Sime Forest, Tuas, Pulau Punggol 26Oct13

From JS

Here's a summary of today's birding:

Raptors seen

Sime Forest
1) Grey-headed Fish-eagle (1)
2) White-bellied Sea-eagle (1)
3) Osprey (1)
4) Brahminy Kite (6)
5) Chinese Sparrowhawk (2)
6) Japanese Sparrowhawk (2)
7) Changeable Hawk-eagle (1)

Juvenile Chinese Sparrowhawk at Sime Forest ©Con Foley

Female Chinese Sparrowhawk at Sime Forest ©Con Foley

Tuas
1) Brahminy Kite (2)
2) Black-winged Kite (1)

Pulau Punggol
1) White-bellied Sea-eagle (5)
2) Booted Eagle (1)
3) Osprey (>1)
4) Brahminy Kite (>3)
5) Unid raptor (1) - see photos below

Dark morph Booted Eagle at Pulau Punggol ©Lau JS

Unid raptor at Pulau Punggol ©Lau JS

Other notable species seen

Sime Forest
1) Japanese Paradise-flycatcher (1)
2) Asian Paradise-flycatcher (1)
3) Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (>2)
4) Chestnut-bellied Malkoha (3, including 1 juvenile)
5) Red-crowned Barbet (2)
6) Eastern Crowned Warbler (1)
7) Arctic Warbler (>2)

Tuas
1) White-shouldered Starling (>20)

Pulau Punggol
1) Fork-tailed Swift (2)
2) Arctic Skua (1)
3) Asian Brown Flycatcher (1)
4) Daurian Starling (>500)

Arctic Skua over Casuarina trees at Pulau Punggol ©Lau JS

Arctic Skua chased by White-bellied Sea-eagle at Pulau Punggol ©Lau JS

House Swift at Pulau Punggol ©Lau JS

Venus Loop, Sime Forest, Halus 18May13

From KH

Con, Danny and I headed to Venus Loop for the pair of Blue-rumped Parrots which have been found feeding on star fruits. We had a very vocal Abbott's Babbler. A Greater Coucal was heard calling. However, since no parrots showed up, Danny and I decided to take a long walk, through HSBC treetop walk to Jelutong Tower.

At Jelutong Tower, the usual forest birds were still around. On the way back to Venus Drive, a White-rumped Shama was singing its heart out, but not showing.

Juvenile Greater Racket-tailed Drongo with dark eyes and without rackets on the left; adult on the right showing red eyes, very worn tail end and one racket lost.

From Danny

Next drove to Pulau Punggol, on the bridge next to Seletar Airport, could spot the dusts churned up in the direction of the pond, sure enough on arrival, apparently, contractors hard at work, driving along could see many trees being cut down on right side of road towards Punggol Marina, not much trees left for next migratory season, sigh!

We ended up at Halus, surprisingly a lot of birds activities, from waxbills, tailorbirds, sunbirds, buttonquails, little terns (breeding plumage) and ten smooth otters fishing and feasting on plentiful supply of fish. The otters as a group had clever way of fishing, by crowding and forcing the fish to surface for easy catch, the entrapped fish practically jumped out and hit the otters guarding the surface, amazing!

Photos from KH

Smooth Otter family having a good time fishing.

Little Tern pair - the male (top) feeding the female.

Barred Buttonquail pair - female on the left.

Golden-bellied Gerygone - the smallest bird in Singapore. Crimson-rumped Waxbill - one of several African waxbills released.

Sime Forest 06Apr13

From KH

Today, we went to Sime Forest as JS needs Blue-rumped Parrot to reach Club 300. There were a bunch of bulbuls (Red-eyed, Cream-vented, Olive-winged), leafbirds (Blue-winged) and sunbirds (Van Hasselt's, Crimson, Brown-throated), as well as Blue-crowned Hanging-parrots, Pink-necked Green-pigeons, 7 Dollarbirds and Banded Woodpecker. However, no Blue-rumped Parrot.

Red-eyed Bulbul. Cream-vented Bulbul.

Male Blue-winged Leafbird. Van Hasselt's Sunbird pair.

Sime Forest, Seletar West, Pulau Punggol, Serangoon Tidal Gates 26Jan13

From JS

Compared to last weekend, today was a really hot one. At some point of time, we could actually make do with some rain. Despite the intense heat, we were more than happy to be out birding.

Starting the day at Venus Drive, we must be really optimistic. Expecting to see the Barred Eagle Owl still perched openly after 11 days from its sighting, I think optimistic is an understatement. Expectedly, we left the place empty. This also happens to be my second failed attempt for the Blue-rumped Parrot.

Next, we headed over to Seletar West. After spotting the photographers, we spotted the six Asian Openbills. Drabby and dull, this species is really not pretty.

While the kind intention to allow me the chance to see the Openbill could have been rewarded, my inability to identify the uncommoner cousin of the species that I had tried so hard to study resulted in a delayed reward. Having taken the photos of a suspected 1st winter Red-Throated Pipit at Pulau Punggol before lunch, it took an hour-long lunch and a trip to Halus before Kok Hui, Con and my father come to know that they just had a near-miss with a Singapore tick. This is really bad.

