Raptor Report October 2017

Japanese Sparrowhawk, juvenile, at Jelutong Tower on 25 Oct 2017, by Francis Yap. Interestingly, this individual has dark and pale tailbands that appear equal in width, the most commonly held criteria for Besra. However, other features such as short tail, long primary projection, weak mesial stripe and weak chest markings point to Japanese Sparrowhawk. A good reminder that identification cannot be based on a single feature alone.

Summary for migrant species:

October 2017 is probably the least remarkable October on record, with only 6 migrant species recorded (we usually record around 9 species in October). For the second year in a row, there were no records of the Black Baza in October, not that they no longer come to Singapore, just that they arrive only later in the year.

The bulk of the 70 migrants recorded were made up by the 33 Oriental Honey Buzzards, and 25 Japanese Sparrowhawks. There were 8 Chinese Sparrowhawks, including one female spotted regularly at Ang Mo Kio. Two Western Ospreys were recorded at the Kranji- Sungei Buloh area and one adult Peregrine Falcon was recorded at Kent Ridge on the 3rd. The single juvenile Eastern Marsh Harrier at on the 3rd was a notable record.

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A pair of Crested Goshawks mating, at Ang Mo Kio on 27 Oct 2017, by Seah Han Wah. Note the small dark droplet-shaped markings on a rather clean white breast of the female (below) versus the bigger rufous-brown patches on the breast of the male (above).

Highlights for sedentary species:

The locally rare Crested Serpent Eagle was recorded twice at Kent Ridge this month, on the third and the 12th. As for the uncommon Crested Goshawk, a pair was observed mating at Ang Mo Kio; another 4 adults were recorded at Kent Ridge and the Botanic Gardens; and a juvenile at Bidadari, honing its skills at hunting, using a Variable Squirrel as target. Amazingly, all the four records of the torquatus Oriental Honey Buzzards were of the tweeddale form, with at least one female and one juvenile - one at Toa Payoh on 3rd, a female at Jelutong Tower on 7th, a juvenile at Jelutong Tower on 22nd, and a female at Old Upper Thomson on 29th. The other resident raptors recorded included the Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Black-winged Kite, Brahminy Kite and White-bellied Sea Eagle.

Page 2 of 9 Table 1 S/N Species No. S/N Species No. 1 Osprey 2 Residents / Sedentary Species 2 Oriental Honey Buzzard 33 7 Black-winged Kite 5 3 Eastern Marsh Harrier 1 8 Brahminy Kite 31 4 Chinese Sparrowhawk 8 9 White-bellied Sea Eagle 16 5 Japanese Sparrowhawk 25 10 Grey-headed Fish Eagle 5 6 Peregrine Falcon 1 11 Crested Serpent Eagle 1 12 Crested Goshawk 7 13 Changeable Hawk-Eagle 14

Unidentified 14 Unidentified Raptors 2 15 Unidentified Accipiters 13

Total for Migrants 70 Grand Total 164

Page 3 of 9 1. Western Osprey Pandion haliaetus (2)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 7 1 SBWR Danny Lau, Tan Kok Hui 22 2 Sungei Mandai- Kranji FMBC 28 1 Kranji Marsh Fadzrun Adnan

2. Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus (33)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 1 Toa Payoh Lorong 2, Blk 99C, torquatus Alex Lee tweeddale morph 5 1 Clementi, adult male pale morph Kristie Yeong 5 1 , afternoon Alan OwYong 6 1 Jalan Haji Salam, adult male pale morph, morning Tan Eng Boo 6 1 Chinese Garden, immature male dark morph Philip Toh 7 2 Jelutong Tower, 1 female pale morph orientalis See Toh Yew Wai and 1 female torquatus tweeddale morph 12 1 , male Jacky Soh 15 4 Tuas Jacky Soh, Roland Lim, Thomas Lee, Alyce Ang, Sox, Veronica 17 2 Whampoa Drive, 1 adult female and 1 adult male, Koel Lim pale morphs 17 1 Lorong Halus Francis Yap 18 1 SBWR Con Foley, Danny Lau, Tan Kok Hui 19 1 Ang Mo Kio Tey Boon Sin 22 1 Jelutong Tower, torquatus tweeddale morph See Toh Yew Wai juvenile 22 1 Kranji Marsh FMBC 22 1 Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve FMBC 22 1 Poyan FMBC 22 1 Kent Ridge Park Alan OwYong 24 1 Yishun, adult male Terence Tan 24 2 Lorong Halus, 1 male & 1 female, pale morphs, Francis Yap evening 25 2 Jurong Lake, at least 1 adult male dark morph Ang Siew Siew 26 1 Park, adult male dark morph Alvin Seng 26 1 Jalan Hang Jebat Alan OwYong 28 1 Chinese Garden, adult male dark morph Dani M. Queddeng 28 2 Kranji Marsh, adult Fadzrun Adnan 29 1 Old Upper Thomson Road, torquatus tweeddale Fadzrun Adnan morph, female, 10:30am

