Singapore Raptor Report March 2018
Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Tampines Eco Green, on 11 March 2018, by Feroz Fizah
Summary for migrant species:
In March, 150 raptors of 12 migrant species were recorded. Feroz Fizah sought ID help for a raptor photographed in flight at Tampines Eco Green on 11 March, late morning and both Adrian Silas Tay and Lau Jiasheng quickly identified it as the very rare Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus, making it our 4th record for this species. On 15 March, Tay Kian Guan photographed an accipiter at Henderson Waves, harassing an Oriental Honey Buzzard. Accipiters can be notoriously difficult to identify, nevertheless, the photo showed enough detail to identify the raptor as a female Besra Accipiter virgatus, another rarity.
Yet another scarce raptor was a juvenile pale morph Common Buzzard Buteo buteo photographed in the Central Business District on 2 March by John Marriott, and is probably the same juvenile pale morph photographed by Luke Milo Teo on 27 Jan 2018. Also, Veronica Foo photographed a juvenile Black Kite Milvus migrans in flight at Lorong Halus on 21 March. Ryan Lee found a Northern Boobook Ninox japonica on the ground near a block of HDB flats at Pasir Ris on the 30th, it could have flown against a window; at Chung Cheng High (Main), another boobook was found by Teo Jo-Hsuan on the 16th morning and it was stunned, having flown against a window.
A total of 69 Oriental Honey Buzzards Pernis ptilorhynchus were recorded, a mixture of adults and juveniles but notably all orientalis subspecies. 42 Black Bazas Aviceda leuphotes were recorded, with the bulk at Kranji Marshes. Of the 11 Japanese Sparrowhawks Accipiter gularis recorded, there were six females and one male, with the remainder unsexed.
Page 1 of 11 The small flock of Jerdon's Bazas Aviceda jerdoni were still around Coney Island on the 15th, when 8 were recorded; the Bishan individual stayed from the 7th to the 12th; while the last record was an individual photographed by Luke Milo Teo at Ulu Sembawang on the 24th, a new late date for the species.
The female Chinese Sparrowhawk Accipiter soloensis at Ang Mo Kio was still around on the 3rd, while a male was seen at Lorong Halus on the 11th, followed by another individual at Kranji Marshes on the 17th. Of the five Peregrine Falcons Falco peregrinus recorded, at least two were juveniles. Four Western Ospreys Pandion haliaetus at the northern areas rounded up the migrant raptors for the month.
Besra, adult female, harassing an Oriental Honey Buzzard, Henderson Waves, on 15 March 2018, by Tay Kian Guan.
Page 2 of 11 Highlights for sedentary species:
There were breeding records for four resident species this month. An adult dark morph Changeable Hawk Eagle (CHE) Nisaetus cirrhatus was found sitting on its nest at Kranji Marshes on the 17th, and the next day, the 18th, at Bukit Batok West, a CHE was found lying low on another nest. A family of four Black-winged Kites Elanus caeruleus, with two recently fledged juveniles were recorded at Kranji Marshes on the 18th. A White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster nest, on a metallic comms tower south of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, holding one chick was recorded on the 30th. For the nocturnal raptors, a young chick, covered in white downy feathers, of a pair of Spotted Wood Owls Strix seloputo fell from its nest at Pasir Ris Park on the 23rd, and concerned photographers contacted ACRES, whose staff placed the owlet back into the tree; in addition, another pair with 2 chicks were observed at Bidadari on the 24th.
For other nocturnal raptors, there were two records of the rare Barred Eagle Owl Bubo sumatranus on Pulau Ubin, a juvenile on the 4th and an adult on the 17th. Five Buffy Fish Owls Ketupa ketupu were recorded, one at Ulu Pandan, three at the Botanic Gardens, and a juvenile at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. Two Sunda Scops Owls Otus lempiji were recorded, one at Dairy Farm and another at Pasir Ris. Unfortunately for the Eastern Barn Owl Tyto delicatula, one was found injured at Jurong West on the 28th.
Throughout the month, there were reports of a single Crested Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela at Goldhill Avenue, but at the end of the month, sharp-eyed Adrian Silas Tay noticed that there were actually two birds. The other sedentary raptors recorded included seven Crested Goshawks, seven Grey-headed Fish Eagles and 17 Brahminy Kites. All in, there were 10 Changeable Hawk-Eagles, eight Black-winged Kites, and eight White-bellied Sea Eagles.
