Pelagic Birding in the Straits of Singapore.

Pelagic birding in the Singapore Straits. 18 Sept 2016. Text and Photos by Dirk Tomsa. 

Cruising eastwards at the start of out Pelagic with the Singapore skyline in the distance. Photo: Gerard Francis.

On 18 September 2016, the Bird Group of the Nature Society Singapore organized its first pelagic birdwatching trip for its members. There were ten of us including the leaders Alfred Chia and Lim Kim Keang. We left Sentosa Marina just before 6 am and set course for the Singapore Straits. I had done a few pelagics in Australia before and always loved them, so I was full of anticipation when we finally cleared immigration – yes, passport clearence out at sea, a first for me – and headed out to more open water. Compared to my previous experiences in the cold waters of the Southern ocean, this tropical pelagic promised very different birds. Terns, not albatrosses or prions, would be most prominent, with up to eight different species possible including the beautiful Aleutian Tern which migrates through Singaporean waters around this time of the year. Furthermore, we were hoping to see Swinhoe’s Storm-Petrel, another migratory species that routinely passes through the Singapore Straits in September. For me personally, these two were the main targets as both would be lifers for me. And, as it turned out, I would not be disappointed.   

Terns like this Greater Crested Terns will be the most prominent pelagic species encountered.

In fact, it didn’t take long at all until we saw the first storm-petrels. Navigating the waves low above the surface, several small groups of Swinhoe’s whizzed past the boat, but unfortunately none of them came really close so that it was difficult to clearly see the subtle markings on these essentially brown birds. Eventually, my binoculars captured a bird close enough to the boat to enable me making out the slightly paler, crescent-shaped wing bar. Most birds, however, kept their distance and so I felt kind of reassured that Swinhoe’s was actually the only ‘stormie’ likely to be encountered here. Identifying different species at this long range would be a huge challenge. In the end, Alfred and Kim Keang confirmed that all storm-petrels seen that day were Swinhoe’s and that the total number of birds migrating through the straits that morning must have been around 300-350. Good numbers indeed, and a valuable tick for my list.

At this time of the year, the Straits of Singapore is one of the best places to see these Swinhoe’s Storm Petrels as they migrate through the Straits. More than 320 were counted this morning. Photo: Gerard Francis.

The storm-petrels were most abundant early in the morning. As the clock approached 9 am, the little brown birds became scarcer and we turned our attention to terns. Apparently a solitary Little Tern bid farewell to our boat as we left Sentosa but I had missed it, watching the distant silhouette of a Brahminy Kite instead.

Close up view of two Great Crested Terns in non-breeding plumage at the yellow buoy.

But now out at sea, more and more terns appeared near the boat. As expected, the most numerous were the fairly common Greater Crested Terns. More than twenty of this large tern species flew past throughout the trip and we were treated to some close-up views early on when a group of six perched on a buoy. We circled the buoy a couple of times so that everyone could get a good look. For the majority on board, this was their first pelagic birdwatching trip, so seeing these large terns so close was a great experience for all.

The Lesser Crested Tern on the left and the Greater side by side for comparison. The bright orange bill of the Lesser is a good feature to tell them apart.

Getting such good views of the very similar Lesser Crested Tern took a lot longer. In fact, we had to wait until we passed the same buoy again on the way back. This time the six Greater Crested Terns shared the tight space with two Lesser Crested Terns, thereby providing an excellent opportunity to compare these two species at close range. Despite the names, the difference in size is actually not that big, but the brightly coloured bills – orange in the Lesser, yellow in the Greater – made it easy for everyone on board to tell the birds apart.

In between our two encounters with the Crested Terns, there was a prolonged period where there were no birds at all. During this intermezzo, my thoughts drifted and I struggled to stay awake as my body reminded me that I had gotten up at 4.30 am. I staved off the temptation to just close my eyes by chatting with other participants, eating some snacks or looking at the field guides Alfred and Kim Keang had kindly provided. And then, just when I was about to doze off, another bird appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

Bridled Tern with its distinctive dark upper wings and eyebrow. An uncommon winter visitor.  

A Bridled Tern emerged near the boat and was gone within seconds, but then another one appeared. And another. With their dark upper-wings and distinct eyebrow, these are among my favourite terns. We would see several others later on, but most of them remained distant specs on the horizon and unfortunately not everybody on board saw them.  

