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The Singapore Big Year 2014

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Another birding year has just passed. 2014 was a busy year for me birding-wise, and towards the end of it, this blog was inactive as I spent my time finishing my Big Year.

A Big Year in birding parlance is a competition among birders to see the most number of bird species within a year (January 1 to December 31) and within a certain territory (in this case Singapore). Unlike other countries, Singapore is rather small so the adventure and logistics parts of it were rather tame in comparison to what the Americans do for example. To keep things interesting, I promised myself that I will only count a bird species if I managed to photograph it.

This was my second Big Year. In 2012, I participated and managed to finish joint fourth with a bird count of 260. That year, Lim Kim Seng managed a record-breaking 265 bird species. I thought I did relatively well and kept up with the leaders right until the last days of the competition. And I made lots of friends and learnt quite a lot about birds then.

On my second attempt in 2014, quite a number of the 2012 participants did not take part. Can’t blame them. It is a year long affair that really is very tiring. I am happy that there were a few bird photographers joining in the fun this time as well. While it was a competition, we never took it to extremes, and shared lots of bird sighting information amongst us. I felt good this time around, as my birding knowledge has improved compared to 2012 and social media made sharing of sighting information much easier.

So how did I do?

I managed to photograph 261 bird species. An improvement of 1 bird. But that was enough for me to top the competition this time around. Perhaps some of the others were feeling fatigue from doing yet another Big Year. In fact, it will be a very long time before I even contemplate another one. I do highly recommend that new birders attempt it at least once though. You will learn a lot about bird identification, their behaviour and their habitat.

The highlight of the year was the discovery that the wintering ground of the Sakhalin Leaf Warbler is in South-east Asia. My contribution to this was made during the Big Year, when I managed to record the song that it sang (which confirmed its identity), while photographing the bird at Dairy Farm Nature Park. It is not everyday that we make an ornithological discovery for the region!

Other highlights include the first Singapore photographs of the Asian House Martin and Gull-billed Tern, and the rediscovery of the Yellow-eared Spiderhunter that was last seen in 2006. Other participants saw the rare Chestnut-cheeked Starling, Thick-billed Flowerpecker, Oriental Scops Owl and there were reports of Barred Eagle Owl, Lesser Adjutant and Malaysian Eared Nightjar.

On the other hand, 2014 also was marked with closure (permanent, temporary and imminent) of many places that provided good habitat for birds. This include Changi grassland, Punggol Barat, Bukit Timah summit, Kranji marsh and lastly Bidadari.

The album below is the complete 261 bird species photographed by me. Pardon the quality of some of them, which were often done in haste.

 

(Warning: The album / carousel may load slowly due to the number of pictures in the album)

Photo Album

A Green Broadbill in Singapore

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The Green Broadbill is a small green bird that is in the broadbill family. It is found in South-East Asia in the lowland and lower montane forest. Its plumage colour ensures that when it is stationary, it is exceedingly difficult to see. It is known to be a fruit-eater and has a rather weak bill.

It was a resident bird species in Singapore until its local extinction around 70 years ago. Pulau Ubin was at one time well populated with this species. In fact the type specimen for this species is believed to be collected by Sir Stamford Raffles somewhere in what is now the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. He named it ‘Burong Tampo Pinang’.

So what is a Green Broadbill doing in East Coast Park? On the morning of 27 November 2014, See Toh Yew Wai came across a fruiting tree at East Coast Park and notice an unusual bird among the mynas, bulbuls and orioles. He captured a few underexposed photographs and went home to process the pictures. It turned out to be a Green Broadbill on a fruiting fig tree.

Where did it come from? There is speculation that it may have been an escapee, as both the Jurong Bird Park and allegedly some bird shops carry this species. Another intriguing prospect is that it is a genuinely wild bird that dispersed from the forest of southern Johor.

What is the supporting evidence for the dispersal theory?

For one, Wells (2007) mentioned that this bird species may be a genuine long distance disperser. The relevant paragraph reads: “On three nights in December 1968, a total four Green Broadbills flew into mist-nets set around floodlights on the crest of the Main Range at Fraser’s Hill (BR 1968). At the time, they were considered likely to have been attracted up the slope to insects swarming around lights (BMP5), but the species has since been shown not to occur in Montane forests and genuine distant dispersal (cf. frugivorous pigeons of Lowland forest: Volume 1) is a possibility.”

