Singapore Raptor Report – Dec 2020
Singapore Raptor Report December 2020
Peregrine Falcon, juvenile, feeding on a Rock Dove, Woodlands, 8 Dec 2020, by Esther Ong
Summary for migrant species:
Quite a few scarce migrants were recorded in December. A juvenile Eastern Marsh Harrier was flying at Neo Tiew Harvest Link on the 1st, and an adult male flying over the Botanic Gardens on the 7th. On the 10th, a Black Kite was photographed over Pulau Ubin. A Greater Spotted Eagle in flight at Changi Business Park on the 8th, and another at Lazarus Island on the 25th, flying towards Sentosa, harassed by the resident Brahminy Kites. On the 30th, a Common Buzzard was photographed at the field opposite Ghim Moh market. As for the nocturnal Oriental Scops Owl, one was at Botanic Gardens on the 6th, and another at Mandai Track 15 on the 30th.
The wintering juvenile Rufous-bellied Hawk-Eagle was spotted at the Botanic Gardens on the 6th, and at Dairy Farm Nature Park on the 30th. Only 3 Chinese Sparrowhawks were recorded, an adult female wintering at Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West, plus a male and a juvenile at Coney Island. Of the 6 Western Ospreys, 3 were flying over Mandai Track 15 on the 3rd.
Ten migrant Peregrine Falcons were recorded, two adults and eight juveniles, often on the rooftop or ledges of upper stories of tall buildings. There were 11 Jerdon’s Bazas, three at Pulau Ubin on the 10th, six at Coney Island on the 11th, one at Pasir Ris, and one at Changi Business Park. Finally, there were 25 Japanese Sparrowhawks, one of which caught a Blue- tailed Bee-eater, 54 Black Bazas and 79 migrant Oriental Honey Buzzards.
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White-bellied Sea Eagles tussling over a fish (in left foot of bottom eagle), SBWR Eagle Point, 15 Dec 2020, by CK Theng.
Highlights for sedentary species:
Breeding-related activities were noted for several species. A Changeable Hawk-Eagle was standing on a nest in the vicinity of Dairy Farm Nature Park on the 6th. The Black-winged Kite pair at Seletar was building their nest on the 12th, 20th and 27th, and were harassed by crows. The pair of Brahminy Kites at West Coast Park was perched near their nest on the 25th. A White-bellied Sea Eagle at Jalan Asas was flying about with nesting materials on the 2nd. The Crested Goshawk pair at Pasir Ris was nestbuilding on the 27th, and mated on the 30th, and had to chase away the neighbourhood Oriental Pied Hornbills when these came close to their nest. And for the Buffy Fish Owl, a pair mated on the 2nd and another pair at SBWR had a chick on nest on the 20th.
At Ulu Pandan park connector on the 13th, the resident Grey-headed Fish Eagle was seen attacking a Purple Heron that was fishing in the eagle’s territory. At SBWR Eagle Point on the 15th, two White-bellied Sea Eagles were tussling in the air over a fish, with one eagle upside down mid-air. The Crested Serpent Eagle was recorded at Goldhill Avenue, Pasir Ris and Ubin. The Changeable Hawk-Eagles reminded us of their presence by putting up a good show, allowing for good photos of the dark morph, pale morph and juvenile pale morph.
An adult ernesti Peregrine Falcon was present at Jurong West on the 2nd and 4th. Five torquatus Oriental Honey Buzzards were recorded – at the Botanic Gardens, a male on the 6th, and a female on the 7th; another male flew by Jelutong Tower on the 7th and Neo Tiew Harvest Lane on the 13th; yet a different male at Pasir Ris on the 22nd; and an immature at Springleaf on the 26th.
