Dairy Farm 11Jun22

From KH

Danny and I visited Dairy Farm Nature Park today. Sleepy male Jambu Fruit-Dove showed well.

Its female cousin, Asian Emerald Dove, showed even better, just a couple of metres away. Can even see the bald patch on its wing.

Red-eyed Bulbul: looking for me?

Sunda Colugo: looking for me too?

Wagler's Pit Viper and Oriental Whip Snake head shots.

Eriovixia aptly called tailed araneid spider.

Argiope versicolor complex (signature spider) front and back.

Common Bluebottle and Erianthus grasshopper.

Snail.

Changi, Bidadari, Pulau Punggol 29Oct11

From Con

I think the bird of the day for our outing was a Mangrove Whistler seen at Changi Reclaimed Land, a lifer for a couple of us.

We stopped along one of the regular tracks on the West side of Changi Airbase East because we noticed some bird activity, and were hoping for Eastern Crowned Warbler or some other goodies.  I first noticed a bit of an odd “Asian Brown Flycatcher”, but Kok Hui quickly realized it was a Mangrove Whistler.  We observed the bird from at least 10:15am until 10:40am.  Occasionally it would give us quite good views, although all were back light as the sun was generally behind the bird.  In general the weather was fine and getting hot, although there had been a passing shower a bit earlier.

Here are some shots of the Mangrove Whistler, the first four are from today, the last two are from Hantu several years ago.

The bird responded to playback and came forward.  It also sang in response to playback and it’s song was a match with one of Sharringa’s recordings.

I see from Avifauna and Robson that although the core habitat is mangrove, it does occur in coastal areas and other disturbed areas.

From KH

We started off at Changi and then moved on to Bidadari and finally Pulau Punggol.

Raptors seen at Changi:
1) OHB 3
2) Peregrine Falcon 1
3) Accipiter 1
4) CHE 2 (1 dark, 1 pale)
5) BWK 2
6) WBSE 2
7) Brahminy Kite >5

Mangrove Whistler ©Lau JS

At Bidadari, we had a Jambu Fruit-dove, Crow-billed Drongo, Flycatcher (Yellow-rumped and Asian Brown), Asain Paradise-flycatcher, Arctic Warbler, Tiger Shrike, Oriental White-eyes, etc.

Jambu Fruit-dove ©Danny Lau

Danny and I went on to Pulau Punggol and saw these raptors:

1) CHE 2 (1 dark, 1 pale)
2) Osprey 1
3) WBSE 3
4) Brahminy Kite 2

Singapore Strait, Changi 15Jan11

From Con

Great to see another skua! The behavior is really interesting, this one was harassing a Lesser Crested Tern.

Here's a link to several more photos of yesterday's Arctic Skua.

From JS

What do you do when you are stalked or faced with a robber? Learn from the Lesser Crested Tern and shout your lungs out.

From KH

After their pelagic trip, I joined Danny and JS for the late afternoon session at Changi. But before that, I went to Halus and Pasir Ris Farmway 1. You can now freely enter Halus like good old days, as the guardhouse and gantry were removed. Nothing much here except for an immature male Oriental Honey-buzzard perched and an immature White-bellied Sea-eagle circling.

Immature male OHB ©Tan KH

Next, I moved on to Pasir Ris Farmway 1 to monitor the old CHE nest. No one on the nest, but saw a pale morph Changeable Hawk-eagle in flight.

While waiting for Danny and JS at Changi Beach, saw 2 adult Brahminy Kites in flight.

On the way to LP149, Danny and JS showed me the 2 Common Buzzards at LP165 and 190. Being the keymaster, I let Danny's car in and these were the raptors that we saw inside:

1) Black Baza 1
2) Japanese Sparrowhawk 1
3) Chinese Goshawk 2
4) CHE 1 juv pale
5) Brahimny Kite >2
6) Black-winged Kites >5

Besides the Jambu Fruit-dove, another surprise was a flock of 15 or so White-shouldered Starlings. We also flushed a couple of quails, one of which was a Barred Buttonquail due to the rufous underparts.

