Late November Highlights 2022

18th Nov

With a recent sighting of a Lanceolated Warbler at Botanical Gardens, another trip was made to scour the vast amounts of bushes it could possibly hide in the gardens. At the Fragrance Garden, a female Japanese Paradise Flycatcher was very active as it hunted alongside other flycatchers and an Eastern Crowned Warbler

Japanese Paradise Flycatcher(female)

Eastern Crowned Warbler

At the eco lake, a Changeable Hawk Eagle flew by extremely close. The pair of resident Lesser Whistling Duck are very obliging and even though I was only a few feet away it did not fly off. 

Changeable Hawk Eagle

Lesser Whistling Duck

At the healing gardens, a long-staying Crow Billed Drongo was still present and an Asian Brown Flycatcher hawked for insects nearby. A Collared Kingfisher then replaced the Crow Billed Drongo. I rarely see or even hear the Collared Kingfisher in the gardens so I was quite satisfied despite it being a common widespread bird.

Crow-billed Drongo

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Collared Kingfisher

At the Ethnobotany Garden, at the tall bamboo patches, the Indian Paradise Flycatcher was hidden in the dense vegetable, in comparison the Yellow-rumped Flycatcher was much more obliging. As the sun went down and the light dwindled, while I was returning to the carpark disappointed that I failed to bag the Lanceolated Warbler, a sudden flash of orange caught my eye. A quick scan of the nearby aquatic plants revealed a charming tiny Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher which gave more than satisfactory views!

Yellow Rumped Flycatcher

Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher

21st Nov

After a tiring day of school activities, I checked my phone to have a flurry of notifications as news had come that a rare Amur Stonechat had been sighted. It is just a 5 minute drive from my school! My dad who was picking me from school quickly changed directions. Upon our arrival, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me to the small pond located inside Dover Walking Trail. As my white shoes sinked deeper and deeper into the tall grass, and stained browner and dirtier, only one thought encompassed my mind. "Was I gonna dip once again" The voice of a fellow birder at the sight brought me back to my senses. As I regained my breath, panting heavily, the birder pointed out where the bird was and was kind enough to lend me his binoculars for a splendid view! 

Ubin day trip

As it was approaching late November, a sense of uneasiness filled me, there were so many birds I had missed and dipped on. Mostly because of school. I was overwhelmed by the fear of not being able to enter into the top 5 during my Big Year. Most of the birds that I have missed were waders, with the Black-tailed Godwit eluding me by one day and the rest appearing only when I had school. Therefore me and my friend Joshua planned a full day trip to sweep some waders and also tick our a bird that has eluded us for a long time, the Cinnamon Headed Green Pigeon. Going to Ubin is an arduous and tiring task, not to mention the need to pay for a fee for a boat ride to and fro the island, additionally, a taxi is also needed to travel across the island. Despite the ominous dark clouds and the booming thunder, having spent countless hours and probably hundreds of dollars, I was determined to not return home with another dreadful tale of a dip. 

At the ferry terminal, it was deserted save for two idle fishermen, out of desperation to reach early before the pigeons were no longer active, we paid the extra fee. We started off well with Joshua seeing a Lesser Crested Tern which I failed to photograph. As we go closer to the island, Greater Crested Terns swarmed the boat with some flying directly next to us. Joshua joked how he managed to get 2 lifers he would have to pay 10 times the price for in a Pelagic trip.

Great Crested Tern

When we finally reached the living lab where the pigeons were known to occur, the rain started to pelt down furiously. We rushed to the nearest shelter feeling even more despair. We solemnly counted the passing swifts and swallows as we awaited the cessation of the heavy downpour. Out of the blue, Joshua alerted me that two pigeons were heading our way. I thought nothing of it, feeling down from all the misfortune we had encountered thus far. However, the misfortune and disappointment quickly melted away into excitement and screaming as Joshua shouted 

"CINNAMON HEADED GREEN PIGEON!"

I scrambled to his location, struggling to even raise my binoculars as my hands were shaking from the excitement and the cool breeze. That was when I saw it, with my naked eye, the bright distinct name-sake "Cinnamon Head" shone brightly and brightened up the gloomy sky. With its pale greenish body and maroon back, it was truly a sight to behold. As the birds zoomed past the shelter, I felt an immeasurable amount of pride and satisfaction, I collapsed to the floor crying tears of joy, profusely thanking Joshua. Although, both me and Joshua were unable to photograph it (we both left our cameras on the floor) , it was easily the most memorable experience of the year.