Table 1 S/N Species No. S/N Species No. 1 Western Osprey 4 Residents / Sedentary Species 2 Jerdon's Baza 10 13 Black-winged Kite 8 3 Black Baza 42 14 Brahminy Kite 17 4 Oriental Honey Buzzard 69 15 White-bellied Sea Eagle 8 5 Chinese Sparrowhawk 3 16 Grey-headed Fish Eagle 7 6 Japanese Sparrowhawk 11 17 Crested Goshawk 7 7 Besra 1 18 Crested Serpent Eagle 2 8 Eurasian Sparrowhawk 1 19 Changeable Hawk-Eagle 10 9 Black Kite 1 20 Eastern Barn Owl 1 10 Common Buzzard 1 21 Sunda Scops Owl 2 11 Peregrine Falcon 5 22 Barred Eagle Owl 2 12 Northern Boobook 2 23 Buffy Fish Owl 5 24 Spotted Wood Owl 7
25 Unidentified Raptors 1 Total for Migrants 150 Grand Total 227
Page 3 of 11 1. Western Osprey Pandion haliaetus (4)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 10 2 Kranji Marshes Martin Kennewell 18 2 Kranji Marshes Con Foley 21 1 Yishun Pond, morning Gabriel Koh 23 1 SBWR Thana Sinnarthamby 23 1 Springleaf Nature Park Cheah Chen Poh 25 1 Chek Jawa, Pulau Ubin Francis Yap 30 1 SBWR Zhang Licong
2. Jerdon's Baza Aviceda jerdoni (10)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 7 1 Tampines Eco Green, in flight Martin Kennewell, Richard Carden 7 1 Bishan Park Alfred Ng 10 1 Bishan Park Terence Tan 11 1 Bishan Park Alex Fok 11 1 Bishan Park Zhang Licong 12 1 Bishan Park, feeding on a Changeable Lizard Michael Phua 15 8 Coney Island Tan Kok Hui 24 1 Ulu Sembawang Luke Milo Teo
3. Black Baza Aviceda leuphotes (42)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 2 Republic Crescent Tan Kok Hui 4 1 Kranji Marshes Rajesh Nag 7 1 Kranji Marshes, 10:11am Henrietta Woo 7 7 Tampines Eco Green Martin Kennewell, Richard Carden 7 1 Pasir Ris mangroves Fadzrun A 10 21 Kranji Marshes, 7-8am Martin Kennewell 11 3 Telok Blangah Hill Alan OwYong 12 29 Kranji Marshes Martin Kennewell 15 4 Henderson Waves, morning Tay Kian Guan 17 11 Kranji Marshes Tan Kok Hui, Con Foley, Danny Lau 19 1 Lorong Halus Mac Ng 30 1 Kranji Marshes Tan Kok Hui, Danny Lau
Page 4 of 11 4. Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus (69) orientalis unless indicated otherwise
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 4 1 Seletar East, adult male pale morph Tan Kok Hui 5 2 Telok Blangah Green, 1 juvenile pale morph, Joyce Chia 1 adult male 5 2 Republic Crescent Tan Kok Hui 6 1 Kent Ridge Park, immature female Tay Kian Guan 6 1 Kent Ridge Park, male, afternoon Alan OwYong 7 1 Whampoa, adult female pale morph, morning Siew Mun 7 1 Kranji Marshes, 10:46am Henrietta Woo 7 1 Tampines Eco Green, juvenile pale morph Alvin Seng 7 3 Tampines Eco Green Martin Kennewell, Richard Carden 8 1 Marina Bay, female pale morph, 11am Veronica Foo 10 1 Kent Ridge Park, female pale morph, morning See Toh Yew Wai 11 1 Bishan Park, adult male pale morph Lee Chuin Ming 12 1 Bishan Park, adult female pale morph Esther Ong 13 1 Mount Faber, adult male pale morph Joyce Chia 14 1 Rail Corridor @ Sungei Pang Sua woodland, Ulf Remahl female pale morph, 9:50am 15 9 Henderson Waves, morning Tay Kian Guan 17 1 Ang Mo Kio, adult female pale morph Stuart Campbell 18 2 Sungei Serangoon Tan Kok Hui 18 2 Kranji Marshes Con Foley 18 1 Kranji Marsh, immature female pale morph, Sy Ong harassed by 3 Black-winged Kites, morning 19 1 Lorong Halus, juvenile, 10:40am Veronica Foo 19 1 Lorong Halus Mac Ng 19 1 Leng Kee Park, adult female pale morph, morning Sophia Cheow 20 2 Kent Ridge Park, both juvenile pale morph, Henrietta Woo, 9:31am Goh Peixuan 21 1 Tampines Eco Green, juvenile pale morph Alvin Seng 21 30 NSS Green Cruise to southern islands, 9:45am to Lim Kim Keang 5:45pm 22 1 Goldhill Avenue, adult male pale morph chased Alan OwYong by a Tanimbar Corella 28 1 Hume Avenue, flew low (between 3rd & 4th Ulf Remahl floor) and scattered other birds in the area, 8:50am 28 1 Pasir Ris Park, immature female Tan Eng Boo
5. Chinese Sparrowhawk Accipiter soloensis (3)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 1 Ang Mo Kio, female Angeline Yeo Siew Kuan 11 1 Lorong Halus, adult male Tan Kok Hui 17 1 Kranji Marshes Martin Kennewell
