downtown eaglets @ singapore - Mar 2013

I'm estimating that these white-bellied sea eagle chicks are between 3 to 4 weeks old (perhaps closer to 4 weeks).  [videoclip shot in March 2013].

About 2 months after nest building had stabilised, there were 2 chicks which popped their heads up from deep within the bowl of the nest. It took about two more months before the chicks fledged successfully. This was in good time before the nest failed in strong winds. 

It is not often one gets to see an eagle nest in the middle of a bustling concrete jungle. White-bellied sea eagles are Singapore's largest resident raptor. They are usually seen around coastal areas. Seeing them in Singapore's Central Business District is certainly an eye-opener as these are very large birds with wingspans up to 2 metres across. Good to see another generation of eagles in the busiest part of Singapore.

downtown eaglets @ singapore - Mar2013 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

sea eagle and dinner choices @ SBWR - Jan 2015

The new Eagle Point lookout at SBWR is aptly named as the resident sea eagles do soar by during the day. A good time to see them soaring is during the evening hours between 5pm to 7pm.  Sometimes, the eagles do show off their acrobatic skills when they swoop down to catch fish at the water surface.

Exposed sandbars do present an easy source of stranded fish.

The clip shows an eagle swooping down to the sandbar and sitting beside a white object (stranded fish) on the sand(or maybe the fish was dropped by another smaller raptor like the brahminy kite circling close by). However, it decides not to grab it but flies off before spotting a live fish at the water surface. It glides down and grabs the live fish but fails to sufficiently secure it resulting in it dropping the fish.

It flies off before returning and grabbing the stranded fish from the sandbar. It is almost immediately chased by a brahminy kite which had been soaring in the area too. The brahminy had ignored the stranded fish earlier. Perhaps the fish had been too big for the brahminy to carry off but nevertheless, it did its best to chase the eagle. The eagle managed to get away with its dinner despite the harassment by the brahminy. Raptors frequently challenge each other when it comes to food and try to cause the other to drop it.

The first part of the clip was shot in slowmo with audio dubbed in from the forest nearby. The remainder of the clip shares the audio recorded at the scene with several big glass camera motor drives excitedly whirring and clicking.

sea eagle and dinner choices @ SBWR - Jan 2015 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about these local birds and SBWR :

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Haliaeetus_leucogaster.htm

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Haliastur_indus.htm

https://www.sbwr.org.sg/

thieving eagle vs. hapless great billed heron @ Pulau Ubin - Jan2015

I had just started to observe a great billed heron fishing on a shore when another bird flew into the frame snatching what seems to be a fish from the shore near the heron. The incoming bird was probably a sub-adult fish eagle, perhaps a grey headed but maybe alternatively a white bellied eagle.

The eagle flew off with its catch into the adjacent mangrove forest leaving the heron running after it in protest. Too late. Fishing birds have to make sure that they hold on to their meals lest another grabs it away.

Thieving Eagle and hapless Great Biiled Heron @ Pulau Ubin - Jan2015 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about these endangered birds :

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2011/07/rip-great-billed-heron-sbwr.html

http://nusavifauna.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/grey-headed-fish-eagle/ 

http://nusavifauna.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/white-bellied-sea-eagle/

http://singaporebirds.net/npassers_04/white-bellied_sea_eagle.html

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Haliaeetus_leucogaster.htm

http://lifes-indulgences.blogspot.sg/2014/11/great-billed-heron-courtship-dance.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2012/07/fishing-great-billed-heron-chek-jawa.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2010/02/great-billed-herons-big-sister.html

white-bellied sea eagle fishing @ esplanade 11Oct2013

This adult WBSE flew in rather late at about 6.40 pm to do some fishing and on its second pass over the reservoir, managed to find a good sized fish for dinner. It adjusted its flight, dropping almost straight down with a slight swoop before snatching the fish with one leg. Flying off, it secured its grip with a quick look and started flying in a wide spiral to gain height before finally heading off across the Padang.

white-bellied sea eagle fishing @ esplanade 11Oct2013 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

(Unavoidable background music recorded with clip)

Read more about this magnificent bird :
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Haliaeetus_leucogaster.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-bellied_Sea_Eagle
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_579_2005-01-05.html
http://singaporebirds.net/npassers_04/white-bellied_sea_eagle.html
http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/106003359/0
http://www.nss.org.sg/report/f494524f-1SingaporeRaptorReportJan11.pdf
http://www.besgroup.org/2010/01/09/white-bellied-sea-eagles-catch-sea-snakes/
http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/05/white-bellied-fish-eagle-fishing-rat.html
http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/09/white-bellied-sea-eagle-not-just.html
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/birds/raptors.htm

juvenile WBSE @ marina bay - July2012

Heard from a friend (SSeo) that she had seen 3 eagles flying over the Marina Bay area last Friday evening. I had known that there were two adult white-bellied sea eagles resident in the area and which fished in the Marina Bay reservoir area. I had also seen Brahminy kites in the area (and also been fooled by eagle kites flown at Marina South. I had however, not seen a third eagle in the area.

This evening started with sighting the 2 resident adult WBSEs flying in the skies above the Padang / Adelphi / Funan area at about 6.30pm. These soon settled atop the nearby High Street Centre building to watch the sunset...something which they regularly do.

A short while later, a lone raptor was spotted flying above the reservoir area. It kept gliding lower and lower in tighter circles and then dropped towards the surface in a graceful dip before grabbing a fish. It then started flying in an upward spiral to gain height. The undersides of the large wings showed a distinct pale colouration. Its tail region also showed a patch of white. These indicate that the bird was a juvenile white-bellied sea eagle. It will eventually take the distinctive colouration of the adults which have a clear white head, belly, tail and the underside of wings. 