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Table 1 S/N Species No. S/N Species No. 1 Western Osprey 6 Residents / Sedentary Species 2 Jerdon's Baza 11 14 Black-winged Kite 11 3 Black Baza 54 15 Brahminy Kite C* 4 Oriental Honey Buzzard 84 16 White-bellied Sea Eagle C* 5 Black Kite 1 17 Grey-headed Fish Eagle 10 6 Eastern Marsh Harrier 2 18 Crested Serpent Eagle 4 7 Chinese Sparrowhawk 3 19 Crested Goshawk 9 8 Japanese Sparrowhawk 25 20 Changeable Hawk-Eagle 13 9 Common Buzzard 1 10 Greater Spotted Eagle 2 Nocturnal raptor 11 Rufous-bellied Hawk-Eagle 1 21 Buffy Fish Owl 5 12 Peregrine Falcon 11 13 Oriental Scops Owl 2 Total for Migrants 203 Grand Total 343
* C = Common
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1. Western Osprey Pandion haliaetus (6)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 MED Vincent Yip 3 3 Mandai Track 15 Marcel Finlay 5 1 NTHL Zacc HD Dec 1 Seletar Aerospace Drive Bp Chua 13 1 Chek Jawa, Ubin Jacky Soh 14 1 Seletar Island Lester Tan
Western Osprey, at Seletar Island, 14 Dec 2020, by Lester Tan
2. Jerdon's Baza Aviceda jerdoni (11)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 10 3 Pulau Ubin Raghav N. 11 6 Coney Island Norhafiani A Majid 15 1 PRP Koh Lian Heng 20 1 CBP with big praying mantis prey Tan Gim Cheong 22 1 CBP Ash Foo 23 1 CBP Steven Cheong
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3. Black Baza Aviceda leuphotes (54)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 3 TEG Kee Jing Ying 6 4 The Grandstand Martin Kennewell 5 2 NTHL Zacc HD 6 6 KM Tuck Loong 6 19 KM Fadzrun A. 6 1 PRP Ash Foo 8 2 PRP Alvin Seng 8 6 Woodleigh Park Water Works Raj Bhatt 10 3 CBP Tan Gim Cheong 13 4 CBP Han YK 18 1 Holland Village Geoff Lim 20 3 Lorong Halus Tan Kok Hui 25 11 Neo Tiew Lane 2 Lim Kim Chuah 26 3 SBG Zac C 28 1 SBG vicinity Cheng Li Ai 31 4 PRP Debby Ng 31 7 Pulau Ubin Andrew William
Oriental Honey Buzzard, adult female torquatus subspecies, Botanic Gardens, 7 Dec 2020, by Tan Eng Boo
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4. Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus (79-5) orientalis unless indicated otherwise
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 TEG, juvenile pale morph Kee Jing Ying 2 1 Springleaf Nature Park, torquatus immature Chua N Y 3 1 Hua Guan Avenue, adult male pale morph, Benjamin Lee 7:52am 3 1 SBG Khoo Meilin 4 1 PRP, adult male pale morph Alvin Seng 4 1 SBG, juvenile pale morph Angie Cheong 4 1 SBG vicinity, pale morph Cheng Li Ai 5 1 NTHL Zacc HD 5 3 Satay by the Bay, 1 juvenile pale morph, 1 Siew Mun juvenile dark morph, 1 immature female pale morph 5 3 The Grandstand Martin Kennewell 5 1 Orto, Sembawang, adult female Chua NY 6 1 Southern Ridges, adult female pale morph Ros Qian 6 1 NTHL, juvenile pale morph Yip Jen Wei 6 1 SBG, torquatus adult, probably male Cheng Li Ai 7 2 SBG vicinity, 1 adult male, 1 juvenile Cheng Li Ai 7 1 SBG, torquatus adult female Tan Eng Boo 8 8 SBG Cheng Li Ai 9 1 SBG vicinity Cheng Li Ai 10 1 CBP, male pale morph Tan Gim Cheong, Philip Ng 10 2 Jurong West, 1 pale morph, 1 immature pale Philip Toh morph 10 3 Ubin Raghav N. 11 6 Jelutong Tower Martin Kennwell 11 1 Jelutong Tower, adult male torquatus Francis Yap 13 1 NTHL, adult male torquatus, likely same Art Toh individual as above 13 1 NTHL, adult male pale morph Justin Jing Liang 13 1 Hampstead