changeable hawk eagle - dark morph @ bukit brown - 01May2013

Took a detour into Sime Road and entered the main gate of the Bukit Brown Cemetary when I noticed a large dark bird sitting high on a bare tree. 

It was sitting on a stump whilst the rain drizzled on. I moved around to get a better vantage point to observe the bird. The dead tree it was on was a little behind the banners put up to help save Bukit Brown from development.

The bird was on the branch for about 20 minutes before it flew off. I'm guessing it had gotten wet in a downpour and was sitting high on the bare tree drying itself off.

changeable hawk eagle - dark morph @ bukit brown - 01May2013 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Having seen the pale morph version of this rarely seen locally resident eagle, it was a first for me to see the dark morph version at Bukit Brown. Unfortunately, seeing these rarely seen birds at Bukit Brown will likely soon become history once development plans are put into a higher gear. Already, some trees near the entrance have been cut down. 

Find out more about these rarely seen resident birds here :

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2013/05/changeable-hawk-eagle-pale-morph.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2013/01/changeable-hawk-eagle-pale-morph-bukit.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2012/11/changeable-hawk-eagles-tanah-merah.html

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=31546

http://www.besgroup.org/2007/10/07/changeable-hawk-eagle-pale-x-dark-morph/

http://www.besgroup.org/2007/08/16/portrait-of-an-eagle-changeable-hawk-eagle/

 http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2007/01/changeable-eagle-attacking-colugo.html

http://www.besgroup.org/2006/11/02/changeable-hawk-eagle-and-the-long-tailed-macaque/

http://www.besgroup.org/2007/07/21/changeable-hawk-eagle-nesting-observations/

http://nusavifauna.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/changeable-hawk-eagle/

http://singaporebirds.blogspot.com/2012/06/buttonquail.html

http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Nisaetus-cirrhatus

http://wildbirdsingapore.nss.org.sg/Raptor%20Manual_circa.pdf

changeable hawk eagle - pale morph juvenile @ maxwell road - 4 May 2013

It's not everyday you see a large raptor in the vicinity of the central business district. I had seen the raptor briefly as it flew overhead into a clump of trees on the left side of the AYE-ECP just past the tip of Maxwell Road (this is the southern part of Maxwell Road closest to Marina South). Being only able to reach the clump of trees about twenty minutes later, I thought the bird was long gone. There was only a crow flying about the small sliver of trees bordering Maxwell Road. The crow was however repeatedly flying towards the ground behind some bushes and then up again as if it was trying to harass something on the ground. It was also calling out loud. Moving a little aside, through the bushes, I saw the raptor standing on the ground. It was trying to lift off with something but I was not able to see what it was it had in its talons. It soon flew to a tree branch just about 3 metres away before flying off to better cover further into the trees.  Perhaps the CHE had come from the nearby Gardens by the Bay. I tried looking for what it had been trying to lift behind the bushes expecting to see an injured bird or snake but did not see anything which was the likely target.

zCHEpalemorphjuvenile from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about these rarely seen resident birds here :

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2013/01/changeable-hawk-eagle-pale-morph-bukit.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2012/11/changeable-hawk-eagles-tanah-merah.html

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=31546

http://www.besgroup.org/2007/10/07/changeable-hawk-eagle-pale-x-dark-morph/

http://www.besgroup.org/2007/08/16/portrait-of-an-eagle-changeable-hawk-eagle/

 http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2007/01/changeable-eagle-attacking-colugo.html

http://www.besgroup.org/2006/11/02/changeable-hawk-eagle-and-the-long-tailed-macaque/

http://www.besgroup.org/2007/07/21/changeable-hawk-eagle-nesting-observations/

http://nusavifauna.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/changeable-hawk-eagle/

http://singaporebirds.blogspot.com/2012/06/buttonquail.html

http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Nisaetus-cirrhatus

http://wildbirdsingapore.nss.org.sg/Raptor%20Manual_circa.pdf

an otteriffic encounter @ serangoon reservoir - 24Mar2013

It was a pleasant surprise for the Otter Trail guides to exclaim that there were otters in the reservoir at that moment when we were there. I had visited the reservoir many times before and had not seen any of the resident otters before. This was a good day then. There were apparently 10 otters in the group. I had managed to count '9' but another count by a biologist NParks officer who was skilled at counting mudskippers said '10'. (The clip below shows does not show the maximum counted all at once.)

It was amazing when the group seemed to disappear altogether under the water without a trace in a blink of an eye. I was left wondering where they had swum to and had to look at the other observers on the bridge to figure out where they were.

The Otter Trail bikers had biked over 15km through the Changi Village Heritage Tree trail and the Pasir Ris Park environs (and seeing unusual and rare birds such as the Oriental-Pied Hornbill, and Spotted-Wood Owl amongst others ) were therefore thrilled at spotting the otters (and a large group of 10 at that).

