Jurong Lake 30Jul22

From KH

Danny and I went to Jurong Lake Gardens today. Got a family of Smooth Otters having their morning jog.

Plantain Squirrel enjoying breakfast.

Daurian Starling, Asian Glossy Starlings and Lineated Barbet shared a bare tree.

No sharing for Tanimbar Corella!

Little Bronze Cuckoo looked on.

Brown Anole basking, ignoring us.

Peacock Royal just taking a rest.

Serangoon Tidal Gates 11Sep20

From KH

This female Little Bronze-Cuckoo came down low.

So did these Scaly-breasted Munia and Sunda Woodpecker.

This Tiger Shrike stayed a distance in a small tree.

While this juvenile White-breasted Waterhen was foraging.

And this Common Sandpiper just resting.

A couple of Wild Pigs were not too shy to show their whole body.

An empty shell - Blinking Snail Quantula striata top and bottom. The only land snail known to be bioluminescent¹. How cool is that?

1. Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 50
2. Spotted Dove 20
3. Zebra Dove 4
4. Asian Koel 1 - Heard
5. Little Bronze-Cuckoo 2 - Females
6. dark swiftlet sp. 10
7. White-breasted Waterhen 2
8. Common Sandpiper 1
9. Gray Heron 3
10. Collared Kingfisher 1 - Heard
11. Sunda Woodpecker 2
12. Red-breasted Parakeet 3
13. Pied Triller 2 - Pair
14. Black-naped Oriole 2
15. Common Iora 5
16. Tiger Shrike 1
17. House Crow 20
18. Common Tailorbird 1 - Heard
19. Yellow-bellied Prinia 2 - Heard
20. Barn Swallow 1
21. Pacific Swallow 1
22. Sooty-headed Bulbul 1 - Heard
23. Yellow-vented Bulbul 2 - Heard
24. Daurian Starling 40
25. Common Myna 10
26. Javan Myna 50
27. Oriental Magpie-Robin 2
28. Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker 1
29. Olive-backed Sunbird 1
30. Golden-backed Weaver 30
31. Baya Weaver 5
32. Scaly-breasted Munia 10

Reference
1. Glow-in-the-dark snail

NTL2, SBWR, Pulau Punggol 21Aug10

From KH

It's been a "long time" since my local birding! Well, 1 month IS a long time. :) Today, Con, Danny and I went to NTL2 in the morning. NSS was also having one of its weekend outing at the Kranji Marsh. The most interesting bird here was a Rusty-breasted Cuckoo. There were also 2 CHEs (1 calling along NTL2 and 1 dark morph perched on the opposite side of the reservoir) and 1 BWK.

We dropped by NSRCC, but there were no wagtail or ringed plover yet. Next up: SBWR. JS was able to join us for this league of the trip. Right outside the entrance of SBWR, someone showed us an active Olive-backed Sunbird nest. There were 2 chicks in the nest and the parents were busy taking turn to feed them.

We found an Ashy Tailorbird sewing a nest while we were having lunch! We left Con with the SBWR nesting activities and headed to P. Punggol. The Brahminy Kites were no longer gathering over the tall trees, but seemed to prefer the precious sand piles now. Beside the Wild Pig that we flushed, the most interesting find here are about 5 Little Bronze-cuckoos, both male (1st photo) and female (2nd photo).

From Danny

Was at Sg. Buloh on Saturday morning. Main Hide and 1C were flooded, did not see as many waders as reported earlier in the week. Spotted 3 Curlew Sandpipers with one as in pic moulting into non-breeding plumage. The white supercilium is almost done with rufous patches evident at bill base, still some patches of rufous/brownish on scapulars and wing coverts with fresh greyish feathers coming through. On the breast and belly the whites are replacing the rufous plumage. Well, we don't get much time to view breeding plumages (moulting), very soon have to wait till next season.

The photo below shows a single Curlew Sandpiper among Common Redshanks.