3. Eastern Marsh Harrier Circus spilonotus (1)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 1 Mount Faber Park, juvenile Keita Sin

Page 4 of 9 4. Chinese Sparrowhawk Accipiter soloensis (8)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 1 Kent Ridge Park, juvenile Zacc HD 5 1 Kent Ridge Park, adult female, afternoon See Toh Yew Wai & Alan OwYong 12 1 Pulau Ubin, juvenile Jacky Soh 16 1 Henderson Waves, juvenile, morning Zacc HD 16 1 Ang Mo Kio, adult female 3-5pm Tey Boon Sin 17 1 Ang Mo Kio, adult female 3-5pm Tey Boon Sin 19 1 Ang Mo Kio, adult female 3-5pm Tey Boon Sin 20 1 Zoo, adult male Zhang Licong 22 1 Pulau Ubin, morning Veronica Foo 22 1 Ang Mo Kio, adult female, 5:17pm Mettalady Yeo 28 1 , adult male Ng Ngakseng 28 1 Ang Mo Kio, adult female Wang HengMount

5. Japanese Sparrowhawk Accipiter gularis (25)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 1 Kent Ridge Park, adult female Zacc HD 5 2 Kent Ridge Park, afternoon Alan OwYong 7 1 SBWR, juvenile Danny Lau, Tan Kok Hui 11 1 Pulau Ubin Alyce Ang 12 2 Kent Ridge Park, adult Joseph Tan Kok Beng 12 2 Pulau Ubin Jacky Soh 16 1 Henderson Waves, juvenile, morning Zacc HD 16 3 Kent Ridge Park, 1-3pm Zacc HD 19 1 Henderson Waves, adult male See Toh Yew Wai 21 1 Pulau Ubin, juvenile Esther Ong 22 1 Kranji Marsh, juvenile Lee Chuin Ming 22 1 Kranji Dam FMBC 22 3 Kranji Marsh FMBC 22 1 Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve FMBC 22 1 Bukit Timah Nature Reserve FMBC 22 1 FMBC 22 2 Kent Ridge Park, 1 adult female, 1 juvenile Alan OwYong 24 2 Kranji Marsh, at least 1 juvenile, morning Francis Yap 25 1 Jelutong Tower, juvenile Francis Yap 26 1 Kent Ridge Park, juvenile Kristie Yeong 28 1 Kranji Marsh Fadzrun Adnan 30 1 Kranji Marsh, adult male, 10:30am Veronica Foo

6. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus (1)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 1 Kent Ridge Park, adult Zacc HD

Page 5 of 9 Resident raptors

7. Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus (5)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 15 1 Tuas Jacky Soh, Roland Lim, Thomas Lee, Alyce Ang, Sox, Veronica 18 1 SBWR Con Foley, Danny Lau, Tan Kok Hui 22 3 Kranji Marsh FMBC 28 1 Kranji Marsh, adult Fadzrun Adnan 30 1 Kranji Marsh, adult, morning Veronica Foo

8. Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus (31)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 7 1 Central Catchment, adult Con Foley, Danny Lau, Tan Kok Hui 7 1 SBWR, juvenile Danny Lau, Tan Kok Hui 7 1 Waterway Ridges, Punggol Kerry Pereira 9 1 Tuas Naval Base Kerry Pereira 11 2 Pulau Ubin Alyce Ang 15 2 Tuas Jacky Soh, Roland Lim, Thomas Lee, Alyce Ang, Sox, Veronica 16 3 Kent Ridge Park, 1-3pm Zacc HD 18 1 SBWR Con Foley, Danny Lau, Tan Kok Hui 22 1 Pulau Ubin, morning Veronica Foo 22 9 Pulau Ubin East Sandra Chia 22 2 Poyan FMBC 22 1 Bukit Timah Nature Reserve FMBC 22 1 Park FMBC 22 1 FMBC 22 12 SBWR-Kranji area FMBC 22 2 Kent Ridge Park Alan OwYong 26 1 Kent Ridge Park, adult Kristie Yeong 28 5 Kranji Marsh, at least 1 juvenile Fadzrun Adnan 29 6 Kranji Marsh Zhang Licong 30 4 Kranji Marsh, 2 adults & 2 juveniles, morning Veronica Foo

