Singapore Raptor Report – Jan 2021
Singapore Raptor Report January 2021
Western Osprey, at Chek Jawa, Pulau Ubin, 29 Jan 2021, by Tan Gim Cheong
Summary for migrant species:
The end of the month seemed to be a good time for scarce migrants. A Himalayan Vulture was photographed in flight at Marina East on the 30th, a Black Kite photographed at Changi Boardwalk on the 31st, and an Oriental Scops Owl photographed at the vicinity of Hindhede Nature Park on the 30th.
The wintering juvenile Rufous-bellied Eagle was spotted at Dairy Farm Nature Park on the 6th and 31st. Only one Chinese Sparrowhawk was recorded, at Telok Blangah Hill Park on the 3rd. Two Jerdon’s Baza were still around the Changi Business Park canal in January.
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Four Western Ospreys were around at the northern areas, thirteen Peregrine Falcons were recorded, often perched on buildings. Of the 61 migrant Oriental Honey Buzzards, one at Changi Business Park on the 17th & 18th appeared to be a juvenile ruficollis. Finally, there were 15 Japanese Sparrowhawks, and 37 Black Bazas.
White-bellied Sea Eagle, in flight with a half-eaten prey (possibly an eel), SBWR, 16 Jan 2021, by Teo Chee Yong.
Highlights for sedentary species:
Breeding-related activities were noted for four species. Two chicks of the Brahminy Kite were observed on a nest at West Coast Park on the 23rd. On the 30th, mating was observed for a pair of White-bellied Sea Eagles at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. At Pasir Ris Park on the 3rd, it appeared that the Crested Goshawks had built a new nest; in the middle of the month, there were two newly fledged juvenile goshawks at West Coast Park; and another two at Sin Ming Drive. And for the Buffy Fish Owl, the owlet at SBWR had fledged and was seen outside the nest on the 9th; at Jurong Lake Garden, another owlet was seen on its nest on the 20th, with an adult nearby; and at Yishun on the 23rd, another recently fledged juvenile.
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There were six records of the Crested Serpent Eagle - at Jalan Anak Bukit, Goldhill Avenue, Pasir Ris Park, Admiralty Park, Botanic Gardens, and Pulau Ubin. One torquatus Oriental Honey Buzzard was recorded – a male on the 8th at the Botanic Gardens. Ten Grey-headed Fish Eagles were recorded, all near water, eleven Black-winged Kites and twelve Changeable Hawk-Eagles were also recorded. Unfortunately, one dark morph Changeable Hawk-Eagle was found dead in the grounds of a condominium on the 27th, possibly a casualty of ‘window-strike’. Finally, one Barred Eagle Owl was recorded at Rifle Range Link on the 6th, and two on the 27th, while two Spotted Wood Owls were seen at Pulau Ubin on the 22nd.
Table 1 S/N Species No. S/N Species No. 1 Western Osprey 4 Residents / Sedentary Species 2 Jerdon's Baza 2 12 Black-winged Kite 11 3 Black Baza 37 13 Brahminy Kite C* 4 Oriental Honey Buzzard 62 14 White-bellied Sea Eagle C* 5 Black Kite 1 15 Grey-headed Fish Eagle 10 6 Himalayan Vulture 1 16 Crested Serpent Eagle 6 7 Chinese Sparrowhawk 1 17 Crested Goshawk 13 8 Japanese Sparrowhawk 15 18 Changeable Hawk-Eagle 12 9 Rufous-bellied Eagle 1 10 Peregrine Falcon 13 Nocturnal Raptors 11 Oriental Scops Owl 1 19 Barred Eagle Owl 2 20 Buffy Fish Owl 6 21 Spotted Wood Owl 2
22 Unidentified raptors 7
Total for Migrants 138 Grand Total 213