For entertainment, refer to 2nd pic about a friendly Estuarine Crocodile and a brave Common Sandpiper. The sandpiper did jump over the croc when it first flew in and probably was thinking whether to wag over the open jaws??

Pulau Ubin, Changi 28Apr07

As Danny put it, "It was a marvellous weekend of local birding." As a change of style, I'll do a photographic write-up instead. Photos from Danny unless otherwise stated.

The cuckoo was little bronze, juvenile. The bronze-green coloration on the wings gave it away. We were hoping for a Horsfield's, but fat hope.

The junglefowls are probably feral birds, not true wild birds, because they continued to forage despite seeing us at a distance.

As for the buttonquails, initially we thought they were chicks as they were tagging along behind the chickens. Upon closer examination, the pair of 'chicks' turned out to be a pair of buttonquails! The female has a black throat.

I think the best time to catch the elusive mangrove pitta is probably early morning (earlier than 9am). After that, the chance diminished exponentially ;).

lucionensis should have grey cap, right? So this is probably the typical brown shrike we see so often (i.e. cristatus or confusus). Dunno what's the diff between the latters though.
cristatus: E Siberia to nw Mongolia; winters to India and Malay Pen.
confusus: Manchuria and Amurland; winters to Malay Pen. and Sumatra
superciliosus: S Sakhalin and Japan; winters to Sumatra and Lesser Sundas
lucionensis: Korea and e China; winters to Philippines, Borneo, Sulawesi

After these exciting birds at Ubin, Danny and I went to Turnhouse Road (at Changi) and saw OP hornbill, Tanimbar corellas, red-breasted parakeet, all nesting on the 2 tall trees. Thanks to the many tip-offs from Con! I took a shot of the male hornbill and the pair of corellas.

Danny:"How did the Parakeet brought a piece of rock/brick into the nest? If you get too close, it may drop onto you!!"

Also, we went to the black-naped terns' nesting rocks. With Danny's scope we could see the terns and chicks (and eggs!) from the Changi boardwalk. There were also 4 little terns (3 in breeding plumage) on one of the rocks offering clear comparison of size and plumage with the BN terns. There were also many AG starlings nesting in the pole-tips at the boardwalk. The nesting season is really fantastic isn't it?! :)

Punggol, Halus, Seletar 03Jun06

It is so great to be back in Singapore. After 3 months of absence from the local birding scene, I realized I have missed quite a bit of rare sightings. Among these were the various cuckoos, the buffy fish owl and the greater painted-snipes. Fortunately today, we have JS and his daddy to show us how to locate the gps (the painted-snipes, not the global positioning system!). Apparently, they take the cue from waterhen before coming out into the open. As Danny and JS said, they use the waterhen as indicator. And a good way to see the birds is to use the car as a hide. No camouflaged vehicle required, just park your car by the canal, off the engine, keep awfully quiet, and wait. That was how Con got his approx. half an hour of privacy with the gps.

Greater painted-snipe is atypical of birds in that the female is the more colourful one ©Lau JS

So, we met at Punggol and went on our gps hunt. After tackling the slope into the grassland, Danny spotted our first gps of the day. And on closer inspection, there were 2 chicks following the parent gps! We are really blessed and we bless the gps chicks that they can grow up before the PUB comes to dredge the drain again... Further down the drain more gps were sighted. There were 2 pairs. Seems like they are paired up for the breeding season and hopefully all works out well for them.

While JS continued to stalk the gps, Con took PC and I for a ride to the canal. Here, we saw many herons and egrets. An egret caught our attention. Upon consulting the guide book, it turns out to be a white morph Pacific reef-egret. And there were a few little terns flying around. We rounded up Punggol with 32 species. Next destination, Lorong Halus.