Secondly there has been another ‘extinct’ broadbill species that reappeared at Pulau Ubin, the Black-and-red Broadbill. Another broadbill seen on a fruiting tree. So the prospect of broadbills being able to travel across the narrow Johor Strait is a distinct possibility.

What about the unlikely location of the sighting? East Coast Park does not seem to be what one would consider a forest. Yet, on the same day that this broadbill was seen, another 10 Cinereous Bulbuls were seen at the same location. The even rarer Streaked Bulbul was heard near this location a few weeks back as well. It seems to be that there is a dispersal event happening for the bulbuls and East Coast Park seems to be one of the hotspots for this event.

So which is which, an escapee or a wild bird from Johor? That will be decided by others. In the meantime, here are some photos and video that I took in the evening.

Video:

Photo Gallery:

 

Reference:
1. Wells, D. R., 2013. Raffles at Macritchie Forest? An overlooked collecting ‘first’ for Singapore, with consequences for avian nomenclature. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology
2. Wells, D. R., 2007. The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 2, Passerines.

A pair of Peregrine Falcons

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The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) a fearsome bird of prey that is reputed to be the fastest recorded bird in flight. When it swoops down to hunt for its prey which are normally other birds, the speed recorded is well in excess of 389 km/h.

In Singapore we have two subspecies, ennesti which is considered a resident subspecies in the region although rarely seen in Singapore itself, and japonensis which is the migratory subspecies that comes during the winter months, mainly from northeast Siberia to Kamchatka and Japan.

On a recent morning lookout at Kent Ridge Park before work, I was observing two squawking Tanimbar Corellas that suddenly flew around in circles. Thinking they were quarrelling, I took the opportunity to track one of them. As it flew around, another bird appeared suddenly. I sensed that it was not the Tanimbar. It was flying straight on at great speed and I immediately switched focus. As I acquired focus and clicked the shutter, it seems to have a confrontation with another bird and I thought one of the Tanimbar was a victim. It happened too fast, but I saw the bird barely escaping. In a split second the action was done and the two birds disappeared.

On checking the pictures, I realised that I had first seen an adult japonensis Peregrine Falcon with legs out that was intent to grab on to a juvenile Peregrine Falcon. The juvenile just has enough time to turn its body around facing the adult that was less than a metre away in mid-air. It somehow managed to manoeuvre itself away and behind the attacking adult and escaped unharmed.

The sighting of two Peregrine Falcons itself is not common, but the attack of one against another made my photographic day. Below is the sequence of events in photographic form with explanation of the scene.

 

Photo Gallery

Pacific Reef Heron at Seletar Dam

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I have written previously about the Pacific Reef Heron (Egretta sacra) here before.

The last time I saw a dark-morph Pacific Reef Heron at Seletar Dam was in 2012. So it was a pleasant surprise when I bumped into it again a few days back. The tide was receding in the evening at the beach and I was monitoring the waders there. Nonetheless it was still a bit high when I arrived. The heron saw me and promptly flew away to the jetty near the patch of mangrove. Hidden away, I didn’t track its presence, but instead sat down to await the waders arrival.

As one Common Sandpiper landed at the mangrove area, my binoculars pointed to that direction and next to it was the heron, neatly camouflaged by its greyish colour. I approached nearer to photograph it, but the soft mud prevented me moving too close.

A few minutes later, it decided that the tide was sufficiently low for it to start feeding so it flew considerably closer and I had to retreat to the nearby rocks. As I sat there, it went about its business of wading in the shallow waters to look for food. A few unsuccessful pecks yielded seaweed, and so it decided to be closer to land and came towards me at the rocks. It was searching for food and it seem more successful picking up foodstuff between the rocks. I could not see what it was picking up, but it spent quite a long time moving between the rocks and pecking away.

At times, it came too near me and I had to signal to it my presence by standing up. This prompted it to retreat slowly.