The Park Connector Network is certainly a welcomed neighbourhood feature which enables everyday people to get a good dose of exercise safely and also appreciate the flora and fauna of the area. What better way to enjoy a morning, afternoon or evening? Have a look here for information about the Northern PCN (http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/docs/NERL_Eguide_final.pdf)

These otters have been seen in various parts of the reservoir and surrounding coastal and even in adjacent reservoirs. They seem adept at crossing major roads at great risk to get from one enclosed reservoir to another or to the coast and certainly risk getting run over by the many speeding trucks and other vehicles which ply the roads around the reservoirs.

an otteriffic encounter @ serangoon reservoir - 24Mar2013 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about Singapore's Smooth-Coated Otter :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/mammals/perspicillata.htm

http://blog.nus.edu.sg/sgotters/

http://wetlands.sbwr.org.sg/text/95-2-1-4.htm

http://iyb2010singapore.blogspot.com/2011/09/your-otter-sightings-wanted.html#.UU8CDVuSBdo

http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/03/otter-overload-at-sungei-buloh.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD683_pbAO4 - 2 otters encounter a croc at sungei buloh

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/764752/family_of_otters_make_surprise_visit_at_woodlands_waterfront.html

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00005663?LI=true#page-1

and here is a link to the iccs otters...

http://coastalcleanup.wordpress.com/category/iccs-otters/

sunda pygmy woodpeckers @ pekan quarry, Ubin - Feb2013

The former Pekan Quarry is a good spot for birdwatching. The rainwater collected in the quarry provides for a large body of fresh water which would otherwise not be available to the flora and fauna which can be found in the area around the quarry. Freshwater attracts and sustains an incredible diversity of lifeforms which is all interdependant on each other sometimes in the most subtlest of ways.

Sunda Pygmy Woodpeckers are known to be rather common all over Singapore and so it is no surprise that they can also be found on Pulau Ubin. They can also be found right in the city (see Link) if you take the trouble to look at the small birds flying between trees in the city.

These birds at the Pekan Quarry were busy looking for food on some bamboo at the edge of the quarry. There were insects in the bamboo and the birds did a good job of extracting the insects with their bills and tongue.

sunda pygmy woodpeckers @ pekan quarry, Ubin - Feb2013 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Read more about these birds here :

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

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

http://www.besgroup.org/2011/04/17/sunda-pygmy-woodpecker-foraging/

Visit these links for more info on the NSS Bird Guide App :

http://www.nss.org.sg/nss_group.aspx?news_id=WD4nAJNGyuo=&group_id=yclleUod3WM=

http://itunes.apple.com/sg/app/birds-of-singapore/id513185555?mt=8

singing free-range magpie robins @ chek jawa mangroves - Feb2013

Despite a wet wet February, the Magpie Robins were out during the breaks in the rain to sing their hearts out. A great place to view them singing is from the top of the Jejawi Tower at the Chek Jawa Wetlands. The tower allows for unparalled views of one of the rarest vistas in Singapore (Sadly, these views stand to disappear if & when the area is developed. So, better faster go and appreciate the vistas!).

One of the tall trees close to the tower provides for multiple roost points for various birds from the  surrounding hill and mangrove forests. Naturally, some of the magpie robins prefer to use the branches of this tree from which to propel their song. I saw both male (darker-black necks and heads) and females (greying necks and heads) singing from the branches. Replies could be heard from the surrounding forest as other magpie robins sang their chorus out.

[Naturally, there were other visitors at the Tower besides me. Some of them failed to appreciate the oppurtunity to listen to the songs and chirps of the forest and kept on talking about worldy issues. This explains the background discussions heard in the clip.]

Due to the captive songbird industry which has long held sway since the later-half of the 1900s, the Singapore magpie robin population has suffered greatly as many wild birds were caught to feed the captive industry. Fortunately, it is now illegal to trap these birds and despite almost disappearing from mainland Singapore except in some small pockets of coastal mangroves, these birds have managed to hold on and are becoming less rarely sighted. They can sometimes be sighted on mainland Singapore in the city (like at the roof garden at the Esplanade Theatre in the city and at Fort Canning Park). Another place to see them is at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

Find out more about the rare Oriental Magpie Robin here :-

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

http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/pub/naturewatch/text/a071b.htm - read about how the Magpie reintroduction programme failed - Article by Lim Kim Seng c/o Nature Watch.

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Copsychus_saularis.htm - extract from www.naturia.per.sg

rufous woodpeckers @ chek jawa mangroves - Feb2013

February 2013 was a very wet month with some days having intermittent heavy rain from morning till the afternoon. The penultimate level of the Jejawi tower provided some shade from the light rain and also a great vantage point to look over the surrounding mangroves and forest. It's rare to see so much green in Singapore. 

During the brief lulls in the intermittent rain, some of the birds showed themselves. There were the oriental-pied hornbills, straw-headed bulbuls(quite a few), olive-backed bulbuls, magpie robins, black-naped orioles, pink-necked green pigeons, brown-throated sunbirds, crimson sunbirds, a white-bellied sea eagle, and a great-billed heron amongst many other birds.

A red streak flew across the scene and settled on a nearby tree. It was a rufous woodpecker. This was my third time seeing a rufous woodpecker. The first was also on Pulau Ubin although at the Jelutong mangroves which is on the Southern side of Ubin. The second was at the Berlayar mangroves. 

rufous woodpeckers @ chek jawa mangroves - Feb 2013 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

The bird was soon joined by another rufous woodpecker for a brief moment before the latter flew off to another nearby tree. Rufous woodpeckers are rarely seen resident birds. Habitat loss seems to be the main reason why these birds are not seen more regularly. We need to ensure that our already rare coastal mangroves and forests are conserved.

Read more about this rarely seen woodpecker :

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2013/02/rufous-woodpecker-berlayar-creek-jan2013.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2012/09/rufous-woodpecker-ubin-sept2012.html

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

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=691

http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/birds/woodpeckers.htm

http://www.besgroup.org/2011/02/15/rufous-woodpecker-and-the-air-conditioning-unit/#more

http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Micropternus-brachyurus