Wetlands, juvenile pale morph Eis Mann 14 1 CBP, juvenile dark morph Ash Foo 14 1 CBP, juvenile pale morph Mag Pie 15 1 Spottiswoode Park Road, female pale morph Yip Jen Wei 16 2 Jurong West, 1 adult male dark morph, 1 pale Philip Toh morph 15 1 CBP, pale morph Vincent Yip 15 4 PRP Yap Bao Shen 16 1 Singapore, adult male dark morph, mobbed by Angie Cheong House Crows 16 1 CBP, juvenile pale morph Herman Phua 16 1 Jurong West, juvenile dark morph Philip Toh 17 1 Toa Payoh, mobbed by several crows Henrietta Woo 18 2 Jurong West, 1 immature female dark morph, 1 Philip Toh male pale morph
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18 1 Siglap, juvenile pale morph harassed by House Yvo Goosens Crows 19 1 PRP pond, juvenile dark morph Zhang Licong 19 1 PRP, juvenile pale morph Benson Toh 19 1 CBP, juvenile pale morph Angie Cheong, Girish Jamadagni 19 1 CBP, immature female pale morph Lee Chin Pong 19 4 Lorong Halus Tan Kok Hui 20 1 CBP, juvenile pale morph Eric Tan, Ted Lee 20 1 Ang Mo Kio, adult female Ender Tey 20 3 NTHL Martin Kennewell 20 2 King Albert Park Lukasz Wojciech 20 1 SBTB, juvenile pale morph NormanWu 21 6 SBG Fadzrun A. 22 1 PRP, torquatus male, not the same individual as Siew Mun Jelutong Tower 22 6 Hindhede Walk vicinity Tay Kian Guan 23 2 Jurong West, 1 juvenile dark morph, 1 immature Philip Toh pale morph 23 1 PRP, adult male Siew Mun 23 1 CBP, adult female pale morph Ted Lee 25 1 Ang Mo Kio, adult female pale morph Ender Tey 25 1 CBP, adult female pale morph Ash Foo 26 1 CBP, adult male pale morph Herman Phua 26 1 Springleaf Nature Park, torquatus Matthew Teng 27 2 Neo Tiew Road Yap Bao Shen 27 2 St John’s Island Chen Boon Chong 27 1 Central Boulevard, immature Lee Chin Pong 27 2 CBP, 1 adult pale morph, 1 juvenile Philip Ng 27 1 CBP, juvenile dark morph Tan Hong Kim 27 3 CBP, 1 adult pale morph, 1 juvenile pale morph, 1 Saravanan K. juvenile dark morph 28 1 Bukit Timah canal, juvenile dark morph Cheng Li Ai 28 1 SBTB, female pale morph Evelyn Lee 29 3 Jurong West Philip Toh 29 1 Singapore, juvenile pale morph AP S Kumar 30 4 DFNP Yip Jen Wei 31 1 Ulu Pandan Park Connector Yip Jen Wei 31 1 Ghim Moh, female pale morph Art Toh
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OHB, Neo Tiew Harvest Lane, Dec 2020, by Lo Wai Munn
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5. Black Kite Milvus migrans (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 10 1 Pulau Ubin, photographed Jacky Soh
6. Eastern Marsh Harrier Circus spilonotus (2)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Neo Tiew Harvest Link, juvenile, photographed Benjamin Lee 7 1 SBG, male in flight, photographed Tan Eng Boo
7. Chinese Sparrowhawk Accipiter soloensis (3)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 6 1 Coney Island Tok Sock Ling 11 1 Coney Island, juvenile Norhafiani A Majid 20 1 Coney Island, adult male Jackie Yeo 25 1 Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West, adult female Ender Tey