Changeable Hawk-eagle taking flight at Halus ©Lau JS

Con's car reach Halus first. We strolled past the moorhen pond and headed towards the grebe pond. There were 4 grebes in this pond. It has been reported that there were only 2 adults and 2 chicks here. But of the 4 grebes we saw, one was still in breeding plumage, while the other 3 were juveniles. The other interesting birds here were the changeable hawk eagle and the little bronze-cuckoo. There were also some crakes hidden in the reeds, but we did not get a good look to ID them. While we were looking hard for the crakes to reappear, a blue-throated bee-eater flew in and landed on a perch right in front of us, allowing Con to snap a few close-up shots of it. By this time, Con had to leave, while the rest of us carried on birding here till lunchtime.

Blue-throated Bee-eater ©Con Foley

Female Little Bronze-cuckoo ©Con Foley

Next stop was Seletar. Today, we checked out Seletar East, Lower Seletar and Upper Seletar. Seletar East was in the news recently. The golf course and residential area (colonial houses) were in danger of being leveled for the airbase expansion. Hopefully, the camp will not be affected, for otherwise, the grey heron rookery of 200-strong nests will be history... A few of the nests could be seen from outside the camp gate. Also, outside the gate is a canteen. We took shade under the Bodhi tree (fig) and were enjoying the cold drinks when suddenly there were much activity in the tree. Looking up, we saw coppersmith barbets, a common flameback, a black-naped oriole, a common iora and some Asian glossy starlings. And on a tall tree in the campground were 2 brahminy kites. A white-bellied sea eagle was also flying across the camp.

After bidding farewell to PC, we headed to Lower Seletar. There were rusty-breasted cuckoos calling in the trees. Danny has spotted a crake here before, but no luck today. Nevertheless, we managed to add 3 more birds to today's list. As it was too hot, we did not get out of the car to explore the wooded areas. After getting lost in Sembawang, we finally reached Upper Seletar. When we reached, we saw some people clustering in the forest edge. Curious, I approached them asking what is interesting. Reluctantly, they told us that there is a red-crowned barbet nest. The reluctance is warranted because as birders, we are not supposed to reveal nesting sites. However, they were relieved after knowing we are birders too.

Left: Adult barbet bringing back food. Right: Chick poking its head out ©Tan KH

The parent barbet made many trips to the other side of the road and initially kept returning every 10 minutes or so with food for the chick. After some time, the frequency decreased and it became like 30-minutes intervals. It was a really laborious task for the parent bird, but I sure with such dedication, the chick is going to grow up strong and healthy. The birders were very dedicated too - they were here since 9 am in the morning! Their friend returned around this time (apparently, he was here in the morning too!). So he took over the shift and soon Sree arrived as well. In the meantime, JS and I went into the little forest trail but did not see any bird. Right now, Con has arrived too. As it was getting dark, we bid Sree and Con farewell and headed for our final destination - Poyan. The buffy was not home this evening, but the mosquitoes were all over the place. Maybe the buffy has gone fishing leaving us to feed its blood-sucking companions.

All in all, a tiring but pleasant birding trip today with some surprises and 56 species on the list.

Punggol
1. Greater painted-snipe - 5 adults, 2 chicks
2. Common sandpiper
3. Little tern
4. Little egret
5. Pacific reef-egret - 1 white morph
6. Grey heron
7. Purple heron
8. Striated heron
9. Yellow bittern
10. White-breasted waterhen
11. Black-winged kite
12. Brahminy kite
13. House swift
14. White-throated kingfisher
15. Collared kingfisher
16. Blue-throated bee-eater
17. Spotted dove
18. Zebra dove
19. Pink-necked green-pigeon
20. Asian koel
21. Lesser coucal
22. Brown shrike
23. House crow
24. Common myna
25. Javan myna
26. Pacific swallow
27. Asian glossy starling
28. Yellow-vented bulbul
29. Olive-backed sunbird
30. Eurasian tree sparrow
31. Paddyfield pipit
32. Scaly-breasted munia

