Singapore Raptor Report February 2017

Transcription

1 Singapore Raptor Report February 2017 Chinese Sparrowhawk, adult female, Ang Mo Kio, 17 Feb 2017, by Tan Gim Cheong. Summary for migrant species: In February, 66 individuals of 7 migrant species were recorded. While the 26 Oriental Honey Buzzards were similar to last February's numbers, the 19 Black Bazas represented a drop of more than half compared to last February. All the Black Bazas were recorded at the Punggol - Pasir Ris - Tampines area. Six Jerdon's Baza were recorded, five at Punggol on the 4th and one at Pasir Ris Park on the 12th, good numbers for this species. Of the six Peregrine Falcons recorded, two adults were photographed fighting at Seletar Airport vicinity on the 27th. Three Japanese Sparrowhawks were recorded; two of them, adult males, on the 6th at Changi Business Park and 10th at Bidadari, showed signs of moult, similar to what was observed last February, and had only 4 'fingers' instead of the usual 5 'fingers'. Five Ospreys were recorded, including three over Bukit Timah Hill on the 20th. Two Chinese Sparrowhawks were recorded, one at Kent Ridge Park on the 2nd and another, an adult female, at Ang Mo Kio on the 5th, 17th and 19th. A Crested Serpent Eagle photographed at Kent Ridge Park on the 10th by Gavan Leong turned out to be a 3rd year burmanicus, thanks to Dr Chaiyan for his expertise. This is the second occurrence of the burmanicus form, a short distance migrant from Indo-China, to Singapore. The previous record was in September and November 2014 when an individual was photographed at the Japanese Gardens. Ferguson-Lees & Christie (2001) indicates that malayensis is "distinctly smaller than adjacent burmanicus, cheeks and throat darker brown, underparts more clearly spotted and barred white". Birders are encouraged to photograph any Crested Serpent Eagle encountered and post them online for identification of subspecies. Page 1 of 9

2 Highlights for sedentary species: Crested Goshawk, fledgling, exercising its wings, Ang Mo Kio, 17 Feb 2017, by Tan Gim Cheong. This month, there were significant developments for the Crested Goshawk, an uncommon resident. Not one, but four separate nestings were reported, with a total of 8 chicks fledging from the nests. Unfortunately, the Bedok North nesting suffered 2 misfortunes. First, the male was found dead on the roadside when the chicks were still on the nest. Fortunately, prey (mainly Javan Myna and rats) is plentiful in the area and the female was able to raise the 2 chicks on her own until they fledged. The second misfortune was the removal of one of the Bedok North chicks from the mother on the day of fledging, brought to a vet the next day, given a clean bill of health and released back into the wild on the same day at an unspecified location, to fend for itself. This was due to a series of well-intended human actions which may not have been appropriate. Considering that the remaining fledgling continued to be fed by its mother for another 2 weeks, it would probably be miraculas for the solitary fledgling to survive on its own. The four nestings, together with a few other sightings elsewhere, brought the tally of the Crested Goshawk to an all time high of 19 birds. Other nesting records included the Black-winged Kite at Pulau Punggol on the 18th, with one chick seemingly ready to fledge; the White-bellied Sea Eagle at Pasir Ris on the 26th, with 2 young chicks still covered in white down feathers; and a Grey-headed Fish Eagle on its nest at Jurong. An adult torquatus tweeddale morph Oriental Honey Buzzzard was photographed at Pasir Ris Park on the 14th and 28th. The Brahminy Kite and Changeable Hawk-Eagle completed the roundup for the month. Page 2 of 9

3 Table 1 S/N Species No. S/N Species No. 1 Osprey 4 Residents / Sedentary Species 2 Jerdon's Baza 6 8 Black-winged Kite 3 3 Black Baza 19 9 Brahminy Kite 11 4 Oriental Honey Buzzard White-bellied Sea Eagle 15 5 Chinese Sparrowhawk 2 11 Grey-headed Fish Eagle 3 6 Japanese Sparrowhawk 3 12 Crested Serpent Eagle 1 7 Peregrine Falcon 6 13 Crested Goshawk Changeable Hawk-Eagle 7 Unidentified 15 Unidentified Raptors 2 Total for Migrants 66 Grand Total 127 Page 3 of 9

4 1. Osprey Pandion haliaetus (4) 12 1 Seletar Dam Keita Sin 20 3 Bukit Timah Hill Top, 1 was calling Keita Sin 26 1 Mandai mudflats, 5:40pm Kerry Pereira 2. Jerdon's Baza Aviceda jerdoni (6) 4 5 Punggol East Danny Lau, 12 1 Pasir Ris Park Andrew Chow Jerdon's Baza, Punggol East, 4 Feb 2017, by Danny Lau. 3. Black Baza Aviceda leuphotes (19) 4 14 Punggol East Danny Lau, 4 4 Tampines Eco Green Alvin Seng 14 1 Punggol Barat Lee Chuin Ming 18 3 Pasir Ris Park Danny Lau, Page 4 of 9

