Singapore Raptor Report Spring Migration, March 2014
Black Bazas over Jurong Lake, 210314, by Chan K C.
Summary for migrant species:
In March, 84 raptors of 10 migrant species were recorded. Chan K C had the good luck of encountering at least 30 Black Bazas over Jurong Lake area on the 21st of the month. The birds were circling for about a minute before moving off. The other lucky birder, through sheer persistence, was Low Choon How, who recorded a male Pied Harrier at Tuas South on the 8th of the month. He also recorded a female Eastern Marsh Harrier on the same day, and again on the 23rd. Alan Owyong also had the good fortune of recording a Booted Eagle at Changi during the Bird Census.
There were 3 Jerdon's Baza at Lorong Halus, an improvement over last month's single record. On the other hand, the wintering Common Kestrel at Tuas was not recorded and may have started its northward migration for its breeding grounds.
The other migrant raptors included the Osprey at the northern coastal areas, Oriental Honey Buzzard throughout the island, Japanese Sparrowhawk, and a few Peregrine Falcon and Chinese Sparrowhawk.
Summary for resident raptors:
An immature Crested Goshawk was photographed by Simon Siow at Lower Pierce on the 9th of the month. Nesting activities were recorded for the Black-winged Kite, Brahminy
Page 1 of 7 Kite and White-bellied Sea Eagle. The juvenile Grey-headed Fish Eagles continued to be present at Bukit Batok Town Park (Little Guilin). The Changeable Hawk-eagle was also recorded at various localities.
Jerdon's Baza at Lorong Halus, 150314, by Lee Tiah Khee.
Table 1 S/N Species No. S/N Species No. 1 Osprey 2 Residents / Sedentary Species 2 Jerdon's Baza 3 11 Black-winged Kite 4 3 Black Baza 49 12 Brahminy Kite 20 4 Oriental Honey Buzzard 14 13 White-bellied Sea Eagle 10 5 Eastern Marsh Harrier 1 14 Grey-headed Fish Eagle 4 6 Pied Harrier 1 15 Crested Goshawk 1 7 Chinese Sparrowhawk 2 16 Changeable Hawk-eagle 9 8 Japanese Sparrowhawk 9 9 Booted Eagle 1 Unidentified 10 Peregrine Falcon 2 17 Unidentified Accipiters 2 18 Unidentified Raptor 1 Total for Migrants 84 Grand Total 135
Page 2 of 7 1. Osprey Pandion haliaetus (2)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Pulau Ubin, late afternoon Kerry Pereira 15 1 Mandai Mangroves, 6:50pm Kerry Pereira 29 1 Mandai Mudflats, 5:30pm Kerry Pereira
2. Jerdon's Baza Aviceda jerdoni (3)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 8 2 Lorong Halus Con Foley, Danny Lau, Lau Jia Sheng & Tan Kok Hui 8 3 Lorong Halus Jimmy Lee 9 3 Lorong Halus, morning Francis Yap 9 1 Lorong Halus, 7:15pm Mick Price 14 2 Lorong Halus Frankie Cheong 15 2 Lorong Halus, 8am Willie Foo, Lee Tiah Khee 16 2 Lorong Halus Lau Jia Sheng
3. Black Baza Aviceda leuphotes (49)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 4 2 Bidadari, morning Terry Heppell 8 10 Singapore Quarry, 7:50am Ulf Remahl 9 1 Greenleaf Forest Jimmy Lee, Ulf Remahl 12 1 Bidadari, morning Terry Heppell 16 6 Lorong Halus Lau Jia Sheng 21 2 Bidadari Frankie Cheong 21 30 Jurong Lake, 9:15am, a flock circling together Chan K C 24 2 Bidadari, morning Alan Owyong
4. Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus (14)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Marina Bay Sands Lau Jia Sheng 2 2 Chinese Garden, 1 dark morph male, 1 pale morph Lau Jia Sheng 2 1 Jurong East Low Choon How 9 4 Bishan Park Low Choon How 11 1 Green Corridor, near Yew Tee Primary School, Kerry Pereira 10:20am 13 1 Kent Ridge Road Ho Yongtze 16 1 Lorong Halus Lau Jia Sheng 20 2 Orchard Road, OG building John Arifin 24 1 Bidadari, morning Alan Owyong 28 2 Bidadari Low Choon How 29 1 Chinese Garden, 9:30am Jane
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5. Eastern Marsh Harrier Circus spilonotus (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 8 1 Tuas South, adult female Low Choon How 23 1 Tuas South, adult female Low Choon How
6. Pied Harrier Circus melanoleucos (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 8 1 Tuas South, male Low Choon How
7. Chinese Sparrowhawk Accipiter soloensis (2)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 16 1 Lorong Halus Lau Jia Sheng 22 1 Changi, perched Alan Owyong