Fantastic views of the Aleutian Tern resting on a flotsam,  a well known habitat for this tern. We counted eight of these wonderful terns during the trip.

The Bridled Terns had barely disappeared out of sight when someone from the front of the boat shouted ‘bird on water’. That sounded promising for Aleutian Tern because this species is well-known for its habit to rest on flotsam. And sure enough, an Aleutian Tern it was. Undisturbed by our approaching boat the bird perched calmly on a piece of driftwood, allowing fantastic views and great photo opportunities. Soon we saw a second bird perched a bit further away. All in all, we counted eight of these wonderful terns.

An uncommon Common Tern was our last and sixth tern species for the day.

Yet, not every tern on the water was an Aleutian Tern. Thanks to the sharp eyes of our ever-watchful guides, one of the flotsam squatters was identified as a Common Tern, a species which despite its name is actually fairly uncommon in Singapore waters. This was the sixth and last tern species to go onto our list for the day. The other two possibilities, Black-naped and White-winged Tern, did not grace us with an appearance this time, but that was only a minor blemish on an otherwise thoroughly rewarding trip.   

A big thank you to Alfred and the Bird Group for organising this trip, both Alfred and Kim Keang for the guiding and Gerard Francis for the use of his photos.

        

Wild Birds and Habitats-A Digital View.

Contributed by Andrew Chow.

My favorite paint medium for bird painting is soluble water color pencils. I still used them once in a while. But even an old hand like me had to embrace the digital age. I bought myself a Samsung Note 10 that came with a S-pen. With the help of the Autodesk Sketchbook software, it makes sketching a lot easier from the photos I took on site.

I did several digital bird paintings in the past years using the Note 10. I think it is important to include the habitat where the bird is found to tell the whole story. I hope to inspire those who wish to take up this absorbing hobby.

Little Guilin is close to my place. It is also the nesting site of the nationally threatened Grey-headed Fish Eagle. No invitations needed to try out and start my digital journey.

When the decision to turn the old Muslim Cemetery at Bidadari into a housing estate, I had to capture the lush greenery and woodlands before it was gone. The background shows the familiar view to all of us walking in. I had many lifers at this migrant haven. The one I chose to represent Bidadari is the globally threatened Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher, my lifer at this site.

The lost of our fresh water wetlands may see these nationally threatened Little Grebes disappeared from our island. I had the privilege of seeing this family bringing up their chicks at the new pond off Lorong Halus in 2014. It was my pleasure to feature them and their precious wetland for posterity.

One of the first birds I saw when I visited Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserves many years back is the nationally near-threatened Copper-throated Sunbird. It is a mangrove specialist which means that we will have to keep our mangroves if we want to see this beautiful sunbird for generations to come. I want to illustrate the role the mangroves play in keeping our coastal biodiversity intact.

 

This is one of my latest work at the newly opened Kranji Marshes. The Black-backed Swamphen is the emblem for the largest wetland in Singapore. It is the bird that every visitor want to see when visiting the marshes. We are glad that NParks and the URA have created this wetland sanctuary to bring back the water birds.

I wish to thank the Bird Group for showcasing my works on their blog. I hope these paintings will give you the reason to go out and enjoy our wild places and the birds.

 

 

 

 

 

Is this a Greater Sand Plover?

The rising tide forced this flock of Lesser Sand Plovers to roost close up to the dam. Many of them were still in their breeding plumage.

This is an often asked question when an biggish sand plover is seen. On 18th August KC Ling and Timothy Chua posted a photo of a non breeding sand plover with a longish bill taken at Seletar Dam on the Bird Sightings FB page. ID please?. As the bird in the image was a stand-alone, it received different answers from commentators. This was expected since the size of the bird in question, the length of leg and bill can all be very subjective when there are no other birds around for comparison.

This is what one normally sees in the field, a lone hunched plover making identification difficult even at this distance.

But on closer study, some diagnostic features can be discerned. I was lucky to be there on the 27th August morning to photograph the same plover close up in the company of Lesser Sand Plovers (LSP), Charadrius mongolus, during a low high tide to confirm that this plover in question was a Greater Sand Plover (GSP), Charadrius leschenaultii. Let’s take a look at these photos and pick out some distinguishing features to separate these two similar-looking species.

