Sand Plover @ SBWR Hide 1D - 9Aug2018 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.
Had a bit of a problem identifying this sand plover. The weight of opinion seems to be that this is a Lesser Sand Plover. It's got a rounded crown, legs which are not quite grey but slightly yellow-green. The feet were black but this could be due to being soaked in dark mud. The bill is also not as long as it should be if it was a "Greater SP'. Without a better picture, it'll have to be an LSP.Thursday, August 9, 2018
Saturday, June 16, 2018
chain reaction fish wave @ Eagle Point, SBWR - 3 Dec2017
The tide was out and the water level around the Eagle Point observation deck was very low. The little egrets and striated herons were stationed at both ends of the circular stand of sticks and they were making quick work picking out the tiny fish which had been corralled within the vertical sticks.
The mounds of tiny clams which had fallen off the sticks and accumulated at the base of the sticks were effectively a wall keeping the fish within the circular patch. There were only a few gaps through which the fish could escape.
chain reaction fish wave @ Eagle Point, SBWR - 3Dec2017 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.
Everyone at the Eagle Point observation deck were surprised by the fish wave which started from the right and moved towards the left and then repeated itself in a counter-clockwise manner as the fish kept jumping no doubt in panic. This lasted for a few minutes before the fish settled down. Is there a moral to this fish tale? Perhaps not all types of schooling is good :p.Monday, November 13, 2017
greenshanks & a murder @ SBWR - Nov2017
The crows had a few moments ago ganged up against the visiting whimbrels successfully causing them to flee for fear of being clawed at. This time it was the greenshanks' turn (and a hapless common sandpiper who thought the greenies were safe to hang around with).
With the crows being repeatedly concentrated within the safe refuge of the wetland reserve due to the crow-culling team shooters regularly lingering outside the boundary of the protected wetland reserve, their numbers have increased to such a level that any species even remotely competitive would eventually be harassed away by the relentless murders of crows. This change in the avian dynamics within Singapore's only wetland reserve seems inevitable given the persistent crow culling just outside.
The crows have also begun their taste experiments with organisms within the muddy mangrove substrate. No doubt they had plenty of opportunity to watch and learn from their shorebird cousins. This puts them in direct competition with the shorebirds which unfortunately have a much less aggressive disposition as compared to the average marauding murder of house crows. This perhaps explains why the crows harass the shorebirds.
greenshanks & a murder @ SBWR - Nov2017 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Bar-Tailed Godwit & Whimbrels @ Pulau Sekudu
Ventured to Chek Jawa on 23Sep2017 a bit too late as the tide was fast rising. Some shorebirds had flown to Pulau Sekudu to roost on the granite boulders. There were a handful of about 15 whimbrels and a lone bar-tailed godwit along with some common sandpipers and what could be a grey plover. The video clip shows the bar-tailed godwit amongst the whimbrels as the wind picked up before a sudden downpour. The birds moved to another part of the island to avoid the worst of the strong winds which preceded the rain.
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Yishun Dam shorebird primer @ 9Aug2017 PM
The Yishun Dam sees quite a number of shorebirds throughout the July to April months. Hearing that there were lesser sand plovers and whimbrels reported at the dam, i paid the dam a visit in the evening of 9Aug2017. It was a moderate low tide of about 1.0m at about 6.15pm and there was a bit of the mudflat exposed.
An average of two counts gave a number of 65 lesser sand plovers and 1 little egret on the mudflat near the dam. There were no whimbrels though. The presence of fishermen wading about at the shore area to the left of the mudflat was enough for some of the LSPs to take flight towards the right at first and then across the bay.
Looking beyond the bay towards the eastern tip of the military training area, there is a sandbar with eastern part of Pulau Seletar in the background. This is about 1250m away (measured via Google Earth) and one can just about make out some birds on the sandbar with a scope.
At this distance, any positive ID of the smaller shorebirds is purely a guess. I'm guessing there were about 70 to 90 LSPs (it was easy to lose count due to the distance and the birds flying about in small groups) at the sandbar. I also saw 3 whimbrels with their distinctive curved bills. I could not make out any redshanks or greenshanks. There were also two great-billed herons walking about looking for food. Discounting what most likely were mynahs, the sandbar seemed to house a rather large number of shorebirds. A conservative LSPs count alone for both the mudflat and sandbar should be between at least 135 to 155.
It is possible that the mangroves and shore area closer to the western tip of Pulau Seletar may also house a good many shorebirds. It is a pity this area is difficult to access....anyone got a boat?
Given the number of fishermen at the mudflat in front of the dam that evening, it looked like the birds were mostly avoiding the mudflat and preferring instead to stay at the faraway (and pretty isolated) sandbar.
Assuming that there would have been a much lower number of fishermen in the morning, perhaps a weekday low tide visit would see more of the shorebirds on the mudflat instead of on the faraway mudflat.
