Lorong Halus 17Oct20

From KH

At Lorong Halus, got a migrant Chinese Sparrowhawk.

And a local Grey-headed Fish-Eagle.

As well as Whiskered Tern and White-winged Terns.

1. Zebra Dove 2
2. Asian Koel 1 - Heard
3. dark swiftlet sp. 20
4. Common Sandpiper 1 - Heard
5. White-winged Tern 3
6. Whiskered Tern 1 - molting out of breeding plumage
7. Gray Heron 8
8. Changeable Hawk-Eagle 1
9. Chinese Sparrowhawk 1
10. Brahminy Kite 1
11. White-bellied Sea-Eagle 1
12. Gray-headed Fish-Eagle 1
13. White-throated Kingfisher 1 - Heard
14. bee-eater sp. 2
15. Black-naped Oriole 1
16. Malaysian Pied-Fantail 1 - Heard
17. Ashy Tailorbird 2 - Heard
18. Pacific Swallow 5
19. Yellow-vented Bulbul 1
20. Asian Glossy Starling 2

At Serangoon Tidal Gates, I got Pied Triller.

This Crenate Swimming Crab Thranita crenata.

And this Short-winged Rice Grasshopper Pseudoxya diminuta.

1. Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 2
2. Spotted Dove 1
3. Zebra Dove 4
4. dark swiftlet sp. 2
5. Red-breasted Parakeet 5
6. Pied Triller 2
7. Black-naped Oriole 2
8. Common Iora 1
9. Brown Shrike 1
10. House Crow 1
11. Common Tailorbird 1
12. Ashy Tailorbird 1 - Heard
13. Yellow-bellied Prinia 1 - Heard
14. Barn Swallow 2
15. Pacific Swallow 3
16. Yellow-vented Bulbul 4
17. Swinhoe's White-eye 5
18. Javan Myna 10
19. Asian Brown Flycatcher 1
20. Baya Weaver 1

Singapore Strait 13Oct12

From Geoffrey

Probably the worst day we have ever had for birds.

1. Great Crested Tern 30
2. Lesser Crested Tern 1
3. Whiskered Tern 1
4. Barn Swallow 4
5. Swiftlets >100
6. Brahminy Kite 1

Dolphins – I thought there were at least three in the first pod, and at least 8 in the second pod (but could have been more), giving at least 11 and maybe up to 15 when the two pods joined up at about 08.20.

Definitely the best day we have ever had for these guys!

From KH

Map

From Con

http://confoley.com/pelagic-outing-october-2012

Lesser Crested Tern. Whiskered Tern

Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin

SBWR, NTL2, Bidadari 05Nov11

From Con

We entered SBWR early looking for the stilt, but no show, so we started walking towards 1C. That’s when we saw a very brown looking kingfisher. I only had my bins, so I left the group and went back to the car to get my camera. Upon return I took this first photo.

It does look rather like a Brown-winged Kingfisher. Then the bird turned and I took another photo.
Oops, just a very wet Stork-billed Kingfisher.

From Danny

Record shot of size comparison between Grey-headed Lapwing with the smaller PGP and the larger Little Egret.

Chestnut-winged Cuckoo at SBWR.

Another record shot of the nape differences between the Whiskered Tern on the left and the White-winged Tern on the right.

The next two are front and back views of the most popular flycatcher (Brown-chested Jungle-flycatcher) at Casperland.

From JS

I found this odd-looking swiftlet in a flock of swiftlets at the sluice gate between Main Hide and Hide 1C. Seeing that the flock of swiftlets (including this leucistic individual) had distinctly forked tail and dark rumped, I spared some time to photograph the swiftlets while Con, Kok Hui and my father went ahead. Unlike the usual notched-tail and white-rumped swiftlets which I am accustomed to, these swiftlets were different, even for the non-leucistic variant.

Leucistic Swiftlet.

Typical Swiftlets.

From KH

Con, Danny, JS and I started off at SBWR before heading to NTL2. JS left before lunch and the rest headed to Bidadari.

Highlights:
1) Grey-headed Lapwing at SBWR
2) Whiskered Terns at Kranji Reservoir
3) Brown-chested Jungle-flycatchers at Bidadari

SBWR:
1) Grey-headed Lapwing 1 immature
2) Red-necked Stint 1
3) Broad-billed Sandpiper 1
4) Stork-billed KF 1 wet individual
5) Oriental Pied Hornbill 1
6) Emerald Dove 1
7) Chestnut-winged Cuckoo 1
8) Black Baza 1
9) Brahminy Kite 1
10) WBSE 1 juv
and storks, the other usual waders, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Arctic Warbler, Common Ioras, tailorbirds, sunbirds, etc.