Thankfully, a second visit to Pulau Punggol could partially redeem my mistake. Kok Hui and my father were able to enjoy great scope views of 4-5 individuals. Unfortunately, Con was not able to see the birds because of the presence of two police cars.

Red-throated Pipits from Danny

A non-breeding male with relative strong rusty/pinkish head, breast with lesser streaks, more blobs.

Two photos of the same non-breeding adult; clearly the whitish brace has turned pale relative to the whitish wing bars.

A behavioural shot of the pipits which tend to crouch when feeding/walking unlike the upright stance of the Paddyfield Pipit.

From KH

A few of the famous 6 of Seletar West. In flight, the underwing pattern looks like Milky Stork's, but the leg extension is shorter in comparison.

Soon they took flight.

Spooked by this Osprey. But it meant no harm, just passing by to see the famous 6.

While waiting for raptors to appear at Pulau Punggol, we spotted a flock of 6 openbills thermalling high towards east. Curious if this is a different flock from the 6 at Seletar West, Jimmy drove to Seletar West and found that the 6 were still there. Conversation with the photographers there reveal that the birds were either there all the time or had been out of sight at most 5-10 mins. Given these evidence, we believe that the 6 at Pulau Punggol is a different flock.

Sime Forest
Oriental Honey Buzzard 1
Changeable Hawk Eagle 1 immature pale morph
Emerald Dove 1
Pink-necked Green Pigeon >10
Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot 1
Swiftlet spp.
Dollarbird 1
White-throated Kingfisher 1
Blue-tailed Bee-eater >5
Red-crowned Barbet 1 drumming at a tree hole
Banded Woodpecker 2
Rufous Woodpecker 2
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo 4
House Crow 1
Cream-vented Bulbul 1
Red-eyed Bulbul 2
Barn Swallow
Arctic Warbler 1
Common Tailorbird 1
Rufous-tailed Tailorbird >2 heard
Striped Tit Babbler >3
Short-tailed Babbler >3 heard
Asian Fairy Bluebird 1 male
Asian Glossy Starling >20
Javan Myna
Orange-bellied Flowerpecker 2
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker 1
Crimson Sunbird 2

Seletar West
Asian Openbill 6
Great Egret 1
Intermediate Egret 1
Osprey 1
White-bellied Sea Eagle 1
Swiftlet spp.
Barn Swallow

Lor Halus
Grey Heron 5
Little Egret 2
Brahminy Kite 2
White-bellied Sea Eagle 3
Common Sandpiper 1
Spotted Dove
Zebra Dove
Little Bronze Cuckoo 1
Swiftlet spp.
Collared Kingfisher 1
Common Kingfisher 1 male
Blue-tailed Bee-eater >3
House Crow 2
Sooty-headed Bulbul 2
Yellow-vented Bulbul 2
Barn Swallow
Yellow-bellied Prinia 1 heard
Javan Myna
Baya Weaver >20

Pulau Punggol
Asian Openbill 6 thermalling high towards east
Osprey 1
Brahminy Kite 1
White-bellied Sea Eagle 2
Booted Eagle 1 rufous morph
Changeable Hawk Eagle 1 immature pale morph
Spotted Dove
Zebra Dove
Lesser Coucal 2
Swiftlet spp.
Barn Swallow
Zitting Cisticola >1
Javan Myna
Yellow Wagtail 2
Paddyfield Pipit 1
Red-throated Pipit 5 (1st winter and non-breeding)

Sime Forest 05Jun12

From Con

Wagler's Pit Viper at Jelutong Tower.

Female Wagler's Pit Viper at Central Catchment ©Con Foley

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

Nee Soon, Rifle Range, Hindhede 19Jan08

From Danny

Con, myself and Bruce (visiting Aussie brider) were at Nee Soon pipeline looking for the Raffles Owl. No sign of it other than the usual forest birds.

Con proceeded to Rifle Range while I pick up JS. Saw the pair of Brown Boobooks high up in the tree (tip off from KC), not good for photo.

As Con left, JS and myself headed for Hindhede. Reached it around 12 noon, most photographers were leaving with minimum pic. of OHT. We had a chat with Sze Kiat & Sree on camera and flash (totally lost) as there was not any activities. Before 2pm, Sree left and we separately walked our last round. Typically birds started to appear. Possibly the same 1st winter male, Blue-and-white FC turned up at the picnic area (same location as previous year) while the OHT hopped along the slope next to the rope ladder. However, no sign of the RL Crakes.

Sime Forest, SBWR, Kranji 03Nov07

From KH

The day started with me picking up an injured juvenile Schrenck's Bittern at the void deck of my multi-storey carpark at Sengkang.

Upon reaching Rifle Range at 7 am, I showed the bird to Danny and we decided to bring it to BTNR where Con was conducting his course. It was then that Danny thought of passing the injured bird to the ranger there. The poor bird had a missing right wing but when I picked it up, there was no blood. Moreover, it looked like it had a broken leg too. We looked at the plight of the bird in dismay...