At Ketam Quarry, a few Grey Herons were present so was a distant Grey Headed Fish Eagle and Crested Serpent Eagle. Flocks of almost hundreds of Blue Tailed Bee eaters were present. Probably my highest count and a Ruddy Kingfisher was seen briefly by my mom. While waiting for the Kingfisher, it finally appeared! However it was the "common" variety.

Grey Heron

Common Kingfisher

At Jalan Wat Siam, I spotted a Square-tailed Drongo Cuckoo and we heard the song of the Yellow rumped Flycatcher. Flocks of hornbills flocked to the fruiting trees along with an Indian Cuckoo we saw briefly.

Oriental Pied Hornbill

Square-tailed Drongo Cuckoo

At the living lab, many common birds were buzzing about. Common Flamebacks creeped up the tree branches, Pink Necked Green Pigeons flocked the trees. Straw Headed Bulbuls sang their melodious songs. We even got a female Copper Throated Sunbird and heard a Mangrove Pitta. We then heard the calls of a Red wattled Lapwing, at the Mangroves, a pair of Red Wattled Lapwings gave brilliant views!

Red Wattled Lapwing

At Pekan Quarry, there were many Grey Herons and a Brahminy Kite gave close but obstructed perched views.

Grey Herons

Brahminy Kite

At Chek Jawa Wetlands, our first stop was Pulau Sekudu, slowly but surely Greater Crested Terns and Grey plovers littered the frog island. When all of a sudden, they took off revealing Ruddy Turnstones hidden among the plovers. 

Grey plover

Ruddy Turnstones+Grey Plover

At the faraway sandbars of the Coastal Boardwalk, we had very distant views of

36 Grey Plovers

110 Lesser Sand Plovers

5 Red Necked Stint

15 Whimbrels

12 Ruddy Turnstones

1 Marsh Sandpiper

5 Common greenshanks

1 Bar Tailed Godwit

1 Terek Sandpiper

2 Common Sandpiper

1 Pacific Golden Plover

1 Little Ringed Plover

57 Greater Crested Terns

2 Little Terns

and most importantly, my 300th Singapore tick, the Broad Billed Sandpiper!

Bar Tailed Godwit, Grey Plovers, Lesser Sand Plovers and Ruddy Turnstone

Red Necked Stint, Lesser Sand Plover and Grey Plover

Broad Billed Sandpiper with Ruddy Turnstone, Grey Plover and Pacific Golden Plover

Apart from the waders we also got good views of Collared Kingfishers perching on the railings even! Oriental Honey Buzzards,Grey Headed Fish Eagles, Brahminy Kites and White Bellied Sea Eagle were soaring and sometimes hunting for food, stealing from the herons. There was a stunning breeding plumage Grey Heron and we ended off the day with close views of the majestic Great Billed Heron

Grey Heron(breeding)

Collared Kingfisher

Oriental Honey Buzzard

Great Billed Heron

25th Nov

Having dipped on the Zappey's Flycatcher due to school, I was determined to get it. This year we had multiple sightings of Zappey's Flycatcher which is quite unusual as they are usually more rarer than the Black-and-White Flycatcher which was not seen this year. Looking at the reports, it usually appeared at 8am. However, it was already 8:30am with no Zappey's, we were entertained by the many Baya Weavers and Laced woodpeckers. Finally at 9am, the Zappey's Flycatcher, it appeared far away but eventually came close. Luckily not a dip!

Baya Weaver

Laced Woodpecker

Zappey's Flycatcher

26th Nov

At Botanical Gardens, Mugimaki Flycatchers were ever present. One second you would see a male in one corner and in the other corner you would see a female. An Amur Paradise Flycatcher also came nearby and gave great views. Grey Rumped Treeswift filled the skies just before sunset.

Mugimaki Flycatcher

Amur Paradise Flycatcher

Grey Rumped Treeswift

27th Nov

The fields in Seletar are filled with snipes and a King Quail was reportedly seen from one of the fields. So of course, the next day our destination would be Seletar! Wearing boots, we trudged through the tall grass, each step we took, dozens of snipes would be flushed. Greater Painted Snipes, Swinhoe/Pintailed and a few Common Snipes. Finally nearing the end of the huge field, we got our target albeit, I missed the shot. Out of the blue, it started pouring heavily without warning, causing us to tread through the 500m walk back. We were all drenched, but content.

"Swintail" Snipe

30th Nov

At Macritchie Reservoir Park, we managed to record the call of the Sakhalin Leaf Warbler and also got a female Japanese Paradise Flycatcher.

Jap Paradise Flycatcher