Singapore Raptor Report December 2019
A fortuitous photo of 2 Peregrine Falcons of different subspecies: Left – juvenile japonensis, Right – juvenile calidus (thinner moustachial stripe & paler), at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve on 12 Dec 2019, by Ang T. H.
Summary for migrant species:
Two Peregrine Falcons interacting with each other at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve on the 12th were captured on camera by Ang T. H., providing an excellent opportunity for plumage comparison between the two similar-looking subspecies. For the month, we had 11 migrant type (japonensis/calidus) Peregrine Falcons. Interestingly, two adult japonensis were perched within meters of each other at Jurong East, on the 11th.
Just a few days before the year came to a close, on the afternoon of the 28th, two huge Himalayan Vultures flew over Hindhede Quarry, surprising birders who were there looking for a waterbird, the vultures eventually settled on the cliff edge for the night. The next morning, birders were out in force to marvel at these two rare vagrants, which took flight at mid-morning and were mobbed by the resident White-bellied Sea Eagles. They were seen shortly after at Jelutong Tower, thermalling high up.
The single wintering immature Rufous-bellied Hawk-Eagle was photographed twice at Dairy Farm Nature Park, on the 4th & 6th. The only Common Kestrel, a female/juvenile type, was recorded at Tuas South on the 22nd & 23rd. Only one Common Buzzard, an adult, was seen/photographed at Holland Village Car Park on the 25th & 26th.
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Himalayan Vultures, at Hindhede Nature Park, on 28 Dec 2019, by Lee Van Hien
An adult female Chinese Sparrowhawk, probably the same individual from previous years, and which returned on October 2019, was still wintering at Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West. Elsewhere, there were three other individuals, one each at Dairy Farm Nature Park (juvenile), Pasir Ris Park (adult female), and Changi Business Park.
Three Western Ospreys were recorded: two at Kranji Marshes, and another at Yishun Pond. Five Jerdon's Bazas were recorded: three at the Pasir Ris – Lorong Halus – Coney Island area, and two at Changi Business Park.
Finally, we come to the most abundant migrant raptors. 15 Japanese Sparrowhawks and 33 Black Bazas were recorded, including 13 bazas at the Botanic Gardens on the 25th. The Oriental Honey Buzzard is tops again with 84 birds, including many juveniles and a small number of dark morphs.
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Crested Goshawk, with prey (Yellow Bittern), at Pasir Ris Park, on 22 Dec 2019, by Chan Yoke Meng
Highlights for sedentary species:
The notable sightings for resident raptors include that of the locally rare Crested Serpent Eagle, which was recorded three times: one at Pulau Ubin on the 1st, one at Malcolm Road on the 3rd, and an adult at Dairy Farm Nature Park on the 16th.
Nesting-related records were reported for four species. There was a nest of a pair of Grey- headed Fish Eagles, with one chick, high up a tall tree at Little Guilin. Nest-building activity was observed for the Brahminy Kite at Lim Chu Kang area, and for the Crested Goshawk at Pasir Ris. At Bishan, the chick of a pair of Spotted Wood Owls had already fledged.
At Dairy Farm Nature Park, a juvenile ernesti Peregrine Falcon was photographed in flight on the 8th. The other resident raptors recorded were the Black-winged Kite, Changeable Hawk Eagle, and the common White-bellied Sea Eagle.
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Table 1 S/N Species No. S/N Species No. 1 Western Osprey 3 Residents / Sedentary Species 2 Jerdon's Baza 5 12 Black-winged Kite 4 3 Black Baza 33 13 Brahminy Kite -- 4 Oriental Honey Buzzard 84 14 White-bellied Sea Eagle -- 5 Himalayan Vulture 2 15 Grey-headed Fish Eagle 8 6 Chinese Sparrowhawk 4 16 Crested Serpent Eagle 3 7 Japanese Sparrowhawk 15 17 Crested Goshawk 6 8 Common Buzzard 1 18 Changeable Hawk-Eagle 4 9 Rufous-bellied Hawk-Eagle 1 19 Spotted Wood Owl 3 10 Common Kestrel 1 11 Peregrine Falcon 12 Unidentified 20 Unidentified Accipiters 1
Total for Migrants 161 Grand Total 190