Male Jambu Fruit-dove ©Danny Lau

BTNR, Bidadari 17Nov10

From KH

Activities were still going strong at the Bt Timah summit, so was the army of cameramen/women. Danny, JS and I got all our targeted birds.

Male Jambu Fruit-dove ©Tan KH

Eyebrowed Thrush. Left ©Danny Lau, right ©Tan KH

Siberian Thrush ©Tan KH

Brown-chested Jungle-flycatcher ©Danny Lau

Left: Female Blue-and-white Flycatcher. Right: Streaked Bulbul ©Tan KH

Left: Ashy Bulbul. Right: Black-crested Bulbul ©Tan KH

BTNR Summit 0715-1130
1. Japanese Sparrowhawk 2
2. Jambu Fruit-dove >3
3. Thick-billed Green-pigeon >20
4. Pink-necked Green-pigeon 2
5. Swiftlet spp.
6. Brown-backed Needletail 1-2
7. Red-crowned Barbet 2
8. Greater Racket-tailed Drongo 1
9. Black-naped Oriole 1
10. Asian Fairy Bluebird >3
11. Greater Green Leafbird 1
12. Eyebrowed Thrush 3 (1 male, 1 female, 1 immature)
13. Siberian Thrush 2 female
14. Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher 1
15. Asian Brown Flycatcher 1
16. Blue-and-white Flycatcher 4 (1 male, 1 immature male, 2 female)
17. Asian Glossy Starling >20
18. Javan Myna 2 (did not join in the feast)
19. Pacific Swallows >5
20. Barn Swallows >5
21. Red-eyed Bulbul >5
22. Black-crested Bulbul 2
23. Cream-vented Bulbul 1
24. Ashy Bulbul 8
25. Streaked Bulbul >2
26. Arctic Warbler 2
27. Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker 1 male
28. Crimson Sunbird 1 male 1 female

After lunch, we went to Bidadari and sure enough the Oriental Cuckoo was there. ©Danny Lau

I heard that the Hodgson's and Drongo Cuckoos were also there, but we did not bother with these 'trash' birds, because the sky looked threatening. :)

Sime Forest 11Feb06

From KH

Today's event was our first evening walk and it was a nature walk rather than a birding trip. The leader was Subaraj and there were more than 20 participants. Among our own bird group were Danny and JS, Yamane, Kong, Peck Chan, Sree and I. We met at the junction of Rifle Range Road and Dunearn Road at 3.45 pm. By 4 pm we were all at the end of Rifle Range Road, which was the starting point of our walk. The first animals we saw were the usual long-tailed macaques by the road. Then a brahminy kite flew overhead. Further down the trail, a forest wagtail flew across and many of us managed to catch a glimpse of it in the bush. Then high up on the bare branch were Asian glossy starlings and blue-tailed bee-eater. As we proceeded, we came across some moths, butterflies and grasshoppers. In the stream beside the trail were some fish. Nick Baker mentioned that there were two-spot rasboras and guppies, as well as some other fish that I can't remember. Then a metallic blue dragonfly caught our attention. Later on, Yeo Suay Hwee emailed us saying that it was Cratilla metallica, which is common and widespread in tropical Asia.

Dragonfly with a metallic blue body, Cratilla metallica

As we went along, we saw orange-bellied flowerpeckers. Then a slender squirrel showed us the various stunts it was capable of, jumping around the branches. Soon we reached the only turning point of this trail. Once everyone has safely tackled the slight down slope, we moved on. Nothing really interesting happened until we reached a stream. There was a large damselfly here. Then someone spotted a frog in a puddle. Nick mentioned it was a Malesian frog.

Malesian frog with characteristic "W" on the head

Moving on, we reached a clearing. There was much activity here. Striped tit-babblers, olive-winged bulbuls, cream-vented bulbuls, a red-crowned barbet, greater racket-tailed drongos, jambu fruit-doves, a chestnut-bellied malkoha, orange-bellied flowerpeckers were congregating here. The melodious white-rumped shama and the Siberian blue robin with its single metallic note were heard here.