Given the lack of sandbars, mudflats and mangrove areas on both the eastern and western shores of mainland Singapore, the Yishun Dam mudflat and adjacent sandbars serve a very important role in feeding these yearly avian visitors much like how the Mandai mudflat (beside the Causeway) is on the western shore.
One has to ask why the shorebirds frequent these shores? What do these shores have that other shore areas do not have?
Yishun Dam primer @ 9Aug2017 PM from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.
An average of two counts gave a number of 65 lesser sand plovers and 1 little egret on the mudflat near the dam. There were no whimbrels though. The presence of fishermen wading about at the shore area to the left of the mudflat was enough for some of the LSPs to take flight towards the right at first and then across the bay.
Looking beyond the bay towards the eastern tip of the military training area, there is a sandbar with eastern part of Pulau Seletar in the background. This is about 1250m away (measured via Google Earth) and one can just about make out some birds on the sandbar with a scope.
At this distance, any positive ID of the smaller shorebirds is purely a guess. I'm guessing there were about 70 to 90 LSPs (it was easy to lose count due to the distance and the birds flying about in small groups) at the sandbar. I also saw 3 whimbrels with their distinctive curved bills. I could not make out any redshanks or greenshanks. There were also two great-billed herons walking about looking for food. Discounting what most likely were mynahs, the sandbar seemed to house a rather large number of shorebirds. A conservative LSPs count alone for both the mudflat and sandbar should be between at least 135 to 155.
It is possible that the mangroves and shore area closer to the western tip of Pulau Seletar may also house a good many shorebirds. It is a pity this area is difficult to access....anyone got a boat?
Given the number of fishermen at the mudflat in front of the dam that evening, it looked like the birds were mostly avoiding the mudflat and preferring instead to stay at the faraway (and pretty isolated) sandbar.
Assuming that there would have been a much lower number of fishermen in the morning, perhaps a weekday low tide visit would see more of the shorebirds on the mudflat instead of on the faraway mudflat.
Given the lack of sandbars, mudflats and mangrove areas on both the eastern and western shores of mainland Singapore, the Yishun Dam mudflat and adjacent sandbars serve a very important role in feeding these yearly avian visitors much like how the Mandai mudflat (beside the Causeway) is on the western shore.
One has to ask why the shorebirds frequent these shores? What do these shores have that other shore areas do not have?
Yishun Dam primer @ 9Aug2017 PM from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Redshanks @ SBWR-30July2017
The morning low tide was, as usual, dominated by the resident crocodiles (and there were 5 today) including a rather small one just over a metre long.
Then there was a flash of white and red that flew past the main bridge towards the sand bar. Could this be a redshank? One of the over-summering ones or a returning adult?
My first thought was that the two birds seen were over-summering juveniles. This is now some doubt as to whether the two birds in the videoclip are over-summering redshanks which did not return north with the larger group of shore birds in late April. After the main group had left in late April, there were about 7 redshanks seen in the weeks after at SBWR throughout the better part of May, occasionally being seen at the sand bar south of the bridge in the main river.
Given that one of the two birds has a geolocater in addition to the green-white tags, this means that the geolocater bird is not a juvenile and likely did return North (likely to the summer grounds in the Tibetan plateau) in April-May.
About two weeks ago, I had seen one redshank zoom past the main bridge but this was identified solely by a guess after momentarily seeing a very noticeable pair of red legs. This had been my first sighting of a redshank after even the over-summering redshanks had disappeared around mid-May. Perhaps this lone bird has been part of the over-summering group which had found another better place to roost.
Towards the end of the clip, a resident collared kingfisher greets the returning redshanks by dive-bombing one of the redshanks. Looks like SBWR is gearing up for the return of the migratory shore birds in August. It has begun.
Then there was a flash of white and red that flew past the main bridge towards the sand bar. Could this be a redshank? One of the over-summering ones or a returning adult?
My first thought was that the two birds seen were over-summering juveniles. This is now some doubt as to whether the two birds in the videoclip are over-summering redshanks which did not return north with the larger group of shore birds in late April. After the main group had left in late April, there were about 7 redshanks seen in the weeks after at SBWR throughout the better part of May, occasionally being seen at the sand bar south of the bridge in the main river.
Given that one of the two birds has a geolocater in addition to the green-white tags, this means that the geolocater bird is not a juvenile and likely did return North (likely to the summer grounds in the Tibetan plateau) in April-May.
About two weeks ago, I had seen one redshank zoom past the main bridge but this was identified solely by a guess after momentarily seeing a very noticeable pair of red legs. This had been my first sighting of a redshank after even the over-summering redshanks had disappeared around mid-May. Perhaps this lone bird has been part of the over-summering group which had found another better place to roost.
Towards the end of the clip, a resident collared kingfisher greets the returning redshanks by dive-bombing one of the redshanks. Looks like SBWR is gearing up for the return of the migratory shore birds in August. It has begun.
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