Seletar Park Connector 12Mar26

From KH

The usual gang of Grey Heron, Medium Egrets and Little Egrets were joined by Javan Myna today.

Asian Openbill feeling jaded.

But later, welcomed by the gang too.

Juvenile pale Changeable Hawk-Eagle harassed by a murder of House Crows.

Black-browed Reed-Warbler showed itself briefly in the reeds.

Smooth Otter spraint, i.e., poop, so stinko.

Dragon-Scale Fern with sori, the cluster of spores.

Lantana in bloom.

Burmese Fishtail-Palm bearing fruits.

Hampstead Wetland 06Feb26

From KH

At Hampstead Wetland, a juvenile OHB was harassed by 3 House Crows.

While male Oriental Pied-Hornbill watched the show.

Immature Blue-tailed Bee-eaters were just minding their own business sallying for prey on Sea Almond.

Jurong Lake 10Jan26

From KH

I went with 3G Laus to Jurong Lake today.

First, a juv. OHB was harassed by 2 House Crows.

Then another 2 juv. OHBs were seen later hanging out together. No crows chasing them. Strength in numbers perhaps.

A pair of Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoos were hanging out in a tree.

A pair of Lesser Whistling-Ducks were in one of the ponds.

A lone Yellow Bittern was strutting along on the grass patch.

Sengkang 10Dec25

From KH

A normal day back from lunch, kids running around the playground, but what happened next was far from normal.

First, we heard a lot of squealing. Then we saw a House Crow on the ground beside something. As we got closer, the crow flew off and I realized it's a Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat! Probably the first time the kids saw a bat, in the wild at least.

As the bat started to take off from the ground, the crow came back for another attempt. This went on a few times, and every time the bat would drop down to the ground and the kids will approach it, scaring the crow off to perch nearby.

Eventually, the bat, exhausted, took refuge at a low shrub, which is very open, I must say! Hope it managed to survive this ordeal!

Seletar Park Connector 06Aug25

From KH

House Crows gathering for otter food scraps at Seletar Park Connector.

The cause of the commotion, a family of Smooth Otters.

Giant Blonde Snail, new kid on the block, the giant land snail kind.

Seletar Park Connector 29Apr25

From KH

Asian Openbill interactions with other birds at Seletar Park Connector.

House Crow: chef openbill, when will escargot be served?

White-breasted Waterhen: thank you for clearing the alien snails.

Seletar Park Connector 17Jan25

From KH

I went to Seletar Park Connector for a walk and got Black-browed Reed Warblers and Pallas's Grasshopper Warblers.

Little Egrets, Medium Egrets and Grey Heron were enjoying breakfast:

Incoming..

Debus!

Enjoy.

Juvenile White-bellied Sea-Eagle caught a peacock bass and House Crow tried to steal it!

Oriental Honey-Buzzard just cruising along.

Seletar Dam 07Oct24

From KH

Another quick check at Seletar Dam in the evening revealed 0 wader! The only migrants around were 1 Little Egret and 1 Barn Swallow.

Nonetheless, the Grey Herons were enjoying their dinner.

House Crows too.

Marina East 01Jul23

From KH

Danny and I went to Marina East today. First time seeing a Long-tailed Macaque here. It hung out with the House Crows.

Smooth Otters were hanging out on the bund, while Little Terns were flying around the coast.

Malaysian Plover couple at the breakwater as usual.

Medium Egret and Purple Heron in the wet field.

Red-wattled Lapwing also in the field.

Seletar Dam 23May23

From KH

When news broke for the first real mainland record of Pied Stilt (recall the false alarm on 1 Jan 2023), it was pandamonium, as it wasn't just 1 bird, but 7 birds at Marina East and 14 birds at Seletar Dam! What is one to do when he is stuck at work? Rush down to the nearer spot immediately after work with my handphone only!

The 14 Pied Stilts at Seletar Dam formed a very tight-knit group, feeding and flushing together when harassed by House Crows, but kept coming back to the mudflat.

Danny made it in time to see the 14 in the sunset. Con saw the 7 in the morning at Marina East. What a wonderful day for everyone.

Marina East 11Feb23

From KH

I went with Danny to Marina East today. Starting at the grassland, it was munia galore.

Chestnut Munia. White-headed Munia

"Can we share?" "Sure!"

Scaly-breasted Munias feeding

Red-wattled Lapwing couple with 3 chicks in a grass patch.

Immature Barn Swallow hawking for insects.

Juvenile Peregrine Falcon on the prowl.

Purple Heron caught a huge Sunda Swamp Eel for breakfast.

At the breakwater, it was plover galore.

Resident Malaysian Plover couple: "Honey, will you join me at the beach?" "Get up here, baby."

And migrant plovers:

White-faced Plover

Kentish Plover

Tibetan Sand-Plover

Smooth Otter caught a White-patch Tuskfish.

Large-billed Crow came to see if there's any scraps to be had.

Then the whole gang of Smooth Otters went to the breakwater and pooed in good company of House Crows.

Brown anole getting more common here.

As we were leaving, this female House Sparrow suddenly appeared and caught us off guard.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow: This patch is mine!