* C = Common
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1. Western Osprey Pandion haliaetus (4)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 16 1 SBWR Teo Chee Yong 17 1 Yishun Dam Lee Chin Pong 18 1 Hampstead Wetlands Ash Foo 24 1 Seletar Aerospace Park Derrick Wong 29 1 Chek Jawa, Ubin Tan Gim Cheong
2. Jerdon's Baza Aviceda jerdoni (2)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 16 1 CBP Yip Jen Wei 17 1 CBP Herman Phua 28 2 CBP Steven Cheong
3. Black Baza Aviceda leuphotes (37)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 4 2 SBG Philip Howell 7 1 Sengkang Riverside Park Keita Sin 8 5 PRP Alvin Seng 13 1 Science Drive 4 Aakash Lamba 14 1 Goldhill Avenue Jackie Yeo 19 2 Goldhill Avenue Keith Hutton 21 5 SBG Keita Sin 23 15 NTHL Martin Kennewell 25 1 TBHP Tay Kian Guan 30 1 MacRitchie Reservoir Park John Marriott 30 3 CBP Lee Chin Pong, Lum Lai Har 31 1 PRP Ray Ng
4. Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus (61+1) orientalis unless indicated otherwise
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Ghim Moh Road, adult male pale morph Philip Ng 3 1 NTHL, juvenile pale morph Chen Boon Chong 3 2 Clementi Forest Russell Boyman 6 3 DFNP Choong YT 7 1 Little Guilin Aakash Lamba 7 1 Sentosa, adult male pale morph John Marriott 8 1 SBG, torquatus male Cheng Li Ai 8 1 Commonwealth Secondary School Thongthornpatch Chamadol 9 1 JGL, adult male pale morph Angie Cheong 9 5 JLG Martti Siponen 13 1 SBG, adult male pale morph Keith Hutton
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16 1 SBTB, adult female pale morph harassed by Angie Cheong House Crow 16 1 Maidstone Road, adult female pale morph Art Toh 16 3 Central Boulevard, pale morphs, adult male, adult Chen Boon Chong female and juvenile 17 1 Yishun Dam, juvenile Keith Hutton 17 1 CBP, adult male pale morph Herman Phua 17 1 CBP, juvenile pale morph, ruficollis Peter Wong, Herman Phua 18 1 CBP, juvenile pale morph, ruficollis Wang HM 18 1 CBP, juvenile dark morph Wang HM 18 1 Goldhill Avenue, adult male pale morph Desmond Yap 19 1 TEG, juvenile pale morph Philip Ng 20 1 Eco Lake, SBG, adult male dark morph Art Toh 21 1 Hougang, juvenile pale morph Allen Low 22 1 DFNP, juvenile dark morph Tan Hong Kim 22 1 Jurong West, 1 adult male dark morph Philip Toh 22 1 Pasir Ris Town Park, adult male pale morph Alvin Seng 23 1 Marsiling Park Fadzrun A. 23 1 Ubin, adult female pale morph Wong Chung Cheong 24 1 PRP, adult male Andrew Hunt 24 2 SBWR Yap Bao Shen 25 1 CBP, juvenile dark morph Frankie Lim 25 1 CBP, juvenile pale morph JB Lim 25 1 Woodlands, adult female pale morph Meena Vathyam 25 4 PRP Mike Hooper 26 2 Jurong West, 1 adult male pale morph Philip Toh 26 1 TEG, juvenile pale morph SB Lim 27 1 Learning Forest car park, SBG, adult male pale Brenda Chua morph, 11am 29 1 PRP, adult male Alvin Seng 29 2 WCP Alok Mishra 30 1 Jurong West, juvenile pale morph Philip Toh 30 1 Jurong West, female pale morph Philip Toh 30 1 Satay by the Bay, juvenile, 9:30am Oliver Tan 30 1 Pelton Canal vicinity, adult male pale morph Angie Cheong, Saravanan K. 30 5 Neo Tiew Harvest Lane Tan Kok Hui 30 4 Lorong Halus Wetland Yap Bao Shen 31 1 Tuas Bay Street Keita Sin
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Oriental Honey Buzzard, this appears to be a juvenile ruficollis, 17 Jan 2021, Changi Business Park canal, by Peter Wong.
