2009 December 28

Contributed by Doreen Ang.
This is an edited version. 

AH and I spent our morning at the Singapore Quarry today. AH pointed out the Black-capped Kingfisher - yeah! We saw 6 Little Grebes in breeding plumage - moving around in pairs; a pair of White-bellied Sea Eagles perched together but facing opposite directions - 'laughing' at each other's jokes every now and again ... 'ha ha ha ha ha' on outstretched necks with bills held upright (which in turn never fail to make us smile too); a lone Common Sandpiper, one tail-flicking immature Scaly-breasted Munia, a brief appearance of a Common Kingfisher seen fishing once, an adult Brahminy Kite flying overhead and one Black Baza which circled the quarry before heading deep into the Catchment area. We also heard the deep booming call of a Greater Coucal 'who? who? who? who?' - (we girls will glady tell you who you are if only you'd show up) and the distant whistle of a Common Hill Myna.

Over at the Singapore Botanic Garden, thanks to Pauline, we saw the Hooded Pitta and just as we're about to give up at 1pm, AH got excited when she spotted the Malayan Night Heron standing still out in the open, staring skywards ... hmmm, we're hoping all the flashlights had not damaged its eyes?

foldable bike

changi airport butterfly garden

chocolate pansy on the left, grey sailor on the right

chocolate pansy

grey pansy

great eggfly (male)

leopard lacewing (male)

leopard lacewing (female)

lacewing

clipper

archduke (female)

crow

Prenn waterfall, Dalat, Vietnam

Sculptures - Botanic

2009 November 22 - Botanic

1. Lesser Whistling Duck ##
2. Common Goldenback
3. Common Kingfisher
4. Stork-billed Kingfisher
5. Collared Kingfisher - heard
6. Blue-throated Bee-eater
7. Blue-tailed Bee-eater
8. Asian Koel - heard
9. Brown-backed Needletail - unconfirmed
10. Common Pigeon
11. Spotted Dove
12. White-breasted Waterhen
13. Black Baza - 6 in the sky
14. Brahminy Kite
15. White-bellied Sea Eagle
16. Striated Heron
17. Tiger Shrike
18. Black-naped Oriole
19. Oriental Magpie-robin ##
20. White-vented Myna
21. Yellow-vented Bulbul
22. Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
23. Olive-backed Sunbird
24. Eurasian Tree Sparrow

2009 November 21

Seen at Kranji dam carpark, Neo Tiew Lane 2 & Kranji Sanctuary Golf Course.

1. Common Goldenback
2. Blue-throated Bee-eater
3. Asian Koel - heard
4. Spotted Dove
5. Zebra Dove
6. Pink-necked Green Pigeon
7. Common Sandpiper
8. White-winged Tern - unconfirmed
9. Brahminy Kite - 3 in the sky
10. White-bellied Sea Eagle - 3 in the sky
11. Changeable Hawk-eagle ## - 1 in the sky
12. Little Egret
13. Purple Heron ##
14. Yellow-billed Egret
15. Cattle Egret
16. Yellow Bittern
17. Golden-bellied Gerygone
18. Brown Shrike
19. Long-tailed Shrike
20. House Crow
21. Black-naped Oriole
22. Pied Triller
23. Common Iora
24. Asian Brown Flycatcher
25. White-vented Myna
26. Barn Swallow
27. Pacific Swallow
28. Yellow-vented Bulbul
29. Common Tailorbird
30. Brown-throated Sunbird
31. Olive-backed Sunbird
32. Eurasian Tree Sparrow - Kranji Sanctuary Golf Course
33. Grey Wagtail - Kranji Sanctuary Golf Course
34. Paddyfield Pipit

2009 November 7 - Dairy Farm

1. White-throated Kingfisher - 3 at quarry
2. Black-capped Kingfisher - 1 at quarry
3. Long-tailed Parakeet - small flock
4. Spotted Dove
5. Black Baza - 14 flying overhead
6. White-bellied Sea Eagle - 1 flying overhead
7. Little Grebe - 3 (1 in breeding plumage)
8. Black-naped Oriole
9. Asian Glossy Starling
10. White-vented Myna
11. Barn Swallow
12. Pacific Swallow
13. Yellow-vented Bulbul
14. Olive-winged Bulbul - 1 on way to Wallace education centre
15. Oriental White-eye - small flock near adventure centre
16. Striped Tit-babbler
17. Orange-bellied Flowerpecker - 1 juvenile near adventure centre
18. Olive-backed Sunbird
19. Eurasian Tree Sparrow

sculptures - orchard road

2009 October 24 - Bidadari

Article and photo contributed by Doreen Ang.