5 4. Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus (26) 3 1 Kovan, adult male orientalis pale morph KC Tsang 4 1 Changi South, adult male dark morph Timothy Lim 5 1 Chinese Garden Dani M Queddeng 5 1 Pulau Ubin, juvenile orientalis pale morph Jacky Soh 7 2 Kent Ridge Park Alan OwYong 10 3 Kent Ridge Gavan Leong 12 1 Bayshore, adult female orientalis pale morph Karen Chia 12 1 Clementi Woods Park Jamie Tan 14 2 Venus Loop, 1 was calling Keita Sin 14 1 Pasir Ris Park, torquatus tweeddale morph Ted Lee 17 1 Pasir Ris Park, adult male dark morph Ted Lee 17 1 Ang Mo Kio, adult male orientalis dark morph Tan Gim Cheong 18 1 Forest patch south of 10 Mile Junction, 9am Ulf Remahl 18 2 Gillman Barracks, adults Alan OwYong 19 3 Dairy Farm Nature Park Keita Sin 20 1 Bukit Timah Hill Top Keita Sin 21 2 Dairy Farm Nature Park Keita Sin 23 2 Pulau Ubin, northbound Keita Sin 25 1 Botanic Gardens Lee Chuin Ming 26 2 Henderson Waves, 1 dark morph, 1 pale morph, Jamie Tan morning 26 1 Mount Faber, morning Jamie Tan 27 1 West Coast Road, morning Jamie Tan 27 1 West Coast Road of Singapore Sim Chip Chye 28 1 Pasir Ris Park, adult torquatus tweeddale morph Ho Hua Chew 5. Chinese Sparrowhawk Accipiter soloensis (2) 2 1 Kent Ridge Park Alan OwYong 5 1 Ang Mo Kio, adult female Ender Tey 17 1 Ang Mo Kio, adult female Tan Gim Cheong 19 1 Ang Mo Kio, adult female, evening Ender Tey 6. Japanese Sparrowhawk Accipiter gularis (3) 6 1 Changi Business Park, adult male Dawn Birding 10 1 Bidadari, adult male Zacc HD 17 1 Jelutong Tower, CCNR Keita Sin 7. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus (6) 19 1 Marina Barrage Bridge, 10am Harrier Ming 20 1 Bukit Timah Hill Top, japonensis Keita Sin Page 5 of 9

6 21 1 Lorong Halus, migratory form Joseph Tan Kok Beng 22 1 Raffles Place, perched on 36th floor ledge of tall Lars Persson building, 12:40pm 27 2 Seletar airport vicinity, 2 adults (migratory form) fighting, morning Marcel Finlay Resident raptors 8. Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus (3) 4 1 Pulau Punggol Danny Lau, 4 1 Lorong Halus Lim Kim Seng 14 1 Punggol Barat Lee Chuin Ming 18 1 Pulau Punggol, chick on nest looks ready to fledge Danny Lau, 19 1 Punggol Waterway, adult Zhang Licong 9. Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus (11) 2 1 Kent Ridge Park Timothy Chua Jia Yao 4 1 Pulau Punggol Danny Lau, 4 2 Punggol East Danny Lau, 7 2 Upper Pierce, adults Kristie Yeong 15 1 Punggol Promenade, 6:52pm Kerry Pereira 16 1 Chinese Garden Siew Mun 19 2 Marina Barrage Bridge, 10am Harrier Ming 19 1 Kranji Marsh, adult Betty Shaw 19 1 Eagle Point, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Ted Lee morning 22 1 Tuas Naval Base, 5:15pm Kerry Pereira 26 1 Mount Faber, morning Jamie Tan 10. White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster (15) 4 4 Pulau Punggol Danny Lau, 4 2 Punggol East Danny Lau, 5 1 Chinese Garden Dani M Queddeng 7 1 Tampines Regional Library, 11:17am Kerry Pereira 14 1 Punggol Barat Lee Chuin Ming 15 1 Punggol Promenade, 5:47pm Kerry Pereira Page 6 of 9

