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

Mid-Late October highlights

22nd October (Bukit Timah summit)

As the period for needletails and raptors passing Singapore during their southbound migration, I decided to hike the excruciating climb of Bukit Timah Hill. At the large fig tree, a pigeon flew in that seemed odd, it was not the usual common Pink-necked Green Pigeon. It was a Thick-Billed Green Pigeon. Nearby, a Brown Streaked Flycatcher hawked for insects.

Brown Streaked Flycatcher

Thick-billed Green Pigeon

Noticing big movements in the canopy, a quick scan revealed the "Flower Cuckoo" aka the Chestnut Bellied malkoha. As it grew nearer to dusk, Pacific Swifts rushed downwards hoping to make it to their wintering grounds in time. Out of the blue, a pair of peculiar swallow-like birds trailed the swifts. Due to the squarish tail, lack of breast band and white underparts, it was confirmed as an Asian House Martin. A great lifer signalling the start of the raptor-watching period.

Chestnut Bellied Malkoha

Pacific Swift

Asian House Martin

23rd October (Raptor watch at southern ridges)

At Telok Blangah Hill, a trip to the terrace garden for the White Rumped Munia was uneventful although a Dollarbird and a Crested Goshawk gave spectacular views. The terrace garden was filled with Javan Munias adding insult to injury while Large Billed Crows viewed the skies in the biggest flock I have ever seen calling away as though they were mocking me.

Dollarbird

Crested Goshawk

Moving to Henderson Waves, a steady stream of birds passed through though most staying high up in the sky. Our count was 15 Japanese Sparrowhawks, the most common acitiper in Singapore, 5 Chinese Sparrowhawks, 6 Oriental Honey Buzzards, 1 Osprey and the highlight of the watch, a Rufous Bellied Eagle.

Chinese Sparrowhawk

Oriental Honey Buzzard

Red Rumped Swallow

Rufous Bellied Eagle

In the evening, a twitch of the Ruddy Kingfisher for an improvement shot turned out to be one of the most memorable finds of this year. While searching for the Kingfisher, I noticed someone taking something in the canopy, Sharing their photograph with me, I immediately beamed in excitement, it was a Japanese Paradise Flycatcher! Without sparing a single thought, I spammed the shutter button. I could not believe my eyes. The Japanese Paradise Flycatcher usually only starts appearing in November and April. All my attempts in April were futile so I did not expect to tick this wonderful bird. Shortly afterwards the Ruddy Kingfisher briefly made an appearance.

Japanese Paradise Flycatcher

Ruddy Kingfisher

24th October (Central Catchment forests)

Photographing birds in Rifle Range Link is one of the hardest challenges for me but it is very productive for birdwatching as the birds are very vocal and the forest birds and migrants are plentiful at Jelutong Tower. We had a great start to the day with a Malaysian Night Heron showing briefly near Dillenia Hut. Other birds heard on the way were Short Tailed Babbler, Cream Vented Bulbul, Blue-winged Leafbirds and many Greater Racket Tailed Drongos with the accompanying "chong chong chongs" of the Pin Striped Tit Babbler. When we reached Jelutong there were hundreds of swiftlets with only one Pacific Swift.  

Pacific Swift

At the trees lining the tower it was filled with bird activity with many Red Eyed Bulbuls and Flycatchers flying around. A Crow Billed Drongo appeared at a distance while the greater racket variety gave much closer. A flock of Thick Billed Green Pigeons gathered at a far away tree. A Black Headed Bulbul also appeared way too far for a proper photo.

Red Eyed Bulbul

Greater Racket Tailed Drongo

Crow Billed Drongo

Thick-billed Pigeon

Suddenly, it started to rain. A Chinese Sparrowhawk and Japanese Sparrowhawk flew past and a Blue-throated Bee-eater gave extremely good views perched right next to the tower.

Chinese Sparrowhawk

Blue-throated Bee Eater

27th Oct Berlayers Creek

After hearing about the Taiga Flycatcher recently seen, immediately after school. Fortunately, Berlayers Creek is situated directly next to the train stop. However my excitement was quickly replaced with distraught as it started pouring. Only a few of us remained, nonchalantly waiting for the bird to appear. With my umbrella in one hand covering my lens, it was hard to scamper with the settings and obtain shots. An Asian Brown Flycatcher showed well and a calling Yellow Browed  Warbler was a nice surprise. The Taiga Flycatcher then appeared albeit too brief for photos. While looking at a Mangrove whistler, my friend exclaimed to me that something flew near me. A quick scan of the mangrove revealed a Ruddy Kingfisher only a few meters away. 

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Yellow Browed Warbler

Mangrove Whistler

Ruddy Kingfisher

29th October (Mount Faber and Dairy Farm)

Hoping for good raptors, a trip to the southern ridges was a good choice. There are various different spots for raptor watching in the ridges. However the best would be either Henderson Waves or Mount Faber. Not wanting to roast in the sun for hours, we went to Mount Faber which was a decision I would not regret. At first, the activity was quite slow with only a Brown Shrike and a few Honey Buzzards. I spotted a harrier which was too fast to ID, that was quite demoralising but soon another harrier appeared. It remained distant but gave prolonged views for a good minute as it soared above the city. All the features pointed to Pied Harrier. Before leaving, a few Pacific Swifts came low allowing for superb views.

Brown Shrike

Pied Harrier

Pacific Swift

While on the way to Dairy farm to twitch a Ferruginous Flycatcher, I received an alert from my friend that a mega rarity, a Chinese Blue Flycatcher had appeared at they very same spot. When I arrived I quickly ticked the Ferruginous Flycatcher and after a short wait, I spotted the Blue Flycatcher. As we were leaving, an obliging Emerald Dove came right next to our feets.

Ferruginous Flycatcher

Chinese Blue Flycatcher

Asian Emerald Dove

30th October

I was planning to go Sungei Buloh expecting to find a Curlew Sandpiper but just before I left the house, I received an alert that there was a Curlew Sandpiper already there. Once I reached the site, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, anxiously hoping the bird won't suddenly take off and disappear. When I reached, turns out, the bird was asleep. Many Whimbrels, Redshanks and Golden Plovers were foraging and bathing in the shallow mudflats. The Curlew Sandpiper finally woke up and gave fantastic views and poses. It even stood next to a Terek Sandpiper showing the difference in their beaks. What a day to end October!

Pacific Golden Plover