This is an edited version.

AH, NK and I birded at Bidadari this morning .. yeah we've been out of action for far too long. From our short list of 32 species, here are some of the highlights:

• Hawk-cuckoo spp - poss Malaysian - 1 fidgety bird - unable to get close for positive i.d.
• Crested Honey-buzzard (see photo - from tail bands, maybe an immature?) - 1 - calling from its perch on an albizia
• Tiger Shrikes - 2
• Crow-billed Drongo - 1
• Asian Paradise Flycatcher - 1 first seen around a Tembusu
• Asian Brown Flycatchers - 3-4
• Yellow-rumped Flycatcher - 1 first-winter male, 2 white wing bars instead of wing patch and some black above its yellow rump.

Seen also were 2 Tanimbar Corellas. Pardon the pun, but in the still of the morning their squawkings would have made some turned in their graves! One of the birds was later seen chasing away 2 stubborn Dollarbirds. AH was fascinated by a male Brown-throated Sunbird ... it stopped calling and remain 'glued' to its perch even when we closed in. Last but not least, we were surprised to find not one but four Common Hill Mynas at Bidadari.

Apart from the Crested Honey Buzzard, there was also an immature White-bellied Sea Eagle and one unidentified raptor.

2009 October 11 - red-breasted parakeets

Time : 1010hr
Weather : hot and sunny
Location : junction of Changi Road and Lorong Sarina

Four red-breasted parakeets perched atop a sea-apple tree.

2009 July 4 - Hort Park

seen at HortPark

ladies' finger

penguins in granite
banana

bittergourd

old cucumber

brinjal

roselle

japanese cucumber

2009 June 27 - Dairy Farm

Article and photo contributed by Doreen Ang.
This is an edited version.

NK, AH and I were at Dairy Farm today from 0745-1030h. Here are some interesting sightings to share:

1. Coppersmith Barbet - An immature barbet busy preening itself atop a bare tree.
2. Long-tailed Parakeet - An immature parakeet calling (an interesting call) from its perch for about 10 minutes.
   
3. Red-breasted Parakeet - An immature parakeet with grey face in the company of adult birds on an Albizia. It was seen drinking water from a hollow in a stump.
4. Eurasian Tree Sparrow - Lots around but we saw one individual with nest materials in its bill on a fence. It was seen flying into the roof of a nearby building.
5. Oriental White-eye - A fledgling begging for and receiving food from an adult from its perch just below the canopy of a short tree.

We also met two lucky, beaming ladies - one had a durian!!!!!!!!

2009 June - wise words

some wise words seen on a bumboat from Pulau Ubin.

2009 March - Fraser's Hill

List of birds sighted at Fraser's Hill, Malaysia, from 21 March 2009 till 25 March 2009.

1. Oriental Honey-buzzard (jeriau waterfall)
2. Black Eagle (jalan richmond, jeriau waterfall)
3. Blyth's Hawk-eagle (jeriau waterfall)
4. Mountain Imperial Pigeon (hemmant trail - 1 seen collecting nesting materials)
5. Little Cuckoo-dove
6. Large Hawk cuckoo (jalan richmond - heard only)
7. Green-billed Malkoha (telekom loop, jalan lady maxwell)
8. Edible-nest Swiftlet (telekom loop)
9. House Swift
10. Orange-breasted Trogon (jalan richmond)
11. Red-headed Trogon (hemmant trail)
12. Great Hornbill (jeriau waterfall)
13. Fire-tufted Barbet
14. Gold-whiskered Barbet (gap)
15. Black-browed Barbet
16. Greater Yellownape (jalan richmond, jelai resort)
17. Lesser Yellownape (jalan lady maxwell)
18. Silver-breasted Broadbill (jeriau waterfall)
19. Pacific Swallow
20. Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike (jalan lady maxwell)
21. Javan Cuckooshrike [Malaysian Cuckoo-shrike] (jalan lady maxwell)
22. Fiery Minivet (gap)
23. Grey-chinned Minivet
24. Scarlet Minivet
25. Blue-winged Leafbird
26. Orange-bellied Leafbird
27. Black-crested Bulbul
28. Yellow-vented Bulbul (jeriau waterfall)
29. Ochraceous Bulbul
30. Mountain Bulbul
31. Bronzed Drongo
32. Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo
33. Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (gap)
34. Black-and-Crimson Oriole
35. Green Magpie (jelai resort)
36. Large-billed Crow (near mosque)
37. Sultan Tit (telekom loop)
38. Blue Nuthatch (telekom loop)
39. Golden Babbler
40. Black Laughingthrush (gap)
41. Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush
42. Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush (jelai resort)
43. Silver-eared Mesia
44. Black-eared Shrike-babbler (hemmant trail - male & female collecting nesting materials, constructing nest)
45. Blue-winged Minla
46. Mountain Fulvetta
47. Long-tailed Sibia
48. Oriental Magpie-robin
49. Common Tailorbird (new road)
50. Dark-sided Flycatcher (rubbish dump)
51. Asian Brown Flycatcher (rubbish dump)
52. Verditer Flycatcher (jalan richmond)
53. Mugimaki Flycatcher (telekom loop)
54. Rufous-browed Flycatcher (hemmant trail)
55. Little Pied Flycatcher
56. Large Niltava (jalan lady maxwell)
57. White-throated Fantail (hemmant trail)
58. Brown Shrike (jalan high pines)
59. Black-throated Sunbird
60. Little Spiderhunter (bottle-brush tree next to mosque)
61. Streaked Spiderhunter
62. Fire-breasted Flowerpecker [Buff-bellied Flowerpecker] (jeriau waterfall)
63. Everett's White-eye