7 15 2 Punggol Promenade, 6:07pm, 1 juvenile Kerry Pereira 16 1 Pasir Ris Park, adult Wang Heng Mount 16 1 Clementi Woods Park, evening Jamie Tan 19 1 Eagle Point, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve Ted Lee 22 1 Singapore Quarry, juvenile Ulf Remahl 23 2 Pasir Ris, big nest in a tall tree, 1 adult and 1 Michael Phua chick 26 4 Pasir Ris, big nest in a tall tree, 2 adults and 2 Michael Phua chicks 26 2 Mandai mudflats, 3:02pm Kerry Pereira 11. Grey-headed Fish Eagle Haliaeetus ichthyaetus (3) 4 1 Pulau Punggol Danny Lau, 19 1 Jurong, on nest Ho Hua Chew 22 1 Chinese Garden, adult Yap Euhian 12. Crested Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela (1) 2 1 Kent Ridge Park Timothy Chua Jia Yao 8 1 Kent Ridge Park Timothy Chua Jia Yao 10 1 Kent Ridge, 3rd year burmanicus Gavan Leong Crested Serpent Eagle, 3rd year burmanicus, Kent Ridge Park, 10 Feb 2017, by Gavan Leong Page 7 of 9

8 13. Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus (19) 3 2 Botanic Gardens, 2 chicks on nest Laurence Eu 3 2 Bedok North, 2 chicks on nest Chan Kum Chun 4 2 Botanic Gardens, 2 chicks on nest Laurence Eu 5 2 Bedok North, 2 chicks on nest Chan Kum Chun 5 2 NTU, 2 recently fledged chicks Low Choon How "More Crested Goshawk into urban Singapore? Since the first sighting of a young bird hunting at open field in NTU about 4 years ago, subsequent follow up found me a pair of adults. As compared to other resident birds, they seem to be more adaptable with their varying nesting habitats. The 2 birds shown here are their most recent fledglings." 6 1 Park West Condo, bird kept returning to a window to see its own reflection, and was also seen attacking its own reflection on the window "Photgraphic Fun" 8 1 Mount Faber Terry Heppell 8 3 Botanic Gardens, 2 chicks on branch next to nest, Tan Gim Cheong adult female nearby 8 4 Bedok North, 2 chicks on nest, adult female and Tan Gim Cheong male nearby 12 1 "dead CGH body on the side road to Bedok from Pan Island Expressway" Jojo Coco This was most likely the male of the pair nesting at Bedok North as the male as not seen subsequently 12 2 Bedok North, 2 chicks perched on branch next to Lim Kim Keang nest 13 1 Bukit Batok Park, juvenile, morning Yap Euhian 14 3 Botanic Gardens, 2 fledglings perched away from Tan Gim Cheong nest, on the same tree, adult female nearby 16 4 Botanic Gardens, 2 fledglings perched away from Tan Gim Cheong nest, on the same tree, adult female nearby. Male delivered a rat to the female on a nearby tree, female ate a bit before bringing the prey to the nest Botanic Gardens, 2 fledglings perched away from Laurence Eu nest, 1 adult 17 4 Ang Mo Kio, adult female and a fledgling perched Tan Gim Cheong high on tree next to nest tree. The male delivered a Plantain Squirrel to the nest and left, the female and both fledglings flew to the nest to feed Bedok North, 2 chicks exercising next to nest Lian Yee Ming Page 8 of 9

9 18 3 Ang Mo Kio, at 7am 2 chicks already fledged Ender Tey from nest, male made soft "we..we" call before delivering food to the nest and the young seen to fly back to the nest for the food, morning. Suspect fledged the day prior Ang Mo Kio, 2 chicks already fledged from nest, Ender Tey still dependent on parents, male seen delivering a half eaten rat, evening 19 2 Bedok North, 2 chicks fledged from the nest, one Sreedharan Gopalsamy in the morning, the other in the afternoon 20 2 Bedok North, 1 fledgling and 1 female adult Martin Edison Lim 21 1 Botanic Gardens, adult Siew Mun 21 2 Bedok North, 1 adult female and 1 fledgling Tan Gim Cheong 25 1 Botanic Gardens, juvenile Doreen Foo 14. Changeable Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus cirrhatus (7) 2 1 Kent Ridge Park, pale morph Alan OwYong 4 1 Pulau Punggol, pale morph, very vocal Danny Lau, 4 2 Punggol East Danny Lau, 4 1 Zheng Hua Park, adult pale morph Michael Phua 11 1 Labrador Park, juvenile pale morph Lim Poh Bee & Margaret Yeo 11 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park, adult pale morph Con Foley, Danny Lau, 22 1 Singapore Quarry, heard only, morning Ulf Remahl 28 1 Paya Lebar, pale morph on the ground in open field, seemed to have an avian prey in its talons Richard Ngo 15. Unidentified Raptors (2) 1 1 Paya Lebar MRT ststaion area, too high to ID, Kerry Pereira 12:35pm 27 1 Yishun Pond, possibly OHB Timothy Chua Jia Yao Compiled by Tan Gim Cheong Note: The numbers in brackets beside the bird names indicates the total number seen for this month. Different reports of the same raptors from the same area have been discounted to avoid duplication. Many thanks to everyone who had reported their sightings in one way or another, and especially to Danny Lau and Gavan Leong for the use of their photos. Page 9 of 9