Page 5 of 11 6. Japanese Sparrowhawk Accipiter gularis (11)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Jelutong Tower, adult female, morning Veronica Foo 4 1 Kranji Marshes, female Han YK 11 1 Lorong Halus Tan Kok Hui 11 1 Pulau Ubin Francis Yap 14 1 Central Catchment Forests Oliver Tan 16 1 Henderson Waves Tay Kian Guan 17 1 Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, adult female, Francis Yap morning 18 1 Sungei Serangoon Tan Kok Hui 19 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park Martin Kennewell 20 1 Pasir Panjang Nursery, adult female, 9:33am Henrietta Woo, Goh Peixuan 23 1 Jelutong Tower, adult female, 9:05am Francis Yap 25 1 Pasir Ris Park, adult female Zhang Licong 29 2 1040 Sembawang Road Martin Kennewell 30 1 Kranji Marshes, adult male Tan Kok Hui, Danny Lau
Japanese Sparrowhawk, adult female, Jelutong Tower, on 23 March 2018, by Francis Yap
Page 6 of 11 7. Besra Accipiter virgatus (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 16 1 Henderson Waves, chasing an OHB, morning Tay Kian Guan
8. Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 11 1 Tampines Eco Green, adult, late morning, ID by Feroz Fizah Adrian Silas Tay and Lau Jiasheng
9. Black Kite Milvus migrans (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 21 1 Lorong Halus, juvenile in flight, 11am Veronica Foo
10. Common Buzzard Buteo buteo (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 2 1 CBD, juvenile pale morph John Marriott 2 1 Marina Bay, juvenile pale morph Luke Milo Teo
11. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus (5)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 7 1 Satay by the Bay Oliver Tan 10 1 Kranji Marshes Martin Kennewell 16 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park Martin Kennewell 17 1 Bukit Timah, juvenile, morning Francis Yap 24 1 Malcolm Road Koji Ichiyama 28 1 Bukit Timah Fadzrun A 30 1 SBWR, juvenile Tan Kok Hui, Danny Lau 30 1 SBWR Tan Kok Hui 31 1 Fairway Golf Course Alan OwYong
12. Northern Boobook Ninox japonica (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 16 1 Chung Cheng High School (Main) Auditorium, Teo Jo-Hsuan 7-8am, stunned after flying into a window, photographed 30 1 Pasir Ris HDB block, photographed on the floor Ryan Lee
Page 7 of 11 Resident raptors
13. Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus (8)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 6 1 Seletar Dam Martin Kennewell 10 2 Kranji Marshes Martin Kennewell 17 2 Seletar Aerospace Park Oliver Tan 18 4 Kranji Marsh, 2 adults, 2 juveniles (fledged), Sy Ong morning 27 1 Jurong Island Martin Kennewell 31 1 Tanah Merah Coast Road Tan Kok Hui, Danny Lau
14. Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus (17)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 7 1 Vicinity of Indian Murugan Hill temple along Rail Ulf Remahl Corridor, adult, 9:40am 10 6 Kranji Marshes Martin Kennewell 14 1 Rail Corridor @ Sungei Pang Sua woodland, Ulf Remahl 7:45am 14 2 Rail Corridor @ Sungei Pang Sua woodland, Ulf Remahl 9:15am to 10:30am 15 2 Tuas Naval Base, 9:10am Kerry Pereira 15 4 Henderson Waves, morning Tay Kian Guan 17 1 Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, adult, morning Francis Yap 21 1 Tampines Eco Green Alvin Seng 27 1 SAFRA Punggol, 1:31pm Kerry Pereira
15. White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster (8)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 7 1 Vicinity of Indian Murugan Hill temple along Rail Ulf Remahl Corridor, 9:45am 8 1 Marina Bay, 11am Veronica Foo 11 1 Singapore Quarry, heard only, 9:25am Ulf Remahl 12 1 Mount Faber, 5:25pm Ulf Remahl 17 1 Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, adult, morning Francis Yap 26 1 Punggol Waterway Woodcress Estate, 6:45pm Sarah Martens 28 1 Bukit Batok Nature Park, juvenile, 5:45pm Ulf Remahl 29 1 Bedok Camp 2, 6:15pm Kerry Pereira 30 3 SBWR, nesting Tan Kok Hui, Danny Lau -- 2 Comms tower seen from Sungei Buloh Wetland Edmund Teo Wei Pin Reserve, nest with 1 eaglet, on horizontal metal beam of comms tower, adult perch next to nest