This same plover as above, cropped for a closer look. It has a seemingly horizontal stance and a dumpy appearance – descriptions somewhat fits a Lesser Sand Plover. 

The same plover again but now in a more typical upright posture. The taller stance, proportionately larger body and longer (greenish-yellow) legs now makes it easy to identify it as a Greater Sand Plover. This is an adult in the non-breeding plumage having completed a full moult at their breeding grounds before migration.  

Generally LSP has darker colored legs than the GSP. But as can be seen here, the left LSP has a paler leg than the LSP on the right. The leg colour should be used as a guide  and not as the sole identification feature. Both are juveniles moulting into non breeding plumage. 

 

The GSP has a visibly longer tibia (i.e. upper half of the leg), than the LSP. But in the field it is not always easy to tell as can be seen in this photo. The tibias of the GSP (background) and the LSP (foreground) looks almost the same. But overall the GSP is  clearly taller when you have the LSP nearby to compare.

The GSP is a few centimeters larger than the LSP and this size difference is evident in this photo with both species close to each other. But on its own and at a distance it is not that easy to tell.

 

The size difference is quite obvious in this photo as well. The GSP kept to itself and did not mix with the rest of the Lesser Sand Plovers. It would chase away any LSP that come near. But in this rare occasion, a brave LSP decided to take the fight to the bully.

Apart from the size, posture and leg length of the plovers, a useful feature to separate the two species is the size and shape of their bills. For the LSP (left below), the bill length is slightly shorter than the distance between the bill base and rear of the eye. The bill of the GSP (right below) is visibly longer in this comparison. It is also clearly more robust.

The bill lenght is about the same as the distance between the bill base and rear of the eye.

The bill is longer than the distance between the bill base and rear eye for the GSP

But even this feature is not 100% foolproof in garnering an identification. Some subspecies of LSP, eg. ssp. schaeferi can have bills that appear as long as some individuals of GSP, while some subspecies of GSP (e.g. ssp. columbinus) have bill shapes more similar to the LSP.

One way to tell them apart is to look out for a noticeable bulge on the upper mandible. The LSP bulge is closer to the bill tip giving it a blunt look, while the bulge of the GSP starts in the middle. The bulge near the bill tip of this particular GSP was not particularly visible and that was one reason why the ID remained tentative without the benefit of the size comparison.

Most Lesser Sand Plovers start their migration while still in their breeding plumage and only completely moult into their drabber, non-breeding plumage in their wintering grounds. Most of the early arriving GSPs to our shores have moulted into their non-breeding plumage.

LSP in breeding plumage at SD

Two Lesser Sand Plovers above. a juvenile on the left and an adult in breeding plumage on the right.

This photo of the GSP shows the broader white wing bars on the primaries and the darker sub-terminal band on its tail. Both are minor features of the GSP.

From this case study, it is clear that it is not that easy to separate the two sand plovers by just looking at one or two features as some of the subspecies of GSP and LSP overlap in some of these features. The size of the bird, length and color of legs, size and shape of the bill, wing and tail pattern, feeding and behavior habits and plumage have to be taken together to come to a proper identification.

Text by Alan OwYong and Yong Ding Li.

All photos taken at Seletar Dam on 24th August 2016 by Alan OwYong. All photos of the Greater Sand Plover are from the same individual. 

Reference:

A Field Guide to the Waterbirds of Asia. The Wild Bird Society of Japan 1993. A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand and South-East Asia. Craig Robson. Asia Books Co. Ltd 2000. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of Singapore. Yong Ding Li, Lim Kim Chuah and Lee Tiah Khee. John Beaufoy Publishing Limited 2013. SASOL Birds of Southern Africa. Ian Sinclair. Struik Publishers. 1993. Identification, taxonomy and distribution of Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers. Erik Hirschfield, Kees Roselaar and Hadoram Shirihai. British Birds 93: 162-189, 2000.

Singapore Bird Report-August 2016

The Autumn migration is well underway this month with the arrival of the shorebirds early in the month followed by a flood of passerine migrants on the very last day. The wader stops are at Seletar Dam, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR), Kranji Marshes and Pulau Tekong. The star was the globally endangered Great Knot, Calidris tenuirostris, arriving on 13^th and staying around the Seletar Dam for a few days.

