milky stork buffet @ sungei buloh wetland reserve - Nov 2012

November was a rainy month. It had just started raining when I got to the safety of the shelter on the main bridge. The monotone scene proved uneventful for the most part until the croc showed up close to the main bridge. It did not do much at all except for stay still in the drizzle and occasionally blink its eyes. A while later, a lone milky stork flew onto an uncovered mudbank exposed by the low tide. It soon started looking for food in the shallow water. It dipped the end of its bill into the water and moved its head from side to side whilst walking with its bill slightly ajar ready to shut close the moment some movement was detected within the gap. 

milky stork buffet @ SBWR - Nov2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Interestingly, it used its legs to test the surrounding water trying to scare any potential dinner towards its formidable bill. The clip shows the success of this technique where the bird does indeed catch some dinner as a result. After a few bites, it took off towards the Straits of Johor.

Find out more about this magnificient bird: 

IUCN Red List : vulnerable to extinction due to loss of coastal habitats and hunting pressures

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3825

http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2005/09/milky_stork.html

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

http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2012/03/malaysia-storks-in-flight-sight-to.html

http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2008/11/johor-mangrove-swamps-habitat-for-near.html

http://www.besgroup.org/2010/09/07/milky-stork-sunning/

http://www.besgroup.org/2009/11/23/family-of-milky-storks/

http://www.besgroup.org/2008/12/16/milky-stork-forages-with-an-open-wing/

http://malaysia.wetlands.org/WHATWEDO/WetlandBiodiversityandWaterbirds/MilkyStorks/tabid/1079/Default.aspx

brahminy kites mobbing a raptor @ kranji war memorial - Dec2012

Paid an impromptu visit to the Kranji War Memorial on Dec 23 and saw two Brahminy Kites flying about a tree on the left flank of the plot making a lot of noise. I soon saw the kites swooping down and dive bombing at something in the tree. They kept doing it but I initially thought they were probably dive bombing a tree snake or something which I would not be able to see. Coming around the rear left corner of the memorial building, I saw that one of the kites was taking a break at a nearby bare tree whilst the other continued its chatter flying about the tree. It was then that I saw that there was another bird in the tree and the kites had been dive bombing it. It looked like a large raptor (bigger than the kites) and had a pale-ish head with a black eyeline. One of the kites dived at it so close that it must have come within millimetres of the raptor and the raptor decided to take off after having to duck to avoid the kite's talons. I missed following it as it took off flying low initially and then it disappearing behind a gap in the tree line.

This episode made it clear the the kites were capable of superb aerial gymnastics even in very tight air spaces like that amongst the branches of the tree which the larger raptor had chosen to rest in.

Brahminy Kites are frequently seen eating small prey on the fly carefully holding the prey in their talons and manouvering their feet to within reach of their sharp beaks taking small bites whilst flying about maintaining their altitude. I've not noticed any other bird species in Singapore which does this.

Can anyone tell what kind of raptor it was? My guess is that it could be a juvenile pale-morph Oriental Honey Buzzard or a Changeable Hawk Eagle.

brahminy kites mobbing a raptor @ kranji war memorial - Dec2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

hermit crab house swapping @ Ubin - Dec2012

The clip shows two blue-striped hermit crabs in one of the mangrove pools (former prawn pond).
These crabs were both in Rodong snail shells. I was alerted to some house-swapping action by a knocking sound. One crab was tapping or knocking onto the other shell which was occupied by the other crab.

hermit crab house swapping @ ubin - Dec2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

The loser was cajoled out of its shell by the aggressor and it ran out beyond the reach of the aggressor who promptly assessed the now empty shell. Finding it suitable, it climbed into the 'new' shell leaving its own free for the loser to lay claim to it.  The victor's former shell now empty was free for the loser to occupy which it did without much hesitation. Any protection was better than none and hermit crabs cannot afford to be 'naked' i.e. without a hard shell because their bodies are naturally unprotected and soft. 