NTL2:
1) Whiskered Tern >5
2) White-winged Tern >2
3) Little Tern >4
4) Yellow Bittern 1 juv
5) CHE 1 heard
6) WBSE 2 immature
7) BWK 1
8) Yellow Wagtail 2
and the usual Common Sandpiper, egrets (Intermediate, Cattle, Little), swallows, pipits

Bidadari:
1) Emerald Dove 1
2) Indian Cuckoo 2
3) Black Baza 10
4) Sparrowhawk sp. 1
5) Ferruginous Flycatcher 1
6) Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher 2
and Tanimbar Corella, Asian Koels, Dollarbirds, White-throated Kingfisher, Tiger Shrike, the other usual flycatchers (Yellow-rumped, Asian Brown), Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Arctic Warblers, Common Ioras, Oriental White-eyes, tailorbirds, sunbirds, flowerpeckers, etc.

Whiskered Terns at NTL2. Adult non-breeding

and immature.

Orange Mud Crab at SBWR.

NTL2 27Oct11

From Con

Here are some shots of the Whiskered Terns

I counted a max of 9 terns on the railing and I think they were all whiskered. I think we had a white winged tern fly by, but I don’t think he landed. In the shots that follow I processed more of the ones with longer “side burns” because they are perhaps more easily confused with white winged terns.

NTL2, SBWR 26Oct11

From KH

Con, Danny and I spent Deepavali birding at NTL2 and SBWR. Here are the hightlights:

1) 2.5-m-long King Cobra at SBWR
2) Whiskered Terns at Kranji Reservoir
3) Black-tailed Godwit and GSP at SBWR

NTL2:
1) Black-winged Kite 1
2) CHE 1 heard
3) Osprey 1
4) Accipiter spp. 2
5) WBSE 2
6) Brahminy Kite 1
7) Whiskered Tern >6
8) White-winged Tern >3
9) Yellow Bittern 3
10) Lesser Coucal 3 including 1 hopping on ground
11) Common KF 3
12) Blue-throated BE >2 still around
13) Blue-tailed BE >2 have arrived
14) Brown Shrike >1
15) Yellow Wagtail 1
and the usual White-throated & Collared Kingfishers, Dollarbirds, Red-breasted Parakeets, crows, bulbuls, swallows, ioras, mynas, sunbirds, swiftlets.

NSRCC:
1) Yellow Wagtail 1

SBWR:
1) Black-tailed Godwit 1
2) Greater Sand-plover 1
3) Broad-billed Sandpiper >2
4) Red-necked Stint >16
5) Great Egret 2
6) Intermediate Egret 1
7) Cattle Egret 1
and the usual LSP, PGP, sandpipers (Marsh, Curlew, Common), whimbrels, redshanks, greenshanks, Little Egrets.

KNT:
1) Copper-throated Sunbird 1 pair

From Danny

Refer 1st pic - single Whiskered with two White-winged Terns. Thicker bill and larger gist for the Whiskered with eye-stripe extended to nape. Looking towards higher quality pic from Con.

Thx to Kok Hui's patience for spotting the only GSP among the hundreds of LSP, not once but twice. Attached pic showing the classic differences between the two species, namely head shapes, size/shape of eyes, yellow legs (snuggled below body of GSP) & most critical the size/thickness/shape of bill.

From Con

Thanks for spending the time to dig this Greater Sand-plover out of the sea of Lesser Sand-plovers and keeping it there while I went back to the car to get my camera.

Not the best of images, but at least something with a largish bill and yellowish legs .... although David Bakewell did say in his course that some Lesser Sand-plovers also have yellowish legs, but I forget if this was adult, juvenile or only on Halloween.

2.5-m-long King Cobra sighted at SBWR today at the Main Hide end of main bridge.

http://npss.org.sg/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9006&p=80958#p80953

NTL2 18Nov09

From SY

Mr Pun and I went Neo Tiew Lane 2 yesterday and got these shots.

Black Baza flight shot.

Black-winged Kite flight shots.

Whiskered Tern

Long-tailed Shrike

Note the distinctive pale supercilium of the Brown Shrike, which can be seen even at this angle.

Also got an exotic Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans)

and a migrant Swallowtail Moth (Lyssa zampa).