Jambu Fruit-dove ©Yamane Yoshio

Today, the mystery of the 'invisible bird' was solved. The last time we were in the Sime Forest, we heard this call (which we thought was from a bird initially) and went searching for it. Every time we came close to it, we know it was right there in the bush on the ground in front of us, but we just couldn't see it. And when we beat the bush, it stopped calling and there was no movement at all. This happened a few times until finally we concluded that it must be an insect. Today, Subaraj told us that it was from the four-ridged toad. Dah... Not a bird, not an insect, but a toad!

Finally, we reached Jelutong Tower. We got a great view of the dusk activities around Sime Forest. With so many pairs of eyes, probably nothing escaped our group - a fairy bluebird flying at a distance, a changeable hawk eagle calling from afar, flocks of long-tailed parakeets flying in the (north-east?) direction, etc. Danny put his scope on a purple-throated sunbird perched high up on a bare branch, giving us fantastic view of its beautiful coloration. This is our truly forest sunbird. Another sunbird, the crimson sunbird, came close to the tower offering us front seat view of it. Also present was a plain-throated sunbird. A dollarbird perched afar high up on a bare branch for a long time.

Peck Chan told us that the copper-cheeked frog was croaking at a distance. Subabraj taught us how to distinguish between the various swiftlets but at the end of the day we still don't know how... However, the Asian palm swift is obvious with its more slender build. Pacific and barn swallows were both present. Again on a bare branch high up, we saw a crow-billed drongo. Just before we left, a hill myna flew to a perch right in front of us and a small flock of thick-billed green-pigeons were also right in front of us. This flock of 7 pigeons were so well concealed in the tree that we didn't know there were so many present. Everyone got a good view of this uncommon forest pigeon.

Male Thick-billed Green-pigeon ©Yamane Yoshio

Male Thick-billed Green-pigeon ©Danny Lau

On the way back, we again stopped at the clearing. Greater racket-tailed drongos were hawking for insects; a stork-billed kingfisher was flying across. Black-eyed litter frogs were calling everywhere. This frog has short legs and so does not leap, but make small hops in the leaf litter. Then to our surprise, a large bird flew overhead. Subaraj said it was a Malaysian eared nightjar. Another surprise came shortly - a changeable hawk eagle flew overhead. Leaving the clearing, we reached the turning point. Here, Subabraj heard the brown hawk owl. He imitated the bird and soon an owl flew in and perched in full view! We were all delighted. Further down the trail, he did the same trick and drew the collared scops owl out. Fascinating, a double for tonight! The last animals to fascinate us were the forest fireflies and the noisy mole cricket. We saw a few fireflies, but only heard the mole cricket and saw its tunnel.

Forest firefly is different from mangrove firefly in having a bluish glow that doesn't blink and is solitary

Our veteran NSS member, KC Yap educated us that the plant with the heart-shaped leaves hanging below the drongo (see right) is Hoya latifolia. We were fortunate to have many experts in this trip to not only educate us on birds but also other vertebrates like amphibians, mammals, fish; as well as invertebrates, like insects, spiders; and plants too. We ended our trip around 8.30 pm. Our Not-So-Secret gang adjourned to Turf City for a cold drink or two and ended up talking till 10 pm!

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo ©Yamane Yoshio

From Danny

A little snippet from that evening which I missed & subsequently picked up from JS. During the search for the Brown Hawk Owl, the first few simulated calls from Subaraj were loud and full of bass, but when the secretive owls' calls were reciprocated, he started to vary & tone down his simulated calls creating an imagery illusionary effect of moving away, luring the owl to come fwd from its deep hideout and before long, lo & behold it was perched right in front of us.

Birding lesson: Hollering unlikely to work, vary your tones and bass will catch your worm.

