A Freshwater Wetland Oasis at one-north.

By Alan OwYong.

Fallen tree branches and hanging vegetation provide perches for bitterns and kingfishers to fish.

The construction site south of one-north Crescent that occupied part of the Portsdown Swamp has moved out and nature has reclaimed the area turning it into a wetland oasis. It is about half the size of Hempstead Wetlands at Seletar but just as wild.

Portsdown Swamp

A tall dead tree and a cluster of palm tree together with the fallen dead branches and hanging vegetation give it a natural look. Aquatic mimosas and reeds line the edges with panicum grasses covering the rest of the surroundings provide the perfect habitat for dragonflies and myriad of insect life, which in turn attract birds and other wild life.

Pacific Swallows in their breeding plumage hawk for insects over the pond.

When I first moved in to one-north a decade back, I used to bird here. It was just a small swampy patch fed by a drain from Weyhill Close. I recorded the first and only uncommon Ruddy-breasted Crake here.

The Yellow Bitterns may have come over from the Alexandra Woodlands further down the road.

The area was very birdy then. The Grey-rumped Treeswifts and the Pied Triller nested on the trees by the roadside. The Malayan Pied Fantails also nest above the small pool of water.

First record of this Lesser Whistling Ducks at one-north.

Art Toh, an avid birder, alerted me of a pair of Lesser Whistling Ducks there on the 13th April. This is our first record of this resident duck here. This is a good sign of the potential of this wetland. During my visit there a few days later, three Yellow Bitterns, also new to Wessex and one-north, were quietly waiting for small fishes in the water. Two adult White-breasted Waterhens were teaching its two chicks how to forage. I even managed to flush a Slaty breasted Rail from one side to the other. This wetland is the perfect habitat for these species. Art shared with me that another birder Lua Wai Heng photographed a Common Moorhen here earlier. With this moorhen, Lesser Whistling Ducks, Yellow Bitterns and a White-headed Munia the checklist of birds at Wessex, Portsdown and one-north went up from 106 to 110. I am optimistic that more wetland related species will make their way here in the coming months.

This pair of White-breasted Waterhens happily bringing up a new generation at this wetland.

But besides the wetland species, this freshwater habitat also attract other related species like the White-throated and Collared Kingfishers, Blue-throated Bee-eaters and Pacific Swallows that feed on the myriad of insects like dragonflies and aquatic invertebrates

White-headed Munia is a new addition to the Wessex and one-north areas.

Blue-throated Bee-eaters have no end of dragonflies here.

Freshwater habitats in Singapore, big or small are rare and diminishing. So it is such a surprise to find one in the middle of one-north biotech cluster.

The White-throated Kingfisher love this low perches to fish.

I will be spending more time monitoring the birdlife here and hope to see more wetland species and migrants visiting in the later part of the year.

A over staying Brown Shrike passing over the wetlands should be returning anytime soon.

Singapore Raptor Report, January – March 2024

Peregrine Falcon, Kranji Loop, 3 Mar 2024, by Angie Cheong

Summary for migrant species:

The number of migrant raptor species recorded during this period was as follows: 11 species in January 2024, 9 in February 2024, and 8 in March 2024. Total migrant raptors during this period was 115 in January, 114 in February, and 153 in March. The Jan-Feb numbers probably represented wintering birds, while the March number was slightly boosted by passage migrants on northward spring migration.

Two species were recorded only in January. Two rare Himalayan Vultures Gyps Himalayensis on 14 Jan 2024 at Henderson Waves, followed by 1 each at Sungei Ulu Pandan and Pulau Tekong the next day. They must have left Singapore after failing to find carcasses to sustain them. The other species was the Common Kestrel Falcon tinnunculus – singles at Tuas South (2 & 27 Jan), Changi Airport (5 & 16 Jan), and Seletar Airport vicinity (21 & 27 Jan).

For the harriers, 2 Eastern Marsh Harriers Circus spilonotus and 2 Pied Harriers Circus melanoleucos were present at Tuas South in January and February.

For the bazas, there were 9 Jerdon’s Baza Aviceda jerdoni in January (7 at Lorong Halus – Coney Island area, 1 at Marina East, 1 at Kent Ridge Park, 5 in February (Coney Island), and 6 in March (5 at Coney Island, 1 at Mt Faber). And, 15 Black Bazas Aviceda leuphotes in January, 14 in February, and 48 in March (boosted by observations at Mt Faber).

Only 3 Chinese Sparrowhawks Accipiter soloensis were recorded in January, 3 in February, and 5 in March. For the Japanese Sparrowhawks Accipiter gularis, there were 18 in January, 13 in February, and 42 in March (boosted by observations at Mt Faber).

The Osprey Pandion haliaetus occurred in small numbers: 5 in January, 4 in February, and 4 in March. They were mostly along the northern coast, with the exception of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in January, Jurong Lake Garden in February, and Upper Seletar Reservoir Park in March.

There were 5, 10, and 7 Peregrine Falcons Falco peregrinus in January, February, and March respectively, all singles. For the Oriental Honey Buzzards Pernis ptilorhyncus, there were 47, 61, and 40 in January, February, and March respectively.

The only nocturnal migrant raptor was a Northern Boobook Ninox japonica photographed on 25 March 2024.

 

Oriental Honey Buzzard, female, NTU, 25 Feb 2024, by Art Toh

Highlights for sedentary species:

The rare Black-thighed Falconet Microhierax fringillarius, detected in December 2023 continued to be present at Punggol 17th Avenue from Jan-Mar 2024.  

Breeding-related activities were noted for two species. The White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster nests at Bedok (near PIE) and at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve contained two chicks each. The Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus nest at Pasir Ris Park contained two chicks on 10 January 2024, and they fledged by February, while the chicks at West Coast Park fledged by 10 March 2024.

5, 2, and 3 records for the Crested Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela in Jan, Feb, and Mar is good for this scarce resident.  

The numbers for the Changeable Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus cirrhatus seem quite stable at 18, 17, and 17 for Jan-Mar 2024. The same goes for the number of Grey-headed Fish Eagles Haliaeetus ichthyaetus at 14, 15, and 16 for the Jan-Mar period.

The only record of the sedentary torquatus subspecies of the Oriental Honey Buzzard was at the Botanic Gardens on 14 January 2024, while the ernesti subspecies of the Peregrine Falcon was recorded at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve on 5 January 2024, and a pair exhibiting breeding behaviour (food exchange, copulation) was observed at the CBD area on 31 January 2024.

On 16 March 2024, a White-bellied Sea Eagle was photographed with a Pink-necked Green Pigeon in its talons as it flew. The other resident raptors recorded were the Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus, and the common Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus.

For nocturnal raptors, a pair of Buffy Fish Owls Ketupa ketupu was photographed in the mating position at Windsor Nature Park in January, and at Pasir Ris Park, a chick landed on the ground on 25 March 2024.

Fora pdf version with more details, please click Singapore Raptor Report – Jan-Mar 2024

Thanks to everyone who had reported their sightings in one way or another, and especially to Angie Cheong and Art Toh for the use of their photos.