5. Black Kite Milvus migrans (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 31 1 Changi Boardwalk, juvenile Daniel Tay
6. Himalayan Vulture Gyps himalayensis (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 30 1 Marina East, photographed YingFeng
7. Chinese Sparrowhawk Accipiter soloensis (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 1 TBHP Evelyn Lee
8. Japanese Sparrowhawk Accipiter gularis (15)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 1 CBP Ramesh T. 4 1 Mandai Zoo Robyn Y 5 1 BAMK Park Khoo Meilin 11 1 NTHL Yip Jen Wei 16 1 TEG Yap Bao Shen 17 1 Yishun Dam, immature male Keith Hutton, Krishna Gr
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17 1 Marina East Sreekar Rachakonda 19 1 SBG Alan OwYong 20 1 MacRitchie Reservoir Park Kwok Tuck Loong 20 1 Jelutong Tower Richard White 21 1 NTHL, adult male Yip Jen Wei 24 1 Straits Boulevard Lester Tan 25 1 JLG Philip Howell 31 1 Sunset Way Sylvester Goh 31 1 Bukit Brown Cemetery Keita Sin
9. Rufous-bellied Eagle Lophotriorchis kienerii (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 6 1 DFNP, juvenile Choong YT 31 1 DFNP, juvenile, 5:15pm – 6pm Lua Wai Heng
10. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus (13)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Amber Road Mike Hooper 6 1 Dawson, adult japonensis, in a mid-air tussle with Benjamin Lim a Brahminy Kite 7 1 Block 153 Yishun St 11 Krishna G. 8 1 SBWR, juvenile japonensis Cliff Tay 9 1 Hampstead Wetlands Park Raghav N. 9 1 CBP, juvenile japonensis Ramesh T. 9 1 NTHL Martin Kennewell 10 1 126 Kim Tian Road, adult japonensis Chen Boon Chong 11 1 Sengkang, adult japonensis Naomi Kim 11 1 Pulau Ubin, juvenile japonensis Krishna G. 14 1 DFNP Choong YT 14 1 Geylang East, juvenile japonensis Khoo Meilin 23 1 132 Geylang East Central Max Khoo 27 1 SIA Building, adult japonensis Benjamin Lee 30 1 Bedok South, adult japonensis Wang HM 31 1 Bedok South, adult japonensis Wang HM
11. Oriental Scops Owl Otus sunia (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 30 1 Hindhede Nature Park vicinity Lambert Lim
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Oriental Honey Buzzard, adult male, 30 Jan 2021, Pelton Canal, by Saravanan Krishnamurthy.
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Resident raptors
12. Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus (11)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 16 1 JLG Russell Boyman 17 2 Straits Boulevard Lester Tan 17 1 Marina South Sreekar Rachakonda 17 2 Kranji Marsh Lim Kim Chuah 18 1 Seletar Aerospace Drive, adult Ash Foo 27 1 Tanah Merah Coast Rd Ramesh T. 30 4 NTHL Raghav N. 30 1 Halus Wetland Teo Lay Chong
13. Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
Date No. Location and Details Reported By -- Common raptor -- 19 1 Goldhill Avenue, adult flying with a bird in its Keith Hutton talons 23 4 West Coast Park, pair with 2 chicks on nest Chan Kumchun
14. White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster
Date No. Location and Details Reported By -- Common raptor -- 16 1 SBWR, adult flying with a half eaten prey Teo Chee Yong (probably an eel) 22 2 SBWR, adults, mating observed Kelvin Leong, Cheong Khan Hoong
15. Grey-headed Fish Eagle Haliaeetus ichthyaetus (10)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 2 1 Marsiling Park Fadzrun A. 4 1 Pandan river, adult Teo Chee Yong 12 1 SBG Robyn Y. 16 1 Holland Plain, adult Art Toh 16 2 DFNP Max Cheo 20 1 Yishun Dam Darren Leow 21 1 Pandan river, adult Teo Chee Yong 24 1 Pandan river, adult, regurgitated a pellet Teo Chee Yong 24 2 SBWR Max Cheo 30 1 JLG Martti Siponen 31 1 Halus Wetland Mike Hooper