8. Japanese Sparrowhawk Accipiter gularis (25)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Benoi Sector, juvenile Raj Bhatt 2 1 SBG Khoo Meilin 3 1 JLG, juvenile Kwok Tuck Loong 5 1 MED, juvenile Ash Foo 5 1 Woodlands Centre Road Kwok Tuck Loong 6 1 NTHL, adult female Zacc HD 6 1 Coney Island Tok Sock Ling 7 1 Turf City, juvenile Chen Boon Chong 8 1 Jurong West, juvenile Philip Toh 11 1 PRP, adult female James Wong 11 2 Jelutong Tower Martin Kennewell 12 1 Changi Village Road A. B. Arun Ganesh 12 1 Tuas South Martti Siponen 13 1 Neo Tiew Lane, juvenile Zacc HD 14 1 Changi Golf Club vicinity A. B. Arun Ganesh 15 2 CBP, 1 adult male, 1 juvenile James Wong 18 1 Holland Village Troy Shortell 19 1 MED, juvenile Herman Phua 25 2 Ang Mo Kio, 1 juvenile, 1 immature Ender Tey 26 1 Jelutong Tower, adult female Wai Heng Lua 27 1 St John’s Island, juvenile Chen Boon Chong 29 1 Sungei Ulu Pandan Tay Kian Guan
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Japanese Sparrowhawk, juvenile, caught a Blue-tailed Bee-eater, by Jasman Ashar
9. Common Buzzard Buteo buteo (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 30 1 Ghim Moh market, adult pale morph John Marriott
10. Greater Spotted Eagle Clanga clanga (2)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 8 1 CBP, juvenile, 11:15am KW Seah 25 1 Lazarus Island, juvenile mobbed by 2 Brahminy Norhafiani A Majid Kites and flew towards Sentosa, 12:35pm
Greater Spotted Eagle, Changi Business Park, 8 Dec 2020, by KW Seah
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11. Rufous-bellied Hawk-Eagle Lophotriorchis kienerii (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 6 1 SBG, juvenile Darren Leow 30 1 DFNP, juvenile Norhafiani A Majid
12. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus (10+1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 2 1 Jurong West, adult ernesti Philip Toh 4 1 Jurong West, adult ernesti Philip Toh 5 1 NTHL, juvenile Zacc HD 5 1 MED, juvenile Zacc HD 5 1 Sembawang, adult Esther Ong 8 1 Woodlands, juvenile, feeding on a Rock Dove Esther Ong 11 1 Coney Island, juvenile Norhafiani A Majid 13 1 Kim Tian Road, adult Art Toh 14 1 Seletar Island, juvenile Lester Tan 15 1 CBP, juvenile Vincent Yip 15 1 Pasir Ris, juvenile Danny Khoo 20 1 Ang Mo Kio, juvenile Ender Tey
13. Oriental Scops Owl Otus sunia (2)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 12 1 SBG, grey morph, photographed Han YK 30 1 Singapore, grey morph, photographed Julie Edgley
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Resident raptors
14. Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus (11)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 9 2 Tuas South Martti Siponen 10 1 Hampstead Wetlands Siew Mun 12 2 Seletar, building nest Chua N Y 19 1 Pasir Ris bus interchange, adult Zhang Licong 19 2 CBP Ramesh T. 20 1 NTHL Ken Ng 20 2 Seletar, building nest Chua N Y 25 1 TEG Liu Xinlu 27 1 Seletar, flying with a twig in its beak, harassed by Tan Ghim Pin crows 27 2 Jurong Island Highway Martin Kennewell 30 2 NTHL Wong Wai Loon
15. Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
Date No. Location and Details Reported By -- Common raptor -- 25 2 West Coast Park, adults near nest Teo Chee Yong
16. White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster
Date No. Location and Details Reported By -- Common raptor -- 2 1 Jalan Asas, building nest Chan Kumchun 15 2 SBWR Eagle Point, 1 upside down in the air with CK Theng fish, facing another right side up above it