The Wader of the Month is this Great Knot in partial breeding plumage taken at Seletar Dam by Francis Yap. It had been recently upgraded to globally endangered due to the loss of refueling wetlands at East Asia. 

The newly reclaimed land off Pulau Tekong is turning into a preferred stop for many of the waders. Four globally threatened Chinese Egrets, Egretta eulophotes, on 6^th and an Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, on 5th were recorded there. A big thank you to Frankie Cheong for monitoring this restricted location where he also found a family of 2 Malaysian Plovers, Charadrius peronii, adults with two chicks there on the 13^th.

The newly reclaimed land at Pulau Tekong getting its fair share of rare waders this season. The Asian Dowitcher was the first record here. Three Grey Plovers in breeding plumage and a Greater Sand Plover are next to the Dowitcher. Photo: Frankie Cheong. 

An unmistakable Ruddy Turnstone in breeding plumage arrived at P. Tekong on the 27th. Thanks again to Frankie Cheong for getting this on record.

Parts of the construction site next to Kranji Marshes were flooded and shallow pools of fresh water attracted many of the waders that were looking for water fleas and larvae there. 13 Long-toed Stints, Calidris subminuta, (Alan OwYong) were counted on 31^st. This is a high number for this uncommon plover as past records were in the single numbers.  Also present were at least two Wood Sandpipers, Tringa glareola, and up to 13 Little-ringed Plovers, Charadrius dubius, (Martin Kennewell).

These two juvenile Eurasian Curlews arrived at SBWR on 25th. The first arrival was recorded at P. Tekong on the 5th by Frankie Cheong. Photo: Millie Cher.

Here is the list of some of the first arrivals.

Species	Date	Location	Observer/s	Remarks
Wood Sandpiper x 2	3rd	Kranji Marshes	Martin Kennewell	First reported on 31/8
Common Redshank x 30	5th	SBWR	Lim Kim Seng
Eurasian Curlew	5th	P. Tekong	Frankie Cheong.	Two birds reported at SBWR by David Li on 25th
Chinese Egret x 4	6th	P. Tekong	Frankie Cheong
Black-tailed Godwit	7th	SBWR	Adrian Gopal	One reported on 13th at Seletar Dam by Francis Yap.
Pacific Golden Plover	9th	Seletar Dam	Francis Yap	Most in breeding plumage.
Great Knot	13th	Seletar Dam	Francis Yap	Partial breeding plumage.
Greater Sand Plover	18th	Seletar Dam	KC Ling, Timothy Chua	Timothy Chua. Another reported at Seletar Dam on 31st.
Terek Sandpiper	19th	Seletar Dam	Zacc HD	Another seen at P. Tekong on 27th by Frankie Cheong.
Marsh Sandpiper	19th	SBWR	David Li
Common Greenshank	19th	SBWR	David Li
Asian Dowitcher	20th	SBWR	Keita Sin	With a Black-tailed Godwit.
Intermediate Egret	23rd	SBWR	Veronica Foo
Ruddy Turnstone	27th	P. Tekong	Frankie Cheong	One bird in breeding plumage.
Little-ringed Plover x 7	27th	Kranji Marshes	Martin Kennewell	Numbers increased to 13 on  30th by Martin Kennewell
Long-toed Stint x 2	27th	Kranji Marshes	Martin Kennewell	Numbers increased to 13 on 31st by Alan OwYong
White-winged Tern	27th	SBWR	Martin Kennewell
Grey Plovers x 12-15	31st	P. Tekong	Frankie Cheong	All in breeding plumage together with an Asian Dowitcher.

 

The Greater Sand Plover taken at Seletar Dam on 22nd by Francis Yap showing all the identification features.

Then on the last day of the month, we had a furry of passerine making their first landfall here. Forest Wagtail, Dendronanthus indicus, at Dillenia Hut from Francis Yap, a male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, Ficedula zanthopygia, at Venus Loop from Goh Juan Hui and a Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis, at the Gardens by the Bay from Danny Khoo. Earlier in the month an Asian Brown Flycatcher,  Muscicapa latirostris, was photographed at the Japanese Gardens by Kristie Yeong on 20th, four Daurian Starlings, Agropsar sturninus, were seen flying around at Seletar Dam on 21^st by Keita Sin. We can expect to see more of these song birds at our forests and woodlands next month.