01 Banded woodpecker
02 Red-crowned barbet
03 Dollarbird
04 Stork-billed kingfisher
05 Collared kingfisher
06 Blue-tailed bee-eater
07 Chestnut-bellied malkoha
08 Long-tailed parakeet
09 Swiftlet spp.
10 Asian palm swift
11 Whiskered treeswift?
12 Collared scops owl
13 Brown hawk owl
14 Malaysian eared nightjar?
15 Pink-necked green-pigeon
16 Thick-billed green-pigeon
17 Jambu fruit-dove
18 Brahminy kite
19 Changeable hawk eagle
20 Asian fairy bluebird
21 Greater racket-tailed drongo
22 Crow-billed drongo
23 Asian glossy starling
24 Hill myna
25 Barn swallow
26 Pacific swallow
27 Olive-winged bulbul
28 Cream-vented bulbul
29 Yellow-vented bulbul
30 Dark-necked tailorbird
31 Arctic warbler
32 Striped tit-babbler
33 Orange-bellied flowerpecker
34 Scarlet-backed flowerpecker
35 Crimson sunbird
36 Plain-throated sunbird
37 Purple-throated sunbird
38 Forest wagtail

Tuas, BBNP, Mandai Mudflat 31Dec05

There were eight of us, Con, Danny, JS, Yamane, Geoffrey, Sree & his wife and I. Our rendezvous today was at the Tuas grassland. After a coffee session at the Raffles Marina, Danny, JS and I adjourned to BBNP and saw Sree and his friend there. When it started to rain, we parted with Sree and went on to Mandai mudflat, but were disappointed as no rare birds were seen.

For some of us, this was the first time we were in the Tuas area. Only Sree and Geoffrey have been here before. The first birds to show themselves were the typical grassland bird like the White-headed Munia, Black-winged Kite and the common birds like that Brown Shrike, White-breasted Waterhen and Paddyfield Pipit.

After we make a left turn into the grassland, we saw some sandpipers in the short grass on the right. These turned out to be the Wood Sandpipers.

Wood Sandpiper ©Con Foley

Just a short distance away, a whole flock of PG Plovers were seen. They were so well camouflaged against the sand that we weren't aware of them even though they were pretty near.

On the left was a wet grassland and JS flushed out some birds. Snipes! There were more than 10 birds in the tall grass. Once they landed, there was no way for us to see them. JS decided to take a closer look and by so doing flushed out some nightjars. Prominent white spots on the wings and the size tells us that these are Savanna Nightjars. Then two birds flew off with a teu-hu-hu call. These must be Common Redshanks. Con and Sree pointed into the sky and there were three Great Cormorants flying above us. There were also Black-headed Munias in the grass. As Con, Geoffrey, Sree and his wife moved on, the rest of us stayed awhile longer hoping to get clearer views of the snipes and nightjars.

Next four photos from Yamane:

Pacific Golden-plover

Paddyfield Pipit

Pitcher Plant

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Disappointed, we moved on and caught up with Con and company. At a distance, we could see Red-wattled Lapwings flying off making their characteristic noisy call. Too bad none stayed still for us to take photos. Then we startled a nightjar, which flew up and got caught in the branches... But it did manage to fly off shortly. As we bashed into the tall grass, we flushed out more snipes. There were Ashy Tailorbirds too. Seeing that the land was marshy ahead, we backtracked. And so we finished birding at Tuas and proceeded to Raffles Marina for a cup of coffee.

Raffles Marina is a nice place with a good view of the sea. While we had coffee, Marisol's Christmas goodies and Danny's kuehs, JS ate his nasi lemak and Con took his breakfast set. We talked about our 22 Jan Panti trip and birding in Malaysia in general. After we were done, the Srees bid us farewell. The rest of us took a walk around the yacht bay. It was now fish-watching instead. :) There were archerfish, rabbitfish, angelfish and many that we couldn't tell what they were, not to mention the soft coral and mussels. Then far away, Danny saw some terns flying around. We finished off Tuas with a Common Sandpiper, our 29^th bird.