Page 6 of 9 9. White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster (16)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 6 1 Alvin Seng 7 2 Waterway Woodcress, Punggol, juveniles Kerry Pereira 9 1 Tuas Naval Base Kerry Pereira 10 1 Coney Island, juvenile Kerry Pereira 11 2 Pulau Ubin Alyce Ang 15 1 Tuas Jacky Soh, Roland Lim, Thomas Lee, Alyce Ang, Sox, Veronica 18 1 Eco Green, adult Alvin Seng 18 2 SBWR Con Foley, Danny Lau, Tan Kok Hui 22 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park FMBC 22 1 Sembawang Park FMBC 22 1 Lower Seletar Dam FMBC 22 1 Sembawang Park FMBC 22 3 Lorong Halus FMBC 22 1 Pasir Ris Park FMBC 22 2 Pulau Ubin East Sandra Chia 22 1 Pulau Ubin, morning Veronica Foo 22 4 SBWR-Kranji area FMBC 23 1 Marina Barrage, adult Wang HengMount 28 2 Kranji Marsh Fadzrun Adnan 29 1 Bidadari, adult, 11am Veronica Foo 30 1 Kranji Marsh, immature, morning Veronica Foo

10. Grey-headed Fish Eagle Haliaeetus ichthyaetus (5)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 7 1 SBWR, adult Danny Lau, Tan Kok Hui 7 1 Coney Island, 11:03am Kerry Pereira 11 2 Pulau Ubin Alyce Ang 22 1 SBWR-Kranji area FMBC 22 1 , immature Zhang Licong 28 1 Kranji Marsh, adult Fadzrun Adnan

11. Crested Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela (1)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 1 Kent Ridge Park, adult Zacc HD 12 1 Kent Ridge Road Xu Weiting

Page 7 of 9 12. Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus (7)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 5 1 Kent Ridge Park, adult female, morning See Toh Yew Wai & Alan OwYong 12 1 Kent Ridge Park, adult Joseph Tan Kok Beng 12 2 Kent Ridge Park, 1 male & 1 female Danny Lau 22 1 Kenneth Kee 27 2 Ang Mo Kio, 1 male & 1 female, mating observed Seah Han Wah 27 1 Mount Vernon, juvenile, made many unsuccessful Siew Mun attempts at the Variable Squirrels, and harassed by 2 hornbills 28 2 Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 male and 1 female Laurence Eu 29 1 Bidadari, juvenile, 11am Veronica Foo

13. Changeable Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus cirrhatus (14)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 1 Kent Ridge Park, dark morph Zacc HD 5 1 Kent Ridge Park, adult pale morph, morning See Toh Yew Wai & Alan OwYong 5 1 Kent Ridge Park, dark morph, afternoon Alan OwYong 7 1 Central Catchment, dark morph Con Foley, Danny Lau, Tan Kok Hui 8 1 Kranji Marsh, dark morph Alvin Seng 11 2 Pulau Ubin Alyce Ang 13 1 Lorong Halus, dark morph Jeremy Ong 16 1 Kent Ridge Park, adult pale morph, 1-3pm Zacc HD 17 1 Kent Ridge Road Xu Weiting 21 1 Kranji Nature Trail, juvenile pale morph Lau Jia Sheng 22 3 Poyan FMBC 22 3 Kranji Marsh FMBC 22 1 Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve FMBC 22 1 Bukit Batok West FMBC 22 1 FMBC 22 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park FMBC 22 1 Central Catchment FMBC 22 3 Pulau Ubin East Sandra Chia 22 1 Pulau Ubin Central, morning Veronica Foo 26 1 Kent Ridge Park, juvenile pale morph Kristie Yeong 28 2 Kranji Marsh, at least 1 juvenile pale morph Fadzrun Adnan

14. Unidentified Raptors (2)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 5 1 Kent Ridge Park, afternoon Alan OwYong 19 1 Kent Ridge Park, 7:15pm, may be a Common Alan OwYong Kestrel

Page 8 of 9 15. Unidentified Accipiters (13)

Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 12 Kent Ridge Carpark Zacc HD 15 1 Tuas Jacky Soh, Roland Lim, Thomas Lee, Alyce Ang, Sox, Veronica

FMBC = Fall Migration Bird Census SBWR = Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

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 Francis Yap and Seah Han Wah for the use of their photos.

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