Halus
33. Little grebe - 4
34. Common moorhen
35. Changeable hawk-eagle - 1
36. Rock pigeon
37. Little bronze-cuckoo
38. Pied fantail
39. Yellow-bellied prinia
40. Common tailorbird - heard
41. Baya weaver
42. White-headed munia
43. Black-headed munia

Seletar
Seletar East
44. White-bellied sea-eagle
45. Common iora
46. Common flameback
47. Coppersmith barbet
48. Black-naped oriole

Lower Seletar
49. Dark-necked tailorbird
50. Striped tit-babbler
51. Pied triller
52. Rusty-breasted cuckoo - heard

Enroute to Upper Seletar
53. Sunda woodpecker

Upper Seletar
54. Red-crowned barbet - adult with chick
55. Greater racquet-tailed drongo
56. Hill myna - heard

Tampines 29Apr06

From Danny

As everyone was busy campaigning or otherwise, this apolitical birder had to recce alone again. Drove around Tampines Ave 9, 10 & 12 but found the car park to the biking trails barricaded (ongoing construction). Drove along Tampines Road & ended up in Jln Sam Kongsi. Checked out with some workers around & went up an old path with my bino. About 50 ft, spotted an unknown quail (smaller than crake) & went back for my scope & camera. Quite a pleasant trail with grassland birds & woodland cuckoos/woodpeckers. The surprise was the ending at the Tampines end of Bedok Reservoir!

1. Black-naped Oriole
2. Collared Kingfisher
3. Yellow-vented Bulbul
4. Common Iora
5. Pink-necked Green-pigeon
6. Spotted Dove
7. Zebra Dove
8. Blue-throated Bee-eater
9. Asian Glossy Starling
10. Eurasian Tree Sparrow
11. Yellow-bellied Prinia
12. Little Bronze-cuckoo
13. Rusty-breasted Cuckoo (heard 2, caught glimpses)
14. Brown Shrike (adult & juv)
15. Long-tailed Shrike
16. House crow
17. Javan myna
18. WBSE (courting pair)
19. Black-winged Kite
20. Changeable Hawk-eagle pale morph (perched > 5 min but only one pic - battery low. Typical digicscope novice)
21. Large-tailed Nightjar (clear view for 5 sec, b4 took off)
22. Common Flameback
23. Banded Woodpecker
24. Red-whiskered Bulbul (poacher around with a caged bulbul but went off empty-handed)
25. Little Egret (Bedok reservoir)
26. Olive-backed Sunbird
27. White-throated Kingfisher
28. Baya Weaver
29. White-breasted Waterhen
30. Black-headed Munia
31. Lesser Coucal

Male Little Bronze-cuckoo

Immature pale morph Changeable Hawk-eagle

Long-tailed Shrike

Sungei Serangoon 09Aug05

From KH

It was a fine day at Sungei Serangoon. The eight of us met at the 500-m mark along the 2.2-km jogging track at 8:30 am. Four of us (Peck Chan, Yamane Yoshio from Japan, Charlie from UK, and I) met earlier at Hougang MRT station. When we reached the 500-m mark, Con Foley from the US, his wife Marisol Foley, Danny and his son were waiting there. There was a Little Heron there, hopefully keeping them occupied because we were a little late. The route we took is from the 500-m mark to the 1.5-km junction where we detoured into the grassland and then to the 2.2-km mark and finally back to where we started. The first birds to really entice us were the Little Terns. Their characteristic dive for fish kept us occupied for awhile. Little Egrets, Pacific Swallows, Collared and White-throated Kingfishers, Grey Herons were easily seen. A pair of Spotted Doves was doing their courtship ritual on the railing at the opposite bank. As we walked along, a White-bellied Sea-eagle soared past. An Asian Koel flew over to the forest, possibly disturbed by our presence. Then a Purple Heron flew overhead. As Con and I rested under a tree waiting for the rest to catch up, I heard the call of a Sunda Woodpecker just up on the tree. It minded its own business while the guys snapped away at it. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a good frontal view of it as its back was always facing us.