As the tide retreated further, it started flying towards the sandier part of the beach and again started looking for food. I saw it picking up a few pieces of organic material but no crustacean so it threw them away. By that time, I was more interested in the waders that was streaming it, so I left it to feed by itself.

In all the time I was watching it, it alternated between the mangrove patch, the shallow waters, the rocks and the sandy beach. When not looking for food, it stood on rocks or trees. Once it was active, it preferred a hunched appearance, walking calmly and deliberately with its eye scanning intently.

 
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Satyr Tragopan in Bhutan

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If the Himalayan Monals are the most dazzling member of the pheasant family in Bhutan, and the Blood Pheasants are the ones with the most character, the Satyr Tragopan must surely hold the title of the most elegant.

The Satyr Tragopan (Tragopan satyra) is also known as the Crimson Horned Pheasant. That describe the male bird perfectly. The crimson refers to the plumage and horn refers to the two fleshy blue horns that project above the eye during male displays. The female on the other hand is a drab brown bird.

We had the first opportunity to see the male bird on the way down from the monastery where we met the Himalayan Monals. It was late evening, and the light level was rather low when we saw a male by the roadside. Most encounters with the birds of the pheasant family are by the roadside. This time around the bird was actively foraging. The low light level coupled with a foraging bird meant we had a tough choice to make. Up the ISO and shutter speed and get a sharp but noisy picture, or lower the shutter speed and hope that there are times when the tragopan stop to pose. I chose the latter, and as such most of the pictures were unusable. Fortunately there are a few that are of reasonable quality. The thought was that tehre will be other encounters that will result in better photos.

Our next encounter was at another place in the morning by the roadside. This time around, although light level was fine, the background of the road made for a less interesting composition. So in the end, the first encounter was the best. If I were to return to Bhutan, the Satyr Tragopan will be high on the list of birds to photograph again.

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The Grey-tailed Tattler in Singapore

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The Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes) is a medium-sized wader that breeds in northeast Siberia and migrates southward to South-east Asia and Australia post-breeding.

There are two species of tattler birds. The Grey-tailed Tattler and the Wandering Tattler. They both look alike, and both fittingly called tattlers because they have the habit of issuing alarm calls to alert other birds if an observer gets to close. Both these tattlers migrate to different parts of the world, although there are places where they overlap. When they do, the best way to differentiate them is by their call. The Grey-tailed Tattler has a disyllabic whistle, and the Wandering Tattler has a rippling trill.

In Singapore, we only have Grey-tailed Tattlers visiting us. They are classified as rare winter visitors or passage migrants. There are some years where they were not seen at all. Mostly there are only reports of 1-2 birds a year. In recent years, the best place to find this species is at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve although in the past, they have been reported at the sandy shores of Changi as well. In 2011, there was a bird in breeding plumage at Sungei Buloh in late August to early September. In 2012, there was no bird reported, and in the previous season in 2013-2104, there was a bird that spent its entire winter months at Sungei Buloh. This season, there is a bird currently at Sungei Buloh.

The Grey-tailed Tattler has almost the same shape and size as the much more abundant Common Redshank and they like to mingle with the Redshanks for protection. However they can be told apart by a few features. Firstly, they have short yellow legs instead of the longer reddish legs of the Redshanks. As with the legs, the bill is also yellowish base. The white eyebrow stripe (supercillium) extends beyond the eye and contrasts with a prominent dark loral stripe which also continues a little behind the eye. This contrast is really apparent compared to the Redshanks. They also have unpatterned, greyish wings and back.

More observations and comments at the photo gallery below.

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The Terek Sandpiper in Singapore

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August and September marks the start of search for migrant birds in Singapore for most birders. And shorebirds are the first to arrive. During this time, similar looking shorebirds start appearing mainly at our mudflats and our limited shoreline. It is a confusing time for the new birders, as sorting out the various species is not helped by the fact that their plumage and size does not differ much. So here is a short introduction of one of the easier species to pick out, the Terek Sandpiper.

The Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus) is a smaller sized wader that migrates from their breeding ground that stretches from Finland all the way to Siberia. They make a journey of anywhere between 3500km – 4800km to their wintering grounds in Africa, India, the Malaysian Peninsula and Australia. The female starts their journey first in early July and the males and females follow in August. They reach Singapore as early as late July although more commonly seen by September.

