Early November highlights

 2nd November

With a great find of a national first at Sungei Buloh, the Black Headed Ibis, I was quite disappointed that I had no time to go when it first appeared. Fortunately, it stayed for a few more days allowing for very good views of this very rare vagrant. There were many shorebirds on the mudflats but the only noteworthy one was a Marsh Sandpiper. It foraged side by side with a greenshank showing the stark difference between them. While returning to the car park, a Dark Sided Flycatcher appeared. At Turut Track, a Red Wattled Lapwing showed appeared by the road with a flock of common Waxbill. A Common Sandpiper perched nearby on a railing.

Black Headed Ibis

Common Greenshank (left)- Marsh Sandpiper (right)

Dark Sided Flycatcher

Red Wattled Lapwing

Common Waxbill

Common Sandpiper

In the afternoon, in the train on the way to Jurong Lake Gardens, an alert from ebird quickly changed the route to Pasir Panjang where just across the station was a Daurian Redstart. Upon reaching, after a short wait, it quickly appeared and gave amazing views.

Daurian Redstart

6th November

Feeling disappointed from the amazing raptor watch on 4th November which I missed due to school, I was eager to get lifers and year birds today. The morning started off with a good start with an extremely memorable moment as I spotted a weird Accipiter flying really low. At first we thought it was a normal Japanese Sparrowhawk. But later, we were notified that it was the 12th record of a Besra! It was identified by its thick mesial stripe and 5 short "fingers"  This would one of the best highlights of my Big Year! During the raptor watch. we also got Eastern Marsh Harrier, Common Kestrel and Jerdon's Baza. All lifers!

Besra

Eastern Marsh Harrier

Jerdon's Baza

7th Nov

In the morning, a raptor watch yielded very little results and could not compare to the great haul from the previous day. Notable highlights would be a peregrine falcon and Grey Faced Buzzard. A Jerdon's and Black Baza provided good views whilst a more common resident Changeable Hawk Eagle drifted by.

Peregrine Falcon(left)- Oriental Honey Buzzard(right)

Black Baza

Grey Faced Buzzard

Changeable Hawk Eagle

Jerdon's Baza

In the afternoon, we made a last minute decision to explore the rural Sungei Tengah. It was a deserted area with tons of farms and fenced up fields. Along the roads there were hundreds of swallows. Most of them were Barn but a few Red Rumped and Pacific resided in among them. They would occasionally perch on the wires or fence with one of them even being the rare rufous bellied subspecies.

    Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow(rufous-bellied)

Numerous Blue Tailed Bee-eaters provided superb views from the car but once you left the vehicle they would take off. A pair of Black Winged Kites hunted in the area displaying its hovering behaviour. Shrikes were also a common sight with Brown Shrikes and Long Tailed Shrikes along the fences.

 

 

Blue-tailed Bee-eater

Black-winged Kite

Long-tailed Shrike

However, the star of the show would be my lifer, the Black Drongo. As our car drove deeper and deeper into the rural farmland, I noticed one of the many silhouettes lining the fence was distinctively different, a quick glance using the binocs confirmed it was our target. Slowly but surely, our car inched towards the bird and we got full-frame views of the bird. The adrenaline dissipated as a truck zoomed past, spooking the bird. What a great compensation for the lackluster raptor watch this morning. I would gladly take stunning views of a Black Drongo over a pixel of a rare raptor!

Black Drongo

 Following that, all my raptor watches were in vain with mostly common species. I would always go on the wrong dates and miss the goodies such as Needletails and even a Short Toed Snake Eagle. Although my luck would soon change for the better on a later date. 

Japanese Sparrowhawk

Crested Goshawk

14th Nov

After my school performance which the rehearsals for caused me to miss many year birds, I was determined to make a comeback. With the recent news of a Indian Paradise Flycatcher being spotted in the World Unesco Site, Singapore Botanical Gardens, the day after my performance I immediately went there. As soon as I reached, I missed the bird by 1 minute! After an hour of waiting, it was finally spotted. It was an extremely difficult bird to photograph and with my terrible luck and short height, I could never get an open angle. Even if I was the first to spot it, the crowds would quickly surround me and the bird would disappear the next second. I only managed a few record shots but I was quite content.

Indian Paradise Flycatcher

While walking out to the MRT station, I encountered a nightjar sleeping soundly despite the many park-goers walking past and noisily chatting. Botanical gardens is probably the best place to see these elusive nocturnal birds. At the eco lake, I was once again interrupted on my return journey, as a Stork-billed Kingfisher was screaming his lungs out. 

Large Tailed Nightjar

Stork Billed Kingfisher

15th Nov

A raptor watch in the morning was uneventful with only a nice Male Jap Sparrowhawk and Oriental Honey Buzzard.

Japanese Sparrowhawk

Oriental Honey Buzzard

In the evening, a wader watch at Sungei Buloh produced B5 the Terek Sandpiper. Barn Swallows were also on the wires along the road. However, my attention was quickly averted to the dinosaur-like calls of the Great Billed Heron. It never fails to impress me with how majestic it is!

Terek Sandpiper

Barn Swallow

Great Billed Heron

At Sungei Tengah, the swallows were still as obliging as ever. The Black Drongo was not present and the Black Winged Kite was far away satisfied with its meal.  An Osprey flew directly over our heads.

Barn Swallow

Black-winged Kite

 

Long Tailed Shrike

Osprey

16th Nov

10 days after my sighting of the 12th record of a Besra. Who would have thought I would find the 13th record on this fateful morning! However, the next sighting was unforgettable. After many failed attempts and many dips, a majestic Greater Spotted Eagle soared above our heads. I melted on the floor in pure unfiltered joy.

Besra

Greater Spotted Eagle