Five members of the Bird Group woke up early in the morning to set off to another pelagic survey. It was a hazy morning and as noon came it turned out to be extremely hot as well.
Birds were spotted very soon after we cleared immigration at Sisters’ Islands. The Crested Terns came out in good numbers at the beginning of the trip. The total count for the Lesser Crested Terns was 25 and the Greater Crested Terns at 11. The other seabirds joined in soon after and we ended up with the following:
1. Lesser Crested Terns – 25
2. Greater Crested (Swift) Terns – 11
3. Aleutian Terns – 12
4. Bridled Terns – 27
5. White-winged Tern – 2
6. Unid (it means cannot be determined) Terns – 16
7. Swinhoe’s Storm Petrels – 12
8. Parasitic Jaeger – 1
9. Unid Jaegers – 2
We also saw 3 Japanese Sparrowhawks above us heading south on their migration path towards Indonesia. A Great Egret on the other hand was headed towards Singapore from Indonesia. The survey started at 6:00am and ended at 2:30pm.
Photo Gallery:
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- A Bridled Tern with a reflection of a reflection on the calm waters of the Singapore Strait.
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- A juvenile Aleutian Tern perched on flotsam.
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- A juvenile Parasitic Jaeger opening its mouth. It was a hot day and it was probably trying to keep cool.
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- Two Lesser Crested Tern on a log.
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- A juvenile Bridled Tern on the left begging for food.
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- Ten Swinhoe’s Storm Petrels congregating. They are on migration and they pass through in big numbers on certain dates.
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- A juvenile Japanese Sparrowhawk migrating southwards towards Indonesia.
Singapore Bird Group 