forest Wagtail ©Con Foley

01. Asian glossy starling
02. Pacific swallow
03. Blue-throated bee-eater
04. Forest wagtail
05. Yellow-vented bulbul
06. Olive-winged bulbul
07. Greater racquet-tailed drongo
08. House crow
09. Orange-bellied flowerpecker
10. Olive-backed sunbird
11. Plain-throated sunbird
12. Striped tit-babbler
13. Common tailorbird
14. Javan myna
15. Common pigeon
16. Asian koel
17. Crimson sunbird
18. White-throated kingfisher
19. Collared kingfisher
20. Swiftlet spp.
21. Abbott’s babbler (heard)