17. Grey-headed Fish Eagle Haliaeetus ichthyaetus (10)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 4 1 Springleaf Nature Park, adult Chua N Y 5 2 NTHL Yip Jen Wei 6 1 TEG, adult Francois Houde 10 1 Hampstead Wetlands, adult Shuna Maekawa 13 1 Ulu Pandan river, adult attacking a Purple Heron Roland Chan, Kkwong See 19 2 Chek Jawa, Ubin Robin Arnold 19 2 Little Guilin, 10:30am – 12pm Ulf Remahl 25 1 SBG vicinity, adult Cheng Li Ai 28 1 DFNP, adult Angie Cheong 28 1 JLG Mike Hooper 30 1 SBG vicinity, adult Cheng Li Ai
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Grey-headed Fish Eagle, adult, harassing a Purple Heron in its territory, Ulu Pandan Park Connector, 13 Dec 2020, by Roland Chan
18. Crested Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela (4)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 3 1 SBG Khoo Meilin 3 2 SBG Fadzrun A. 6 1 SBG, adult Darren Leow 7 1 Goldhill Avenue, adult HP Lian 9 1 PRP Sim Chip Chye 12 1 PRP, adult Alvin Seng 12 1 Ubin Zac C
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Crested Goshawk, chasing away an Oriental Pied Hornbill near its nest, Pasir Ris Park, Dec 2020, by Soumen Mondal
19. Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus (9)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 2 1 MacRitchie Reservoir Marcel Finlay 9 1 SBG, immature, caught a young water monitor 吴浚源 lizard (Wu2 Jun4 Yuan2) 13 1 Sentosa, adult female Herman Phua 15 1 Sembawang, adult Esther Ong 19 1 CBP Saravanan K. 20 1 Hampstead Wetlands Tan Kok Hui 26 1 Labrador Nature Reserve Russell Boyman 27 2 PRP, nestbuilding observed Jackie Yeo 30 2 PRP, mating observed Wong Sangmen
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Changeable Hawk-Eagle, dark morph, Pasir Ris Park, 26 Dec 2020, by Chen Boon Chong
20. Changeable Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus cirrhatus (13)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 6 1 NTHL, adult pale morph Zacc HD 6 1 SBG, dark morph Art Toh 6 1 TEG, pale morph Francois Houde 6 1 DFNP vicinity, adult pale morph standing on nest Wong Chung Cheong 7 1 DFNP, immature pale morph Chen Boon Chong 8 1 SBG Cheng Li Ai 8 1 Jalan Bahtera, dark morph Ash Foo 19 1 Little Guilin, dark morph, 10am Ulf Remahl 21 1 JLG, juvenile pale morph Brenda Chua 23 1 Jurong West, juvenile pale morph Philip Toh 23 1 MED, dark morph Yap Bao Shen 25 1 Holland Plain, adult pale morph Derek Wong 26 2 PRP, 1 dark morph, 1 juvenile pale morph Chen Boon Chong 27 1 Jurong West, juvenile pale morph Philip Toh 27 1 St John’s Island, pale morph Chen Boon Chong 27 1 NTHL, pale morph Art Toh, Yap Bao Shen 28 1 DFNP, immature pale morph Angie Cheong 30 1 Bukit Timah summit, adult pale morph Ted Lee 31 1 DFNP, juvenile pale morph Siew Mun 31 1 DFNP, adult pale morph Angie Cheong
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Changeable Hawk-Eagle, juv. pale morph, Pasir Ris Park, 26/12/2020, by Chen Boon Chong
Changeable Hawk-Eagle, adult pale morph, Dairy Farm NP, 31 Dec 2020, by Angie Cheong
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21. Buffy Fish Owl Ketupa ketupu (5)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 2 2 Singapore, mating observed Ibn Talip 20 3 SBWR, pair, with chick on nest Martin Kennewell
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 Eo 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 Esther Ong, CK Theng, Lester Tan, Tan Eng Boo, Lo Wai Munn, Jasman Ashar, KW Seah, Roland Chan, Soumen Mondal, Chen Boon Chong, and Angie Cheong for the use of their photos.
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