Our first Ficedula for the season, a Yellow-rumped Flycatcher at Venus Loop on the last day of the month. Photo: Juan Hui Goh.

Also on the 31^st, two non breeding visiting bulbuls were reported at P. Ubin by Lim Kim Keang and Willie Foo. The uncommon Streaked, Ixos malaccensis, and Cinereous Bulbuls, Hemixos cinereus. A rare winter visitor was the Brown-streaked Flycatcher, Muscicapa williamsoni, reported at SBWR on 9^th by Kingsley Phang.

Tan Gim Cheong was surprised by a Ruddy Kingfisher, Halcyon coromanda, flying across his path at Kelicap Hut, P. Ubin on 11^th. This is our rare resident race, H. c. minor, that had only been recorded in P. Tekong and Ayer Merbau groups of islands. This is the first record for Ubin confirming some local dispersal. We received an unconfirmed record of three male Cotton Pygmy Goose, Nettapus coromandelianus, a rare resident, flying over Cove Village at Sentosa from Esther, a resident there. I was not able to get more details on this sighting.

Other resident records were easier to confirm like the male Violet Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus, over at Jelutong on 5^th by Francis Yap. As usual he got some great shots of this uncommon cuckoo. A Little Spiderhunter, Arachnothera longirostris, was also photographed at Venus Drive by KC Ling, and a report of the Spotted Wood Owl, Strix seloputo at West Coast Park by Keita Sin, both on the 5th.  Jansen Seah came in with a report of a pair of Greater Green Leafbirds, Chloropsis sonnerati, chasing away other birds at Upper Thompson Road. Frankie Cheong showed us a photo of a dark morph Pacific Reef Heron, Egretta sacra, again at his backyard at Tekong on 6^th. This Egret made its appearance at SBWR on 27^th at the Striated Heron Island at the main pond (Daniel Ong and Francis Yap).

Pacific Reef Heron paid a visit to Sungei Buloh and stayed for a few days. Photo: See Toh Yew Wai. 

Geoff Lim chanced on a Buffy Fish Owl, Ketupa ketupa, at Lower Peirce Boardwalk on 6^th.  It was seen again on the 26th by Thio Hb. This was one of the most reliable locations to see this uncommon owl before they spread out. The newly fledged Buffy Fish Owl at SBWR made an appearance at the reserves on 21^st spotted by Wing Chong. Great to know that it is doing well.

Sungie Buloh’s Buffy Fish Owl Jr. can now hunt for itself. Seen here finishing its catch. Alan OwYong

Zacc was really happy to get the House Swift, Apus nipalensis, on his sensors at Punggol Barat on 9^th. This resident swift is getting rare nowadays. Aldwin Recinto photographed a Greater Coucal, Centropus sinensis, a forest specific, at Pasir Ris Park on 20th, most likely a dispersal from  across P. Ubin.

Greater Coucal a forest species photographed at Pasir Ris Park by Aldwin Recinto.

The resident ernesti race Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus, was seen flying over Punggol Barat on 31^st by Lawrence Cher. Tan Gim Cheong will have the rest of the raptor records in this coming Raptor Report.

Some notable records from eBird for August: Amur Paradise Flycatcher, Terpsiphone paradisi, at BTNR on 9^th and an Asian Palm Swift, Cypsiurus balasiensis, at Coney Island on 12^th both by Christopher Gainey. A Greater Sand Plover, Charadrius leschenaultii, at Marina Barrage on 16^th by Malcolm Graham. A Brown Boobook, Ninox scutulata was seen at 7 pm on 23^rd along the MacRitchie Boardwalk by Marcel Finley.

Reference:

Lim Kim Seng. The Avifauna of Singapore. 2009 Nature Society (Singapore). 

Yong Ding Li, Lim Kim Chuah and Lee Tiah Khee. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of Singapore. 2013. John Beaufoy Publishing Limited. 

Craig Robson. A field Guide to the Birds of Thailand and South East Asia. 2000.

This report is compiled by Alan OwYong and edited by Tan Gim Cheong from selected postings in various facebook birding pages, bird forums and individual reports. Some were not verified. We wish to thank all the  contributors for their records. Many thanks to Francis Yap, Millie Cher, See Toh Yew Wai, Frankie Cheong, Aldwin Recinto, Goh Juan Hui and Alan OwYong, for the use of their photos.