Singapore Raptor Report – October 2016

Common Buzzard, at Tuas South, 22 Oct 16, by Adrian Silas Tay.

Summary for migrant species:

October is the month when raptor migration starts to pickup and more than six hundred raptors of 9 migrant species were recorded. In terms of numbers, Oriental Honey Buzzards made up the bulk with 562 individuals, and the first influx of 246 birds was recorded on 16 Oct at Tuas South. There were 38 Japanese Sparrowhawks, mostly on passage, followed by 13 Chinese Sparrowhawks.

Observers spending time at Tuas were rewarded with a number of sought-after species. These included a Common Buzzard recorded on 22 Oct by Adrian Silas Tay and a few other birders; an immature male Eastern Marsh Harrier photographed on 22 Oct by Low Choon How; a dark morph Booted Eagle photographed on 23 Oct by See Toh Yew Wai; and a juvenile Pied Harrier photographed on 30 Oct by Low Choon How.

A Peregrine Falcon recorded at Lorong Halus on 29 Oct and an Osprey recorded at Kranji Marshes on 24 and 25 Oct completed the line up for the month. Surprisingly, there were no records of the Black Baza this October!

Changeable Hawk-Eagle with prey (a Colugo), at Dairy Farm Nature Park, 1 Oct 16, by Siew Mun.

Highlights for sedentary species:

A rare image of a Changeable Hawk-Eagle with a Colugo in its talons was captured at Dairy Farm Nature Park on 1 Oct by Siew Mun. The rare Crested Serpent Eagle made a number of appearances at Kent Ridge this month, while a single record was reported at Sengkang Riverside Park. Kent Ridge and the nearby Telok Blangah Hill continued to be reliable areas to see the Crested Goshawk; additionally, there was a single record of an adult from Tagore/Lentor forest on 1 Oct. Also notable was an adult torquatus OHB photographed on 11 Oct by Marcel Finlay in the Central Forests.  The other resident raptors recorded included the Black-winged Kite, Brahminy Kite, White-bellied Sea Eagle and Grey-headed Fish Eagle.

S/N	Species	No.		S/N	Species	No.
(1)	Osprey	1			Residents / Sedentary Species
(2)	Oriental Honey Buzzard	562		(10)	Black-winged Kite	2
(3)	Eastern Marsh Harrier	1		(11)	Brahminy Kite	3
(4)	Pied Harrier	1		(12)	White-bellied Sea Eagle	6
(5)	Chinese Sparrowhawk	13		(13)	Grey-headed Fish Eagle	2
(6)	Japanese Sparrowhawk	38		(14)	Crested Serpent Eagle	2
(7)	Booted Eagle	1		(15)	Crested Goshawk	5
(8)	Common Buzzard	1		(16)	Changeable Hawk-Eagle	11
(9)	Peregrine Falcon	1
					Unidentified
				(17)	Unidentified Accipiters	20
				(18)	Unidentified Raptors	117
	Total for Migrants	619			Grand Total	787

Table 1

Chinese Sparrowhawk, adult female, at Pasir Ris Park, 9 Oct 16, by Rey Aguila

Japanese Sparrowhawk, adult female, at South Buona Vista Road, 31 Oct 16, by Francis Yap.

Crested Goshawk, adult, at Kent Ridge Park, 20 Oct 16, by Francis Yap

Many thanks to everyone who had reported their sightings in one way or another, and especially to Adrian Silas Tay, Siew Mun, Rey Aguila and Francis Yap for the use of their photos.

For more details, please see the pdf version singapore-raptor-report-oct16