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16. Crested Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela (6)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 4 1 Jalan Anak Bukit Martin Kennewell 16 1 Goldhill Ave, adult Vincent Yip 16 1 PRP Yip Jen Wei 21 1 Admiralty Park Lim Yu Jun 24 1 Goldhill Ave, adult Justin Jing Liang 27 1 Learning Forest car park, SBG, immature, 10am Brenda Chua 29 1 Ubin, adult Desmond Yap
17. Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus (13)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 3 PRP, 2 nests in the area, 1 immature Xu Xiaoni 5 1 SBG, adult Martin Kennewell 5 2 PRP, adults with prey (shrew) Terence Tan 8 1 SBG, immature, caught a Plantain Squirrel Mike Hooper 16 2 WCP, adult male & juvenile Lee Chin Pong 18 1 WCP, newly fledged Dave Koh 20 2 WCP, newly fledged goshawks Tan Gim Cheong 20 1 Eco Lake, SBG, adult Brenda Chua 20 1 SBG, adult Herman Phua 22 1 Sin Ming, adult Jackie Yeo 22 1 Sin Ming, juvenile “sunning” its wings Wong Sangmen 22 4 Sin Ming, 2 adults, 2 recently fledged juveniles Kwok Tuck Loong 22 4 WCP, adult male & female, and 2 newly fledged Simon Hangye goshawks 23 2 PRP Eis Mann 23 2 PRP, nesting Lim Kim Chuah 23 1 WCP, adult male, ringed Dave Koh 24 4 Sin Ming, 2 adults building nest, 2 juveniles Tan Gim Cheong nearby 24 1 Blk 24 Sin Ming Road, juvenile Lee Chin Pong 25 2 Blk 24 Sin Ming Road, juveniles Tan Gim Cheong 27 1 Blk 24 Sin Ming Road, juvenile Ash Foo 29 1 Blk 24 Sin Ming Road, juvenile, feeding on Javan Alex Fook Myna 30 1 Blk 24 Sin Ming Road, juvenile Eis Mann 31 1 Blk 24 Sin Ming Road, juvenile Meena Vathyam
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Crested Goshawk, juvenile, 22 Jan 2021, Sin Ming, by Wong Sangmen.
18. Changeable Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus cirrhatus (12)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Turf Club Link, dark morph Art Toh 2 1 Seletar Aerospace Crescent, juvenile pale morph AP S Kumar 6 1 Jurong West, dark morph Philip Toh 6 1 DFNP, adult pale morph Siew Mun 7 1 SAFRA Punggol, adult pale morph Vincent Yip 8 1 PRP, dark morph Alvin Seng 16 1 Holland Plain, adult pale morph Art Toh 16 1 Central Boulevard, adult pale morph Angie Cheong 19 1 TEG, juvenile pale morph Philip Ng 20 1 SBG Brenda Chua 20 1 Central Boulevard, adult pale morph Philip Ng 22 1 DFNP, adult pale morph Siew Mun 27 1 Singapore, dark morph, fresh carcass in a condo Mike Smith 29 1 Serangoon River near Buangkok Drive, immature Joseph C K Tan 29 1 DFNP, adult pale morph Art Toh
19. Barred Eagle-Owl Bubo sumatranus (2)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 6 1 Rifle Range Link Francis Yap 27 2 Rifle Range Link, 1 seen, 1 heard Martin Kennewell
20. Buffy Fish Owl Ketupa ketupu (6)
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Date No. Location and Details Reported By 9 3 SBWR, pair, with recently fledged young Martin Kennewell 20 2 JLG, chick on nest, adult nearby Tan Gim Cheong 23 1 Yishun, a recently fledged juvenile Michelle Chun
21. Spotted Wood Owl Strix seloputo (2)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 26 2 Pulau Ubin, day roost Jackie Yeo
22. Unidentified Raptors (7)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 4 1 Changi Village, 1pm A. B. Arun Ganesh 21 6 Sentosa Cove village, 12:30pm Lioe Kim Swee
Abbreviations CBP – Changi Business Park DFNP – Dairy Farm Nature Park JLG – Jurong Lake Gardens KM – Kranji Marsh MED – Marina East Drive NTHL – Neo Tiew Harvest Lane PRP – Pasir Ris Park SBG – Singapore Botanic Gardens SBWR – Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve TEG – Tampines Eco Green
Compiled by Tan Gim Cheong
Note: The numbers in brackets beside the bird names indicates the month's total number. 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 Teo Chee Yong, Peter Wong, Saravanan Krishnamurthy, and Wong Sangmen for the use of their photos.
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