little grebes @ lorong halus - 01may2012

Checked on the little grebes in the northern pond. The distinctive burgundy necks were gone replaced by mottled greyish plumage. Presumably, these little grebes had shed their breeding plumage. There were only two adults in this pond. No juveniles were seen.

(long clip = 6.49 mins)

read more about the little grebe ;

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2012/01/two-little-grebes-lorong-halus-jan2012.html

http://www.besgroup.org/2012/04/13/a-family-of-little-grebes-2/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Grebe

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/l/littlegrebe/index.aspx

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3628

http://www.besgroup.org/?s=little+grebe&x=0&y=0

http://www.besgroup.org/2010/04/24/courtship-ritual-of-the-little-grebe/

http://www.besgroup.org/2011/07/04/little-grebe-feeding-on-fish/

http://www.besgroup.org/2010/12/23/little-grebe-struggling-with-a-large-fish/

http://www.besgroup.org/2011/01/08/little-grebe-at-the-singapore-quarry/

http://www.besgroup.org/2008/09/28/little-grebe-piggybacking-chicks/

http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/03/little-grebe-going-out-with-fight.html

crimson-rumped waxbill @ lorong halus - 01 May 2012

Spotted movement in the long grass lining the sides of the reservoir near the northern pond. I had never seen this little bird before and it's bright red eye-band was a real eye-catcher. It did not mind my prescence about 2 metres away and kept flying in and out of the long grass. It seemed to be gathering thin grass stems and then flying off to a spot lower down the granite retaining wall. I just needed to wait less than 30 seconds each time it disappeared for the bird to return to two main areas about 5 metres apart. One spot was deep in the midst of a clump of long grass and the other was in the upper half of another clump of long grass about 5 metres away. Undoubtedly, it was gathering nesting material and was somehow undeterred by me being closeby on the adjacent gravel trail.

I had initially thought it was some kind of shrike but could not find any entry in my copy of Craig Robson's Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia. A check with a friend, (GPH), suggested that it was a crimson-rumped waxbill which was not native to not only Singapore but also South-East Asia.

This bird is actually native to Africa and in particular Eastern Africa. How did it get here? Probably through the pet bird trade as it is not known to be a migratory species(?). It may have escaped from its cage or been 'released' into the skies around Singapore. 

Read more about this beautiful bird here :

http://www.besgroup.org/2011/02/16/crimson-rumped-waxbill-another-exotic-canary/

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/crimson-rumped-waxbill-estrilda-rhodopyga

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=8653

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson-rumped_Waxbill

http://chopo.pntic.mec.es/biolmol/publicaciones/Estrildinae_finches_2009.pdf

tree fa// @ changi coastal park - 06may2012

I'll let the video and the pics show you what happened :

Apparently the winds peaked at 78km/hr at about 1.10pm.

The pics and vidclip were taken at about 6.30pm.

at least 4 trees fell across the beach

some snapped mid-way

the central part was most impacted

chopsticks!

the trees which fell here totally covered up the path

some trees were uprooted whereas some were broken like chopsticks

most of the snaps occurred close to the base of the trees

another section of the path totally covered up

this drink kiosk at the end of Carpark 7 narrowly escaped serious damage.

most of the trees which were uprooted or which snapped were Casuarinas.
Read more about Casuarinas here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/plants/coastal/casuarina/equisetifolia.htm

More information about the storm and its effects :

http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2012/05/about-100-trees-fall-in-changi-beach.html

Location : the boulevard between Changi Carparks 6 and 7. 

woody woodpecker @ yishun ave 1

Was observing a pair of white-bellied sea eagles close to their nest when I was interrupted by a screeching bird flying past me. This was undoubtedly a Common Goldenback woodpecker chasing after another. The chase was rather rigorous and loud with the two birds flying in and around a tree for

some time. After about a minute, they stopped when the bird being chased flew off and the victor remained on the trunk of the prized tree.

It slowly made its way up the trunk. However, instead of flying, it chose to hop up the trunk. I suppose this enabled it to get a closer look at the trunk.

Here is a short clip of the goldenback hoping up the tree :

common goldenback @ Yishun Ave 1 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Read more about this native woodpecker :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Flameback

http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/100600737/0

http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-common-flameback.html

There was even a stamp issued by SingPost in June 2007. 

The goldenback was featured on the 65c stamp!

http://www.singpost.com/downloads/media/press_release/07/PR20070601.pdf

wbse & eaglet & mynah @ pasir ris

Was keeping an eye on the eaglet after the adult wbse had returned with food when a mynah flew in to rest on the branch just above the nest...well within reach of the adult wbse. The mynah stayed for about a minute before flying off to another nearby branch. Obviously, the mynah did not feel threatened by the adult eagle which was busy nibbling some recently dead kill which it had brought to the nest.

eagle & mynah @ pasir ris - April 2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

coppersmith barbet @ pasir ris

Heard the characteristic dull tukh tukh sound which comes from a coppersmith barbet whilst at the Pasir Ris Mangroves. I have heard the characteristic call at other forested locations around Singapore, but have never managed to see the bird in action. I made it a point to search it out and located the tree which I thought it was in by walking around it and listening to the repeating 'tukh tukh' sound. After a few frustrating minutes at each branch looking for what was essentially a needle in a haystack, I did managed to spot it on a high branch near the edge of the mangrove.

There were quite a few other bird chirps from other birds in the area as well as the ding-ding from a passing cyclist.

coppersmith barbet @ pasir ris from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

It stayed on the tree for about ten minutes in total (at least from when I first heard it) afterwhich it flew to another tree in the park about 50 metres away where it stayed and called out for about a minute before flying off again further into the park.

Why is it called a Coppersmith Barbet? This is because of the characteristic dull tukh tukh sound which somewhat resembles the sound made by a coppersmith's hammer repeatedly hitting a copper sheet.

Read more about this bird :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppersmith_Barbet

http://www.besgroup.org/2011/04/06/vocalisation-of-coppersmith-barbet/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/mar/26/4

http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/nis/bulletin2009/2009nis47-54.pdf

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/coppersmith-barbet-megalaima-haemacephala