When we reached the beginning of the grassland we encountered a man poaching a spotted dove. When the dove was caught, a dog nearby came to attack it and we had to chase the dog away. The owner of the dog apologized and then shocked us by hitting the dog really hard! Charlie got a photo of the poacher and his motorbike, but the man refused the let the bird go and quickly took off. As for the dog owner, we had to assure him that the bird was fine, and he didn’t have to hit the dog. Putting this bad experience behind we continued birding. The first bird to greet us from the grassland was a Pied Fantail.

The following 2 shots are courtesy of Yamane. The first picture shows the open pathway that was created about 3-4 months ago - opening the grassland resulting in a path from the main road to the school nearby. Although this allowed us to venture into the thickets of the grassland, it destroyed part of it. However, there is no way we can stop this development. This was also the place where we saw the Baya Weaver nests, one of which was still green and under construction. Yellow-bellied Prinias were heard around here and Charlie managed to see it. This bird is pretty elusive, always hiding in the tall grass. An Ashy Tailorbird and a Blue-throated Bee-eater were seen here too. Someone spotted a raptor in the sky and it turned out to be a Brahminy Kite. Suddenly, a pair of White-headed Munias flew past. In split seconds, they were gone, but the characteristic white head was unmistakable.

Open pathway at the grassland

Tackling the railing at the 2.2 km mark

As we near the end of the grassland, Danny spotted a Greater Coucal. This was the first time I’ve seen it here. Good one, Danny! The picture on the right above was taken near the 2.2 km mark. We had to climb over the railing to get to the other side and continue our journey. As you can see, Danny and his son were nowhere in sight. They were busy keeping a lookout for the Greater Coucal. When we finally reached the 2.2 km mark, Danny and his son spotted some movement and colour in the tall grass. As we chattered away about what it is, it took off and Danny shouted: Stork-billed Kingfisher! Again, another new sighting for me in this area. As we walked along track, a Pied Triller and a Long-tailed Shrike were spotted.

Happy birders! This was where we spot a Little Bronze Cuckoo. At the opposite bank stood a Black-crowned Night Heron providing us with a good view of it and allowing our trigger-happy friends to get some great shots. These five shots are from Con & Marisol.

The most priced bird of the day is the Little Bronze-cuckoo. We finished the walk with lunch at the Blk 322 coffee shop. As we were about to leave the coffee shop it began raining heavily. Fortunately, it was a fine sunny day when we were birding. The final count of the day is 43 birds: 40 seen and 3 heard. 40 birds seen to commemorate the 40^th birthday of Singapore!

Male Little Bronze-cuckoo ©Con Foley

1. Greater coucal
2. Sunda woodpecker
3. Collared kingfisher
4. White-headed munia
5. Pied fantail
6. Baya weaver (with 2 old and 1 new nests)
7. White-bellied sea-eagle
8. Brahminy kite
9. Grey heron
10. Purple heron
11. Black-crowned night-heron
12. Striated heron
13. Spotted doves (doing their courtship ritual on the railing)
14. Asian koel
15. Zebra dove
16. Plain-throated sunbird
17. Ashy tailorbird
18. Pink-necked green-pigeon
19. Yellow-vented bulbul
20. Blue-throated bee eater
21. Eurasian tree sparrow
22. House crow
23. Pacific swallow
24. Little egret
25. Great egret
26. Common sandpiper
27. Little tern
28. Javan myna
29. White-breasted waterhen
30. Olive-backed sunbird
31. Black-naped oriole
32. Common myna
33. Long-tailed shrike
34. Stork-billed kingfisher
35. Pied triller
36. Yellow-bellied prinia
37. Little bronze-cuckoo
38. Scaly-breasted munia
39. Rock pigeon
40. House swift

Heard:
41. Common iora
42. Scarlet-backed flowerpecker
43. Common tailorbird