Singapore Raptor Report Autumn Migration, November 2015
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Singapore Raptor Report Autumn Migration, November 2015 Oriental Honey Buzzards, on migration over Tuas South Avenue 16, 9 Nov 15, by Tan Gim Cheong. Summary for migrant species: 2,370 migrant raptors were recorded in November, a new record, thanks to the efforts of birders spending time out in the field under the warm weather. Of the 13 migrant raptor species counted, the Oriental Honey Buzzards made up the bulk with 2,174 birds, many passing through Tuas South on migration. The highest single day count was 894 OHB on 9 Nov, a new record and a spectacle witnessed by a few birders who took time out on a weekday to be there, and thanks in no small part to 'chief counter' Low Choon How, who had been keeping a lookout for the migrating raptors at Tuas. The previous record was 745 birds, coincidentally also on 9 Nov, two years ago. Only 1 torquatus OHB, an adult male was recorded at Pasir Ris Park on the 28th. A very rare Besra on migration over Sisters' Islands on the morning of the 13th was photographed by Jacky Soh, and seen by a few lucky companions. Another rarity, the Greater Spotted Eagle was recorded twice at Tuas South Ave 16; the first on 2 Nov, photographed by Koh Lian Heng as it flew over, close by the road; the second on 11 Nov, photographed by and delighting four birders as it flew over at a distance, though giving clear views. Zahidi Hamid posted a photo of a small flock of OHB flying over Telok Blangah Hill Park on the 16th, scrutinizing the photo I noticed a raptor with a different 'jizz' amongst the OHBs - it turned out to be an adult Jerdon's Baza, the only record for the month. The Common Kestrel, a rarity, was recorded on the 28th at Tuas South. Page 1 of 16 Another highlight was a nocturnal raptor, the Northern Boobook, 3 of which were recorded, 2 birds on the 9th and another on the 16th. A juvenile Eastern Marsh Harrier was photographed on the 5th and a male on the 14th, both at Changi, a site that is fast being lost to construction works to expand the airport. The first record of the Booted Eagle was on the 10th at Coney Island, subsequent sightings at nearby Seletar North Link were probably of the same individual. Ten Peregrine Falcons were recorded, amongst them an ernesti that returned to tall buildings at Church Street, enjoying the feral pigeons for lunch and dinner, literally! Two Ospreys were recorded on the northern coast between Sungei Buloh and Coney Island while another was on migration through Tuas. Also recorded were 26 Black Bazas, 8 Chinese Sparrowhawks and 138 Japanese Sparrowhawks, mostly on migration. Besra, adult female, at Sisters' Islands, 13 Nov 15, by Jacky Soh. Highlights for sedentary species: November was an exceptional month for the Crested Serpent Eagle with 3 individuals recorded; two at Kent Ridge Park on morning of the 21st, recorded by Alan OwYong & Keita Sin; and the third at the Botanic Gardens on the 26th, photographed by Sox Tok. For the Grey-headed Fish Eagle, the nesting pair at Little Guilin has had to start feeding an extra mouth starting from late November; another 2 adults were at the Botanic Gardens, 1 adult at Punggol Waterway, 1 juvenile at Kent Ridge Park and 1 at Admiralty Park. Six Crested Goshawks were recorded, three of them juveniles, a good indication of successful breeding. One juvenile Brahminy Kite photographed by Francis Yap at Changi on the 14th lost most of its secondaries and many of its primaries, some of the remaining primaries also seemed damaged. It was not clear whether it was due to an extreme case of moult, or the result of fights, or possibly a combination of the two. Nevertheless, it was amazing that the bird could still fly given the state of its flight feathers. The White-bellied Sea Eagle, Changeable Hawk-Eagle and Black-winged Kite completed the roundup for the month. Page 2 of 16 Brahminy Kite, juvenile, it is amazing that the bird could still fly! At Changi, 14 Nov 15, by Francis Yap. Table 1 S/N Species No. S/N Species No. 1 Osprey 3 Residents / Sedentary Species 2 Jerdon's Baza 1 14 Black-winged Kite 8 3 Black Baza 26 15 Brahminy Kite 16 4 Oriental Honey Buzzard 2174 16 White-bellied Sea Eagle 18 5 Eastern Marsh Harrier 2 17 Grey-headed Fish Eagle 8 6 Chinese Sparrowhawk 8 18 Crested Serpent Eagle 3 7 Japanese Sparrowhawk 138 19 Crested Goshawk 6 8 Besra 1 20 Changeable Hawk-Eagle 17 9 Greater Spotted Eagle 2 10 Booted Eagle 1 Unidentified 