Page 4 of 12 1. Western Osprey Pandion haliaetus (3)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 7 2 Kranji Marsh Martin Kennewell 28 1 Yishun Pond, 3:15pm, diving unsuccessfully Esther Ong
2. Jerdon's Baza Aviceda jerdoni (5)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Pasir Ris Park Chen Boon Chong 1 1 Tampines Eco Green, afternoon Josh Spiler 4 1 Changi Business Park, 8:35am Koh Jian Haur 12 1 Changi Business Park, morning Ko Engwee 15 2 Changi Business Park Ramesh T. 24 3 Halus Wetland, flying to Coney Island, 11:20am Oliver Tan 24 3 Coney Island, flew in and perched, late morning Alan Tang
3. Black Baza Aviceda leuphotes (33)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Ulu Pandan Park Connector RNVK Deepak 2 1 Pasir Ris Park Sim Chip Chye 7 2 Kranji Marsh Darren Leow 7 3 Nanyang Technological University Mathias Blicher Bjerregård 7 3 Pasir Ris Park Michael Leong 12 1 Pasir Ris Park Wong Sangmen 17 4 Changi Business Park Ramesh T. 21 3 Pulau Ubin Richard Carden 21 1 Neo Tiew Harvest Lane Tan Kok Hui 22 11 Botanic Gardens Roger McNeill 22 1 Tampines Eco Green Wang HM 22 1 Jurong Lake Garden Han YK 24 3 Pasir Ris Park Norhafiani A. Majid 24 3 Lorong Halus Oliver Tan 25 1 Tampines Eco Green Wang HM 25 13 Botanic Gardens Sandra Chia 28 1 Pasir Ris Park James Gan 30 3 Pasir Ris Park Alan Tang 31 1 Pasir Ris Park Raymond Poon
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Black Baza, at Pasir Ris Park on 2 Dec 2019, by Sim Chip Chye
4. Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus (84) orientalis unless indicated otherwise
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Tampines Eco Green, juvenile pale morph Wang HM 1 1 Changi Business Park, adult male mobbed by a Darren Leow Japanese Sparrowhawk 1 2 Botanic Gardens Tan Kok Hui 1 1 Bishan Park Josh Spiler 1 2 Central Catchment Nature Reserve Adrian Silas Tay 2 1 Bidadari Steven Cheong 3 3 Pasir Ris Park Tay Kian Guan 6 1 Jelutong Tower, juvenile pale morph Alex Fok
Page 6 of 12 7 1 Pasir Ris Park, juvenile pale morph Norman Wu 7 2 Clementi Ave 3 Tay Kian Guan 7 4 Dairy Farm Nature Park Martin Kennewell 7 6 Hindhede Nature Park Martin Kennewell 8 1 Tampines Eco Green, juvenile pale morph Wang HM 8 1 Tuas South Martin Kennewell 8 2 Singapore Quarry Martin Kennewell 8 4 Sentosa Martin Kennewell 10 1 Kranji Marsh, 9:09am Henrietta Woo 12 1 Pasir Ris Park, juvenile pale morph Michael Leong 12 1 Pasir Ris Park, juvenile pale morph Siew Mun 12 2 Ang Mo Kio Oliver Tan 13 2 Teacher’s Estate; 10:15am Henrietta Woo 16 1 Fort Canning Park Jeff Curnick 18 2 West Coast Park Tay Kian Guan 21 1 Springleaf Nature Park Ng Wei Khim 22 1 Sengkang Riverside Park Tan Kok Hui 22 2 Yishun Pong Richard Carden 22 1 Brickland Road Tay Kian Guan 22 6 Jurong Lake Garden Han YK 23 1 Pasir Ris Park, adult male Michael Leong 23 5 Changi Business Park Ramesh T. 24 1 Pasir Ris Park Norhafiani A. Majid 24 3 Lorong Halus Wetlands Oliver Tan 25 1 Tampines Eco Green, juvenile pale morph Wang HM 26 1 Pulau Ubin Keita Sin 27 1 The Greenway (Alexandra) Evelyn Lee 28 6 Neo Tiew Harvest Lane Pary Sivaraman 28 1 Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, juvenile dark Zhang Licong morph 28 1 Hort Park Tay Kian Guan 28 1 Punggol Park, dark morph Norhafiani A. Majid 28 2 Pulau Ubin Martin Kennewell 29 1 Yishun Dam Lu Kiat 29 1 Tuas Keita Sin 30 1 Jelutong Tower, juvenile pale morph Alex Fok 31 1 Tampines Eco Green, juvenile pale morph Wang HM 31 2 Southern Ridges Michael Leong
5. Himalayan Vulture Gyps himalayensis (2)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 28 2 Hindhede Nature Park, juveniles, flew in at Ros Qian, Dorcas Fong, 4:35pm, and perched overnight Shirley Ng 29 2 Hindhede Nature Park, juveniles, perched until Francis Yap, 9:43am in the morning before taking flight, and many others mobbed by WBSE in flight 29 2 Jelutong Tower, juveniles, 10:15am, in flight Vincent Ng
Page 7 of 12 6. Chinese Sparrowhawk Accipiter soloensis (4)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West, adult female Alex Fok wintering. Also seen on 3, 12, 13, 16, 25, 27 & 28 December 3 1 Ang Mo Kio, adult female Andy Teo 12 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park, juvenile Choong YT 21 1 Pasir Ris Park, adult female Chen Boon Chong 23 1 Changi Business Park Ramesh T.