Common Sandpiper ©Tan KH

After bidding the rest farewell, Danny, JS and I went on to BBNP for the afternoon birding session. Before that, we had wanton mee lunch at a coffee shop. When we reached BBNP, Sree and his friend were already there snapping away at a Jambu Fruit-dove.

Jambu Fruit-dove ©KH

The fruit-dove was nice, but our target here are the flowerpeckers. So we proceeded to the stairs and strained our neck looking up. After some effort, the Yellow-vented Flowerpecker was seen, with its diagnostic thick black stripes on the body and the prominent yellow vent. Then the Thick-billed Flowerpecker was also seen, a tiny bird swaying its tail sideways. Then Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers were abundant and JS saw the Orange-bellied Flowerpecker. Then there were the Mugimaki Flycatchers. While waiting for the rarities, the Lineated Barbet and Laced and Banded Woodpeckers kept us entertained.

Male Laced Woodpecker ©Tan KH

Having got all the tiny birds we needed, we took the road on the right of the stairs hoping to see some rare birds. Straw-headed and Olive-winged Bulbuls were there to welcome us. high up in the sky were some raptors - Oriental Honey Buzzards. Another bird high up in the sky was a Glossy Swiftlet. We went back to the stairs and Sree's friend showed us the Oriental White-eye that he just photographed. Soon, it started drizzling and we again bid Sree farewell.

Olive-winged Bulbul. Straw-headed Bulbul ©Tan KH

We headed to Mandai mudflat hoping to see the gulls. Upon reaching, it was still drizzling slightly. A Black-crowned Night Heron flew overhead. Scanning the water edge, we could only see the common birds - Whimbrel, Greenshanks, PGPs, Common Sandpipers, Little Egrets, Little Herons and Grey Herons. There was a Common Kingfisher and an Intermediate Egret though. And far away at the kelong was a White-bellied Sea Eagle. We started the day at about 8 am and ended at 6 pm with 61 birds. Not bad considering that when asked by JS how many birds we got today, I was pessimistic and guessed less than 50. It was a happy New Year Eve birding!

Tuas
01 House crow
02 Javan myna
03 Common myna
04 Pacific swallow
05 Zebra dove
06 Spotted dove
07 Pink-necked green-pigeon
08 Brahminy kite
09 Black-winged kite
10 Common sandpiper (at Raffles Marina)
11 Wood sandpiper
12 Common redshank
13 Pacific golden plover
14 Snipe (pintail or common)
15 Red-wattled lapwing
16 Blue-tailed bee-eater
17 Paddyfield pipit
18 Great cormorant
19 Yellow-vented bulbul
20 Ashy tailorbird
21 Yellow bittern
22 Brown shrike
23 White-breasted waterhen
24 Greater coucal
25 Savanna nightjar
26 White-headed munia
27 Black-headed munia
28 Terns at Raffles Marina (too far away to ID)
29 Asian koel (heard)

BBNP
30 Yellow-vented flowerpecker
31 Thick-billed flowerpecker
32 Scarlet-backed flowerpecker
33 Orange-bellied flowerpecker
34 Jambu fruit-dove
35 Straw-headed bulbul
36 Olive-winged bulbul
37 Lineated barbet
38 Oriental honey-buzzard
39 Mugimaki flycatcher
40 Asian brown flycatcher
41 Laced woodpecker
42 Banded woodpecker
43 Glossy swiftlet
44 Black-naped oriole
45 Crimson sunbird
46 Asian glossy starling
47 Oriental white-eye

Mandai Mudflat
48 Cattle egret
49 Little egret
50 Intermediate egret
51 Grey heron
52 Little heron
53 Black-crowned night-heron
54 Whimbrel
55 Lesser sand-plover
56 Common greenshank
57 Collared kingfisher
58 White-throated kingfisher
59 Common kingfisher
60 White-bellied sea eagle
61 Rock pigeon