Page 8 of 11 16. Grey-headed Fish Eagle Haliaeetus ichthyaetus (7)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 10 2 Kranji Marshes Martin Kennewell 11 1 Botanic Gardens, adult, afternoon Meena Vathyam 11 1 Pandan River Lam Jen Wee 14 2 Pandan River Dodotee Tee 14 1 Botanic Gardens, adult, afternoon Khoo Meilin 17 1 Ulu Pandan Canal Mark Nelson Valino 18 2 Kranji Marshes Con Foley 23 1 Bishan Park, adult Alan OwYong 30 1 Little Guilin, adult, called now and then, 8:50am Ulf Remahl
17. Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus (7)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Botannia condo, West Coast Park (road name), Lilian Sng adult female, perched on 7th floor balcony, calling, 9:37am 6 1 Kent Ridge Park, adult male Tay Kian Guan 13 2 Henderson Waves, 1 juvenile Tay Kian Guan 14 1 Pasir Ris Park mangroves, adult Alvin Seng 14 2 Ang Mo Kio Benjamin Naden 23 1 Vivo City, adult Seah Kok Meng
18. Crested Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela (2)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 1 Goldhill Avenue Fadzrun A 18 1 Goldhill Avenue Ian & Freda Rickword, Lena Chow, Nessie Khoo 25 1 Goldhill Avenue, adult Khoo Meilin 26 1 Goldhill Avenue, adult Terence Tan 28 1 Goldhill Avenue, adult See Toh Yew Wai 30 2 Goldhill Avenue Adrian Silas Tay
19. Changeable Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus cirrhatus (10)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 1 Lorong Halus, dark morph successfully caught a Thio Hui Bing dove 3 1 Pasir Ris Park, juvenile pale morph Zhang Licong 4 1 Changi Business Park, juvenile pale morph Ramesh Thiruvengadam 4 2 Kranji Marshes, 1 pale morph, 1 dark morph Han YK 7 2 Tampines Eco Green Martin Kennewell, Richard Carden 9 1 Singapore Quarry, dark morph, heard calling and Ulf Remahl then seen, 9:15am 11 1 Lorong Halus, pale morph Tan Kok Hui
Page 9 of 11 13 1 Mount Faber, adult pale morph Joyce Chia 15 1 Henderson Waves, morning Tay Kian Guan 15 1 Coney Island, pale morph, harassed by Large- Tan Kok Hui billed Crows 17 1 Kranji Marshes, dark morph adult sitting on nest Tan Kok Hui, Con Foley, Danny Lau 17 1 Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, dark morph, Francis Yap morning 18 1 Bukit Batok West, nesting Wing Chong 18 2 Kranji Marshes Con Foley 22 1 Kranji Marshes, dark morph adult sitting on nest Martin Kennewell 31 1 Changi Business Park, juvenile pale morph Ramesh Thiruvengadam
20. Eastern Barn Owl Tyto delicatula (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 28 1 Jurong West Street 91, injured Hafinani
21. Sunda Scops Owl Otus lempiji (2)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Dairy Farm Loop Martin Kennewell 27 1 Pasir Ris Park Terence Tan
22. Barred Eagle Owl Bubo sumatranus (2)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 4 1 Pulau Ubin, juvenile calling from high up Adrian Silas Tay & Jerold Tan 17 1 Pulau Ubin, adult, during a night survey Francis Yap & Jacky Soh
23. Buffy Fish Owl Ketupa ketupu (5)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 16 1 Ulu Pandan Canal Jason Humphries 21 3 SBG Goh Pei Shuan, Henrietta Woo, Ong Ruici 28 1 SBWR, juvenile Siew Mun 31 1 SBWR, juvenile Khoo Meilin
24. Spotted Wood Owl Strix seloputo (7)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 18 1 Bishan Park, adult Art Toh 18 1 Pasir Ris Park, adult Paul Thong 23 1 Pasir Ris Park, chick fell out of nest and placed Lim Kim Chuah back onto the trees by ACRES 24 4 Bidadari, 2 adults with 2 chicks Keita Sin
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25. Unidentified Raptor (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 12 1 Mount Faber, dark raptor roughly the size of an Ulf Remahl OHB, 5:30pm
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 also thanks to Feroz Fizah, Tay Kian Guan and Francis Yap for the use of their photos.
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