11 Common Kestrel 1 21 Unidentified Raptors 47 12 Peregrine Falcon 10 22 Unidentified Accipiters 21 13 Northern Boobook 3 Total for Migrants 2370 Grand Total 2514 Page 3 of 16 1. Osprey Pandion haliaetus (3) Date No. Location and Details Reported By 2 1 Seletar North Link, flying with a fish in its claws, Zahidi Hamid just before sunset 5 1 Coney Island, 11:44am Kerry Pereira 10 1 Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve Raphael Siah 10 1 Seletar Dam, evening Zahidi Hamid 11 1 Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Henrietta Woo 10:52am - 10:58am 11 1 Tuas South Avenue 16, flying south, noon Tan Gim Cheong, See Toh Yew Wai, John Spencer, Francis Yap 2. Jerdon's Baza Aviceda jerdoni (1) Date No. Location and Details Reported By 16 1 Kent Ridge Park, adult, flying with a flock of Zahidi Hamid Oriental Honey Buzzards, 9am - 10am, before rain 3. Black Baza Aviceda leuphotes (26) Date No. Location and Details Reported By 4 13 Tuas South Ave 16 Tan Gim Cheong 5 2 Lorong Halus Wetlands, 12:05pm Kerry Pereira 9 1 Admiralty Park, 12:45pm - 1:25pm Tan Kok Hui 10 2 Coney Island, morning Tan Kok Hui 10 4 Lorong Halus Wetlands, 7am - 10am Lim Kim Seng 10 1 Punggol Road, 1:42pm Kerry Pereira 14 2 Changi grasslands Tan Kok Hui 17 1 Kent Ridge Park Yap Euhian 19 1 Pasir Ris Park Ted Lee 21 3 Turut Track, 7:15am - 8:45am Tan Kok Hui, Con Foley, Danny Lau & Lau Jia Sheng 4. Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus (2174) orientalis unless indicated otherwise Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 4 Seletar, flying southeast, at least 2 juveniles, Jacky Soh 12:50pm 1 10 Telok Blangah Hill Park, 12:50pm - 1:30pm Low Choon How 3 21 Tuas South, flying northeast, 1pm Low Choon How 4 68 Tuas South Ave 16, 9:30am - 2pm Tan Gim Cheong 4 18 Tuas South, flying northeast, 1pm Low Choon How 5 1 Toa Payoh East, male orientalis pale morph Henrietta Woo 8:15am Page 4 of 16 5 1 Tanah Merah grasslands, juvenile dark morph Lee Tiah Khee orientalis, morning 5 57 Tuas South, flying northeast & southeast, 10am- Low Choon How 1:30pm 5 62 Tuas South Ave 1, aged 20 birds - 19 juveniles & Tan Gim Cheong 1 adult male, flying easterly, 11:15am - 14:15pm 6 19 Tuas South, 10am-1pm Low Choon How 6 125 Tuas South Ave 14, aged 30 birds - all juveniles, Tan Gim Cheong all flying eastsoutheast except 18 flying south, 1pm-3pm 6 40 Pioneer Road, late afternoon Christopher McCallum 7 3 Jurong, 3 orientalis juvenile, 9am Ling Kwee Chang 7 7 Tuas South Ave 16, flying east to southeast, Nicholas Tan 9:55am - 11am 8 1 Singapore, juvenile orientalis Leslie Fung 9 894 Tuas South Ave 16, Low Choon How & 270 before 1300h, 624 from 1300h to 1525h; Tan Gim Cheong largest group of 160 before 1200h 9 1 CBD, adult male orientalis Mrs Tony James 10 1 Changi, adult female orientalis Nicholas Tan 11 40 Tuas South Ave 16, morning before 10:45am John Spencer 11 33 Tuas South Ave 16, 10:45am - 1:30pm Tan Gim Cheong 11 15 Tuas Low Choon How 12 1 Telok Blangah Hill Park, juvenile rufous Zahidi Hamid orientalis, 8:15am - 11:15am 12 2 Admiralty Park, 12:40pm - 1:20pm Tan Kok Hui 13 18 Telok Blangah Hill Park, flying from the west, Zahidi Hamid 8:15am - 11:15am 13 3 Big Sister's Island, flying southeast, 8:20am - 9am Albert Low 14 1 Seletar North Link, adult female orientalis, Zahidi Hamid morning 14 5 Changi grasslands Tan Kok Hui 15 1 Pekan Quarry, Pulau Ubin Francis Yap 16 32 Kent Ridge Park, 9am - 10am, before rain Zahidi Hamid 17 8 Tuas South, noon Low Choon How 17 1 Admiralty Park Tan Kok Hui 18 9 Tuas South, noon Low Choon How 19 406 Tuas South, flying northeast, 12:25pm - 1pm Low Choon How 19 2 Bidadari Joseph Tan Kok Beng 19 2 Pasir Ris Park, 2 juveniles, 1 dark & 1 pale morph Ted Lee 20 2 Chinese Garden, 1 adult female pale morph, 1 Philip Toh juvenile pale morph, both orientalis 21 1 Toa Payoh East, orientalis, 7:45am Henrietta Woo 21 9 Kent Ridge Park, morning Alan OwYong & Keita Sin 21 1 Seletar North Link, juvenile pale orientalis, late Zahidi Hamid morning 21 215 Tuas South, 10am - 1pm Tan Kok Hui, Con Foley, Danny Lau, Lau Page 5 of 16 Jia Sheng, Francis Yap, Low Choon How & See Toh Yew Wai 22 1 East Coast Park, carpark D5, juvenile dark morph, Sox Tok 1pm 23 1 Lorong Halus Wetlands, juvenile rufous morph Alvin Seng 25 20 Tuas Chan Boon Hong 27 6 Lornie Road and Sime Road junction, flying high, Nicholas Tan 9:30am 28 1 Pasir Ris Park, torquatus adult male, morning Jacky Soh 28 5 Tuas South, 9:30am - 3pm Tan Kok Hui, Danny Lau & Lau Jia Sheng 5.