8. Japanese Sparrowhawk Accipiter gularis (9)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 7 1 Tuas South Low Choon How 16 4 Lorong Halus Lau Jia Sheng 20 1 Lorong Halus Frankie Cheong 22 2 Changi Alan Owyong 24 1 Bidadari, morning Alan Owyong 28 1 Dairy Farm Nature Park, female, morning Francis Yap
9. Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 22 1 Changi, dark morph Alan Owyong
10. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus (2)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Pulau Ubin, late afternoon Kerry Pereira 11 1 Green Corridor, near Woodlands Road and Kranji Kerry Pereira Road intersection, 9:30am
Page 4 of 7 Resident raptors
11. Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus (4)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 22 3 Changi, one active nest Alan Owyong 28 1 Mandai Mudflats, 5:37pm Kerry Pereira
12. Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus (20)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Mount Faber, morning Terry Heppell 1 1 Pulau Ubin, juvenile, late afternoon Kerry Pereira 2 2 Chinese Garden Lau Jia Sheng 3 2 Mount Faber, morning Terry Heppell 5 1 Bukit Batok Kerry Pereira 7 1 Bidadari, adult on nest Andrew Chow 8 1 Lorong Halus Jimmy Lee 12 1 Bidadari, morning Terry Heppell 12 1 Serangoon River Frankie Cheong 14 1 Kent Ridge Road Ho Yongtze 16 1 Lorong Halus, 10am Willie Foo 16 1 Chinese Garden Lau Jia Sheng 14 1 Kent Ridge Road Ho Yongtze 14 2 Bedok Food Centre Ho Yongtze 22 1 Seletar Country Club, 3:26pm Kerry Pereira 22 5 Changi, 4 adults, 1 juvenile Alan Owyong 23 1 Bukit Batok West, morning Wing Chong, Lee Bee Yong 23 1 Pulau Ubin, 11am Willie Foo 24 1 Bidadari, morning Alan Owyong 28 2 Mandai Mudflats, 4:45pm Kerry Pereira 29 1 Chinese Garden, 9am Jane 29 2 Kent Ridge Road Ho Yongtze 29 2 Mandai Mudflats, 4:47pm Kerry Pereira
13. White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster (10)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 1 1 Pulau Ubin, late afternoon Kerry Pereira 2 1 Chinese Garden, 10am Willie Foo 8 1 Singapore Quarry, morning Ulf Remahl 8 1 Lorong Halus Jimmy Lee 9 2 Greenleaf Forest, nesting Jimmy Lee, Ulf Remahl, Terry Heppel 15 1 Mandai Mangroves, 6:15pm Kerry Pereira 16 1 Lorong Halus Lau Jia Sheng 16 1 Chinese Garden Lau Jia Sheng
Page 5 of 7 19 1 Kent Ridge Road Ho Yongtze 23 1 Kent Ridge Park Alan Owyong, Sunny 23 1 Pulau Ubin, 10:30am Willie Foo 24 1 Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, immature Yap Euhian 25 1 Hindhede Park, 1pm Willie Foo 26 2 Lower Pierce, 6:30pm Willie Foo 28 1 Lower Pierce, adult Yap Euhian
14. Grey-headed Fish Eagle Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus (4)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 6 1 Pandan River, immature Yap Euhian 7 1 MacRitchie Reservoir Francis Yap 12 2 Little Guilin, 2 juveniles, 10:10am Ulf Remahl
Grey-headed Fish Eagle, MacRitchie Reservoir, 070314, by Francis Yap.
15. Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 9 1 Lower Pierce, immature, photographed in the Simon Siow evening
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16. Changeable Hawk-eagle Spizaetus cirrhatus (9)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 2 1 Bukit Batok Nature Park, juvenile pale morph, Jane 12:45pm 16 3 Lorong Halus Lau Jia Sheng 22 1 Changi, pale morph, perched Alan Owyong 23 1 Bukit Batok West, morning Wing Chong, Lee Bee Yong 23 1 Pulau Ubin, 10am Willie Foo 25 1 Lower Pierce, 7pm Willie Foo 26 1 Hindhede Park, 12:30pm Willie foo 27 1 Hume Heights, dark morph, morning Sreedharan Gopalsamy
17. Unidentified Accipiters (2)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 16 1 Lorong Halus Lau Jia Sheng 30 1 Bidadari Low Choon How
18. Unidentified Raptors (1)
Date No. Location and Details Reported By 26 1 Choa Chu Kang, 7:16pm Steven Chong
Compiled by Tan Gim Cheong.
Note: The numbers in brackets beside the bird names indicates the total number seen for this month. Different reports of the same raptors from the same area have been discounted to prevent duplication.
Many thanks to everyone who had sent in their reports and especially to Chan K C, Lee Tiah Khee and Francis Yap for the use of their photos.
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