7. Japanese Sparrowhawk Accipiter gularis (15)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Pasir Ris Park, juvenile Chen Boon Chong 1 1 Changi Business Park, juvenile, mobbing an OHB Darren Leow 1 1 Neo Tiew Harvest Lane Keita Sin 4 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park, mobbed a Rufous-bellied Tuck Loong Hawk-Eagle 7 2 Hindhede Nature Park Martin Kennewell 7 1 Botanic Gardens Leslie Loh 8 1 Tuas South Martin Kennewell 18 1 Yishun, adult female Keith Hutton 19 1 Central Catchment Nature Reserve Jules Wyman 21 1 Pasir Ris Park, juvenile Chen Boon Chong 21 1 Pulau Ubin Martin Kennewell 22 1 Jurong Lake Garden Han YK 26 1 Alexandra Boardwalk, juvenile Art Toh 29 1 Singapore Quarry Oliver Tan
8. Common Buzzard Buteo buteo (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 25 1 Holland Village Car Park, evening U Leong 26 1 Holland Village Car Park, adult photographed, U Leong morning
9. Rufous-bellied Hawk-Eagle Lophotriorchis kienerii (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 4 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park, immature Sim Chip Chye 6 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park, immature Pary Sivaraman
10. Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 22 1 Tuas South Martin Kennewell 23 1 Tuas South, female/juvenile type See Toh Yew Wai
Page 8 of 12 11. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus (12)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Jurong East, adult japonensis Johnny Chew 6 1 Jurong Lake Garden Oliver Tan 8 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park, juvenile ernesti Terence Tan 8 1 Sentosa Martin Kennewell 9 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park, juvenile calidus Zacc HD 11 2 Jurong East, both adult japonensis Johnny Chew 12 2 Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, 1 juvenile Ang T H japonensis & 1 juvenile calidus 12 1 Pasir Ris Park, juvenile japonensis James Wong 12 1 Yishun Dam Esther Ong 16 1 Halus, juvenile japonensis Siva Kumar 24 1 Block 536, Pasir Ris Drive 1, adult japonensis, Siva Kumar 6:45pm 28 1 Chek Jawa, adult japonensis Vincent Ng 28 1 Turut Track, juvenile calidus fighting with a Lim Joseph Black-winged Kite 28 1 Kent Ridge Park, juvenile calidus Tay Kian Guan 29 1 Block 180B, Marsiling Road, adult japonensis Wilber Yip 30 1 Sembawang Esther Ong 31 1 Neo Tiew Harvest Link, juvenile calidus Tan Eng Boo
Two adult Peregrine Falcons together, at Jurong East, on 11 Dec 2019, by Johnny Chew
Page 9 of 12 Resident raptors
12. Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus (4)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 7 1 Tampines Eco Green Wang HM 23 2 Tuas South See Toh Yew Wai 28 1 Turut Track, fighting with a Peregrine Falcon Lim Joseph
13. Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
Date No. Location and Details Reported By -- Common raptor -- 30 1 Lim Chu Kang, adult seen flying with nesting Lee Chin Pong materials in talons
14. White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster
Date No. Location and Details Reported By -- Common raptor --
15. Grey-headed Fish Eagle Haliaeetus ichthyaetus (8)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Central Catchment Nature Reserve Adrian Silas Tay 4 1 Little Guilin, new nest spotted Ulf Remahl 7 2 Jurong Lake Garden Martin Kennewell 7 3 Little Guilin, 2 adults, nest with 1 chick Khoo Meilin 9 1 Botanic Gardens Simon Reynolds 13 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park Oliver Tan 18 2 Mandai Road, seemingly in aerial display Henrietta Woo 20 1 Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve Norbert Fratt 21 1 Pulau Ubin Richard Carden 21 1 Springleaf Nature Park, adult Ng Wei Khim
16. Crested Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela (3)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Pulau Ubin Chelsea Lee 3 1 Malcolm Road Josh Spiler 16 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park, adult Choong YT
17. Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus (6)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 9 1 Fort Canning Park Adrian Silas Tay 12 1 Pasir Ris Park, adult Siew Mun 21 1 Pasir Ris Park, feeding on a squirrel, nest-building Michael Leong observed
Page 10 of 12 21 1 Pasir Ris Park, adult Chen Boon Chong 22 1 Pasir Ris Park, adult with prey (Yellow Bittern) Melinda Chan 24 2 Pasir Ris Park, a pair Norhafiani A. Majid 25 1 Botanic Gardens Sandra Chia 28 2 Southern Ridges, a male & a female, feeding on a Tay Kian Guan Javan Myna 31 1 Pasir Ris Park, eating a rat Dennis Lim
Crested Goshawk, eating a rat, at Pasir Ris Park, on 31 Dec 2019, by Dennis Lim
18. Changeable Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus cirrhatus (4)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Pasir Ris Park, adult pale morph Zhang Licong 4 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park, dark morph Choong YT 13 2 Dairy Farm Nature Park, a pair of dark morphs Oliver Tan nesting 24 1 Pasir Ris Park, pale morph Herman Phua 30 1 Bukit Batok Nature Park, pale morph Ulf Remahl
19. Spotted Wood Owl Strix seloputo (3)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 26 3 Bishan Park, family of 2 adults and 1 fledged Koh chick
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Crested Goshawk, with prey (Javan Myna), at the Southern Ridges, on 28 Dec 2019, by Tay Kian Guan
20. Unidentified Accipiters (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 23 1 Tuas South See Toh Yew Wai
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 Ang T H, Lee Van Hien, Chan Yoke Meng, Sim Chip Chye, Johnny Chew, Dennis Lim, and Tay Kian Guan for the use of their photos.
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