The bird itself is rather distinctive. It has short orange legs and a prominent long upcurved bill that is orange at the base. As the scientific specific name implies (cinereus means grey), this wader has a grey back, face and breast in all plumages. Behaviourally, it is a busy looking bird that walks briskly pecking at the surface or probing in shallow water, on soft wet intertidal mudflats and even sandy beaches.

Where can one find the wader and do they appear in large numbers? Normally the Terek Sandpiper will appear at Sungei Buloh, Mandai Mudflats, Seletar Dam. They also appear along Changi Coast, but that location is currently off limits. As they are listed as an uncommon winter visitor, one does not expect a large flock, but perhaps a few birds here and there in any one locality.

This year, one Terek Sandpiper was already reported at Sungei Buloh on 31 August. There will be more to come, as is usually the case.

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The New Zealand Falcons in Rotorua

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Not every trip I make overseas is to the wild. Sometimes, it is more convenient to experience a taste of wilderness when traveling with family members in a more convenient location. When I was in Roturua, New Zealand, I was recommended a nearby place called “The Wingspan National Bird of Prey Centre“. It is a facility that undertake captive breeding and rehabilitation of the threatened New Zealand Falcons. Visitors can visit and see birds of prey up close during interactive flying displays, so we timed our visit for just such an occasion.

The New Zealand Falcon or kārearea (Falco novaeseelandiae) is New Zealand’s only endemic falcon and the only remaining bird of prey endemic to New Zealand. It is a versatile hunter that has the ability to hunt in both forested and open habitats. Nonetheless, it is a threatened species. Like most native New Zealand bird species, it evolved during a time when the land was free of mammals and human. Consequently it nests on the ground, which now means that they are susceptible to modern introduced predators. This, combined with widespread habitat loss, modification and degradation means that falcons have fewer places to successfully nest.

During the flying displays, both a male and a female were set free to fly about and rewarded with morsels of meat once they successfully perform certain difficult aerial maneuvers. This training permits them to regain natural strength so that they can be successfully re-introduced to the wild one day. The males and the females differ in size and looks, with the males only two-third the weight of the females. Although I was not observant enough to differentiate, apparently the size difference meant their hunting strategies differ, so the training for them differ too.

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The Galahs of Queensland, Australia

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The Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla), also known as the Rose-breasted Cockatoo is a commonly found Australian cockatoo that has a rose-pink head, neck and underparts, with paler pink crown, and grey back, wings and undertail.

Like most cockatoos it is a rather loud and sociable bird. In fact in Australia, galah is a derogatory term that means a loud-mouthed idiot or fool. Like most cockatoos too, it roost in tree cavities and gather as a group in the evenings and early mornings. The sexes can be differentiated easily by their irises colour. The males has dark brown irises, while the female have pink irises.

I managed to find a group of them while on vacation in Queensland in September 2012, and took some pictures and made some observations.

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The search for Asian Openbills in Singapore

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The Asian Openbill is distinctive stork is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent and South-east Asia. There are a number of large breeding colonies in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. In the Malay Peninsula, they have only been reported sporadically until recent times.

In early January 2013, a large flock of openbills were found at Kuala Gula in Perak. Subsequently, another flock was reported the next day at the paddy fields of Batang Tiga, Malacca. The southern movement of these large flocks of openbills was an exciting event for birders in Malaysia and Singapore. I personally made a journey to Batang Tiga in mid-January 2013 and found these birds in good numbers.

When these birds journeyed further southwards and started appearing in nearby Johore state, many in the birding community in Singapore started wondering aloud about the possibility of a few stray birds entering Singapore itself. Speculations abound as to the possible landing sites. So it was not unexpected that finally in 22 January 2013, a few were seen in the vicinity of Punggol Barat.

I co-authored a paper that has been published in NUS about the status of the Asian Openbills in Singapore with additional notes on foraging and dispersive movements. It can be found here.

I will like to present my account below of the search for them, written on 24 January 2013, the next day after my own discovery.

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