Atlas moth at Richmond Bungalow.

2009 February 8 - Rifle Range

Contributed by Doreen Ang.
This is an edited version.

Ian, Freda, NK, AH, Jane and I birded in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve this morning. We walked in from Rifle Range Road and then turned left at the cross junction for a short walk up to Upper Peirce Reservoir. Some notable sightings to share:

1. Olive-winged Bulbul - There were quite a few. Of interest was a pair in a tree at the cross junction - one was carrying nesting material (thin twig) in its bill while the other was twittering away. Both birds later flew down to a low bush.
2. Chestnut-bellied Malkoha (2) mid-storey foraging in the late morning.
3. Common Hill Myna (2).
4. Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot (2).
5. Cream-vented Bulbul (2 - at different locations).
6. Red-crowned Barbet (heard calling briefly in the distance).
7. Drongo Cuckoo (heard only)

We spent quite a while sitting by the reservoir's edge enjoying the cool breeze, serenity and some raptor-watching. In all, we saw these birds in flight over Upper Peirce Reservoir :

1. Changeable Hawk Eagle (1 dark morph & 1 pale morph - separate occasions).
2. Grey-headed Fish Eagle (1 adult).
3. Crested Serpent Eagle (1) - called 'pwee hee, pwee hee' as it patrolled the sky back and forth.
4. Whte-bellied Sea Eagle (1 adult).

2009 February 7 - Serangoon River

List of bird species recorded:

1. Common Kingfisher
2. White-throated Kingfisher
3. Collared Kingfisher
4. Asian Koel (heard only)
5. Common Pigeon
6. Spotted Dove
7. White-breasted Waterhen
8. Common Sandpiper
9. White-bellied Sea Eagle
10. Little Egret
11. Grey Heron ##
12. Great Egret
13. Cattle Egret
14. Striated Heron
15. Black-crowned Night Heron ##
16. House Crow
17. Black-naped Oriole
18. Asian Glossy Starling
19. White-vented Myna
20. Yellow-vented Bulbul
21. Olive-backed Sunbird

2009 January 11 - Eng Neo Avenue

Contributed by Doreen Ang.

This is an edited version.

Good birding was had at Eng Neo Avenue on Sunday 11 Jan. With me were Ian, Freda, AH, NK and Lena.

1. Lineated Barbet - at least 4. Quite vocal. Interaction with other birds - one seen perched among Asian Glossy Starlings and Black-naped Orioles with no reaction from either parties.
2. Coppersmith Barbet - 3. A pair was seen copulating twice in a short space of secs. The encore lasted at least 10 seconds! At one time, the male was seen quiverring its wings soon after he de-mounted.
3. Asian Drongo-cuckoo - 1 almost-adult but skittish bird. A few faint spots were still visible on its wings.
4. Chestnut-bellied Malkoha - 2 birds were seen traversing from tree to tree among the canopy. Could this be a first sighting south of the PIE?
5. Greater Coucal - first heard calling, it was later seen flying across the road into a tree at the carpark. The big coucal flew out as we 'closed' in.
6. Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot - 2 kept frequenting the same dead tree again and again. Not seen excavating.
7. Long-tailed Parakeet - 3 perched on the same tree.
8. Grey-rumped Treeswift - 3 sedentary birds perched on a bare tree.
9. Thick-billed Green Pigeon - 1 male perched at the 'V' of a dead stump.
10. Black Baza - 3 flew across the sky.
11. Asian Brown Flycatcher - at least 5 birds, well dispersed.
12. Straw-headed Bulbul - total 3 birds seen at two different locations. Quite vocal.