Schrenck's Bittern ©Tan KH

By the time we arrived back at Rifle Range, it was 0740h. The first interesting birds were 2 cuckoos - the Drongo Cuckoo was confirmed, while a Violet Cuckoo was possible as it was hiding behind branches. Then, the first bird wave hit us. It consisted of Arctic Warblers, 1 Eastern Crowned Warbler and 1 Asian Paradise-flycatcher. A fruiting tree on the way to the Jelutong Tower attracted 4 Red-eyed Bulbuls and 1 Asian Brown Flycatcher. Along the track, we got to see the Arctic Warblers, Asian Paradise-flycatchers and Asian Brown Flycatchers a few times more. At the tower, a male Asian Fairy Bluebird flew across the canopy. Except for Arctic Warbler and Asian Brown Flycatcher, we missed all these birds during the race. Where were they hiding back then? At the reservoir, a pale morph Changeable Hawk-eagle perched high on a treetop. Other than these birds, a Green Crested Lizard, a Clouded Monitor and some Papilio butterflies made the quiet trail less disappointing.

Lunch was nasi lemak at Sungei Buloh again. There were mostly redshanks at the main hide, but it was nice to see a pair of Magpie Robins, which we missed during the race. Most of the waders were at Hide 1C. Sieving through the Whimbrels for the Bar-tailed Godwits gave us our a stunning curlew instead. It was a big guy compared to the whimbrels. The only birds which could push it around here were the Little Egrets. Later, it was confirmed to be a Far Eastern Curlew! A global lifer for both of us!

Far Eastern Curlew ©Danny Lau

The godwits were present as well. Shifting attention to the sand-plovers, we tried to sieve through them for the Greater Sand Plover, but to no avail.

Lesser Sand-plover ©Danny Lau

Next, through the curlew sandpipers, we hoped to get a broad-billed sandpiper. No sign of the latter, but we picked out a petite little guy, which had slightly shorter bill and slightly different plumage. This was later confirmed by David Bakewell to be a 1st winter curlew sandpiper moulting out of its juvenile plumage while retaining its juvenile wing covert.

Curlew Sandpiper ©Danny Lau

We were at 1C for more than an hour, maybe two, until the dog started barking at the waders scaring the curlew and whimbrels away. The whimbrels came back after circling a few rounds above, but the curlew was gone...

And so we left Buloh for NTL2 hoping to get the sand martin and crested goshawk. Bad luck, the gantry was down... The decision then was to take Kranji Nature Trail and see what we could get. We did see the two common woodpeckers that we missed during the race - Sunda Pygmy and Laced. The former was on the wooden stilt at the boardwalk, exactly the same place we saw it 1 week before the race! Where was it hiding on Race Day??

The day ended with 72 birds heard and seen. The Far Eastern Curlew being the bird of the day.

Sengkang
1 Schrenck's bittern, juv, injured

Sime Forest
2 Oriental dollarbird
3 Common goldenback, heard
4 Banded woodpecker, heard
5 Blue-tailed bee-eater
6 Drongo cuckoo, 1
7 Violet cuckoo, 1 possible
8 Long-tailed parakeet, big flocks
9 Swiftlet spp.
10 Pink-necked green-pigeon
11 Changeable hawk-eagle, 1 pale morph
12 Oriental honey-buzzard, 1 in flight
13 Asian fairy-bluebird, 1 male
14 Greater racket-tailed drongo
15 Common hill myna
16 Barn swallow
17 Pacific swallow
18 Asian paradise-flycatcher, 3
19 Asian brown flycatcher, 3
20 Arctic warbler, many
21 Eastern crowned warbler, 1
22 Dark-necked tailorbird
23 Common tailorbird
24 Striped tit babbler
25 Red-eyed bulbul, 4
26 Olive-winged bulbul
27 Yellow-vented bulbul
28 Orange-bellied flowerpecker
29 Scarlet-backed flowerpecker
30 Brown-throated sunbird

En-route to SBWR
31 Common pigeon
32 White-vented myna
33 Common myna
34 House crow
35 Brown shrike

Drain outside SBWR
36 Wood sandpiper
37 White-breasted waterhen
38 Scaly-breasted munia

SBWR
39 Collared kingfisher
40 White-throated kingfisher
41 Asian koel, heard
42 Zebra dove
43 Far Eastern curlew, 1
44 Bar-tailed godwit, 2
45 Whimbrel
46 Common sandpiper
47 Marsh sandpiper
48 Curlew sandpiper
49 Common redshank
50 Common greenshank
51 Pacific golden-plover
52 Lesser sand-plover
53 Striated heron
54 Little egret
55 Asian glossy starling
56 Ashy tailorbird
57 Oriental magpie robin
58 Crimson sunbird

Kranji
59 Fork-tailed swift
60 Osprey, 1
61 White-bellied sea-eagle, 1
62 Spotted dove

NTL2 entrance
63 Black-winged kite, 1

Kranji Nature Trail
64 Sunda pygmy woodpecker
65 Laced woodpecker
66 Lesser crested tern
67 Great crested tern
68 Grey heron
69 Great egret
70 Golden-bellied gerygone, heard
71 Black-naped oriole
72 Paddyfield pipit