This bird flew off with its catch towards the direction of Fort Canning after reaching a suitable gliding height.

zjuvenileWBSE from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

preening eagle @ berlayar creek - July 2012

Whilst its partner had flown off to a nearby perch and started its morning calls, this white bellied sea eagle was busy preening itself. It reached back with its beak and pulled out a long feather before transferring it to its foot stepping on it. The eagle seemed to pull on the feather with its beak before discarding it and continued preening itself. It then pulled out (not in video clip) another long feather and transferred it to his feet, before discarding it as well.  Shortly after, it flew off across the former BP field towards Labrador Hill. 

It flew low to the treetops and seemed to grab at some leaves from the top of a tree before flying to another tree nearby grabbing at some more leaves. It then made a u-turn heading for another tree on the hill and grabbed a talon-full of leaves which it promptly discarded before disappearing beyond the hill.  Perhaps it was trying to clear its feet of something stuck in it and that 's why it flew to the tree tops to see it if could clear whatever it was being bothered with. 

zpreeningeagle from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

time : about 7.15 am

eagle showtime @ the esplanade - June 2012

The pair of white-bellied sea eagles were flying about the marina basin at about 6.30pm when one swooped down to the water surface and caught a large fish (probably a tilapia) in the light of the setting sun. It flew higher and higher in a spiral  before gliding across the Padang towards its regular perch to start on dinner.

eagle showtime @ the esplanade - June 2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

I expected to see the eagle get dive-attacked by the area's resident peregrine falcon but this did not happen this evening as the falcon was nowhere to be seen. It was only much later that the falcon showed up at the same place atop the Riverwalk as I had seen it the day before. It flew off close to 7.30pm.

falcon @ riverwalk - June 2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

check out these links from earlier in the week :

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2012/06/eagle-v-kamikaze-high-street-june-2012.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2012/06/kamikaze-riverwalk-june-2012.html

eagle clip 1 - nest landg w food @ Paris Ris - 26Dec2011

The eagle has landed...in a rather large nest made of sticks ... in a rather tall sturdy tree (probably Albizia).
It was carrying something in its talons which it seems to have deposited in the nest. It did not seem to eat whatever it was it had carried in but instead busied itself with looking around for about 3 minutes before flying off. Taking off was easy with the strong wind rushing past. A quick hop and a few flaps of its almost 2m wings allowed it to coast away with the wind.

There is probably a young chick deep in the nest which needed the food brought in by the adult birds.
Both adult birds seem (i can't tell which is which) to take turns with bringing food at least once every hour. Somtimes however, the adult may just fly past with the food without bringing it to the nest. It will roost elsewhere nearby and occasionally fly past still holding on to the food. Perhaps it is waiting to see if the resident chick is in need of more food.(?)

Update : 02Jan2012 - having observed the nest for a longer period, there does NOT seem to be a chick in the nest. The adults bringing food back to the nest could just be a 'habit' of bringing food home perhaps to share with its mate.


White-Bellied Sea Eagle
time observed  : about 11.45am
location : Pasir Ris

Read more about this magnificent bird :
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Haliaeetus_leucogaster.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-bellied_Sea_Eagle
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_579_2005-01-05.html
http://singaporebirds.net/npassers_04/white-bellied_sea_eagle.html
http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/106003359/0
http://www.nss.org.sg/report/f494524f-1SingaporeRaptorReportJan11.pdf
http://www.besgroup.org/2010/01/09/white-bellied-sea-eagles-catch-sea-snakes/
http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/05/white-bellied-fish-eagle-fishing-rat.html
http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/09/white-bellied-sea-eagle-not-just.html
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/birds/raptors.htm

white-bellied fish eagle @ SBWR

(long clip 16:58mins)

This juvenile white-bellied fish eagle settled on a dead tree at the edge of Pulau Buloh. It had just caught a fish and quickly started on its breakfast. It gripped the fish with its right leg talons whist the left leg secured the bird onto the tree. The bird pecked at the fish and discarded what must be bits of scale and bones. Small chunks can be seen being dropped by the bird. The entire meal took about 20 minutes before the eagle flew off.
The video clip shows the better part of about 17 minutes. The last few minutes were not recorded as a Paradise Tree Snake had made its appearance on the same platform and this certainly diverted attention away from the eagle which did not seem to be doing anything different from the preceding quarter of an hour.

(There is some distortion throughout the clip as there was a lot of movement by other visitors on the wooden platform and this vibration was transmitted through the tripod to the camera. If you find the audio distracting, please turn off the volume. There was too much distracting human audio input which needed to be replaced.)

Location : SBWR Platform 2
Time : about 10am, Sunday 04Dec2011

Read more about this magnificent bird :
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Haliaeetus_leucogaster.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-bellied_Sea_Eagle
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_579_2005-01-05.html
http://singaporebirds.net/npassers_04/white-bellied_sea_eagle.html
http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/106003359/0
http://www.nss.org.sg/report/f494524f-1SingaporeRaptorReportJan11.pdf
http://www.besgroup.org/2010/01/09/white-bellied-sea-eagles-catch-sea-snakes/
http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/05/white-bellied-fish-eagle-fishing-rat.html
http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/09/white-bellied-sea-eagle-not-just.html
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/birds/raptors.htm

eagle @ labrador nature reserve

Eagle @ Labrador from BeachBum on Vimeo.

This one flew in and tried to land on a high tree but it missed it's footing and had to try again. A rough guesstimate would be that this was a white bellied sea eagle. This species is native to Singapore and can be seen at Labrador Park. It is quite likely a resident at Labrador.

More info and pics :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-bellied_Sea-eagle