With both crabs swapping shells, they quickly parted ways. Perhaps they may meet again on the other side of the mangrove pool ... and another battle may present itself. What a great way to recycle one's home!

Find out more about these and other Singapore hermit crabs here :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/othercrust/anomura/hermit/clibanarius.htm

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/othercrust/anomura/hermit/hermit.htm

http://nakedhermitcrabs.blogspot.com/

brown shrike @ labrador nature reserve - Dec 2012

Came across this lovely little brown bird on the rusty barbed wire fence at the Labrador Park Nature Reserve.

Shrikes seem to prefer perches with sharp ends like plants with thorns and barbed wire fences. They are known to impale prey such as insects and lizards on sharp objects before consuming them. The brown shrike appears to be a winter visitor which appears in Singapore during the period from about October to March. This one is an adult brown shrike as it has a distinctive black eye band. Note the curved beak tip and the long talons. This bird may be small but it is a bird of prey no less.

Find out more about this winter migrant here :

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=5528
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrike

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

http://www.birdguides.com/species/species.asp?sp=122062

http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Lanius-cristatus

http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/environment/NHR/Shrike/hail.html
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/birds/shrikes.htm
http://singaporebirds.blogspot.sg/2012/06/shrikes.html

the uncommon common kingfisher @ ubin - Dec2012

The Ubin mangroves seems to be a good spot for kingfishers.  At least 4 types can be seen with some patience (or good luck). The Common Kingfisher is nowhere near as common in Singapore as it is in Europe. It is rarely seen and is rather skittish preferring to fly off at first glimpse of the all too common mostly upright apes.

The birds seen in these clips may be the same bird or two or three birds which cohabit in one particular part of the mangroves. There were also stork-billed kingfishers, collared kingfishers, and even the rare black-capped kingfisher.

One particular characteristic of the tiny sparrow-like common kingfisher is its ability to hover at a spot. Despite their small size, they can fly past at an astonishingly fast speed...such that all you see most times is a blue blur.

The clips show the common kingfisher flying in and out from perches near the water surface and even momentarily hovering to target prey fish in the water. (Segments showing the kingfisher in action have been slowed down to 12.5% normal speed but even this seems too slow to appreciate the high speeds displayed by the dimunitive speedster).  

the uncommon common kingfisher @ ubin - Dec2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Read more about the common kingfisher here :

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

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

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Common_Kingfisher

http://singaporebirds.net/npassers_01/common_kingfisher.html

http://www.birdguides.com/species/species.asp?sp=84011

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/common-kingfisher-alcedo-atthis
http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2012/01/uncommon-common-kingfisher-lorong-halus.html

peregrine falcon @ ubin - Dec2012

Last year, the telecommunications tower at Ubin village had a falcon on it at the end of October. This year, it seems to have been only seen first in early December. It sat actively looking around high atop the telecommunications tower. It did not seem to be bothered when a circling white-bellied sea eagle and later also a brahminy kite passed close by.

peregrine falcon @ ubin - Dec2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Singapore in within a long list of countries which is supposed to have resident peregrine falcons. However, it seems that the best time to see peregrine falcons is during the Oct to April period. This coincides with the migratory season for Northern hemisphere's winter.

It is thought that the telecommunications tower falcon is a migratory one as it is not seen for pretty much the rest of the year outside the Oct to April period.

Habitat loss due to human development continues to be a threat for seeing these falcons 'in the wild'. However, these falcons are frequently seen amongst high-rise buildings amongst a concrete jungle. They seem to thrive even in high-rise cities.

Find out more about the fastest animal (when in a hunting dive) on the planet :

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/106003622/0

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

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Peregrine_Falcon/id

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/p/peregrine/index.aspx

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/peregrine-falcon/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_sFmeZ5XF0

http://www.besgroup.org/2009/02/04/peregrine-falcon-in-singapore%E2%80%99s-heartland/

http://besgroup.blogspot.sg/2006/12/peregrine-falcon-feasting-on-black.html
http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2012/06/eagle-v-kamikaze-high-street-june-2012.html

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