On 15th December 2008, Mendis Tan posted an image of the Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus) taken at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, saying, “Sharing a bird that has not been seen at SBWR for a few years already. We think it is quite lost because this bird is a freshwater species.”

Similarly, Lee Tiah Khee shared his image of the bird at the same time: “What a big surprise! This Pheasant-Tailed Jacana has landed SBWR, my best christmas grift so far.”

Yes, this jacana is a rare winter visitor to Singapore.

Image by Mendis Tan.

This post is a cooperative effort between www.naturepixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

“Unlike Merops philippinus (Blue-tailed Bee-eater), Alcedo atthis (Common Kingfisher), Halcyon capensis (Stork-billed Kingfisher), Hirundo 
tahitica (Pacific Swallow) et al., apodids (swifts) do not seem to dive into water. It could be
 because their more rigid wings, as observed in flight, are not so amenable to generating the vertical thrust needed for leaving the
 water surface. They were never designed to take off from the ground into the air in the first place, let alone acceleration through the
far more viscous water.



“Apodid are, however, virtuosic drinkers. In a sigmoidal altitude
 profile, they descend rapidly from a great height and then level out gradually until only a matter of millimetres above the waves.

“As if
 choreographed in Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, the diminutive, almost vestigial, bill burgeons into a diabolical gape larger than the
girth of the bird’s body and scoops a mouthful of water from the lake.



“This photograph shows the gaping bill of Apus affinis (House Swift) immediately prior to impact. I also have photos showing what look like Collocalia maxima (Black-nest Swiftlet) doing the same.

“Other photos record the induction of turbulence during the actual gulp, similar to the effect of a speedboat’s bow cutting through the water, but these are in even worse focus than the above. The water makes an audible hiss as the lower mandible zooms through.”
 


Lin Yangchen
21st December 2008

K C Tsang on 6th December 2008, sent in this note and the image above:

“This morning’s birding yielded this uncommon passage migrant at Bidadari Cemetery, the Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus).

“At first I was not able to ID the fellow. On seeing the picture G Sreedharan came to the conclusion that it is a thrush, but what? So back to the car, out came the books… it was the Eyebrowed Thrush.

“Regret that we were not able to get more pictures for references, it was a very skittish bird.”

This is an uncommon passage migrant and rare winter visitor. The thrush is seen in Singapore around November-December, arriving as early as 25th October and as late as 24th March.

Reference:
Wang, L.K. & C. J. Hails, 2007. An annotated checklist of birds of Singapore. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Supplement 15: 1-179.

In November 2008, TC chanced upon an active heronry in the north of Singapore. It was the incessant noise of the birds that attracted his attention. The casuarinas trees (Casuarina equisetifolia) were covered with Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea), many sitting in their nests, others perching on branches nearby (above). The herons were in their breeding colours - their legs and bill were distinctly orange to reddish (below).

TC returned a few times to the site to monitor the breeding. Then one day, a few weeks after he first came across the heronry, he found the trees silent. The nests were still there but the birds were all gone. The Grey Herons had abandoned their nests.

Our bird specialist, R Subaraj, has this to say: “There are a few possibilities as to why the herons may have abandoned their nests but we cannot be certain of the true reason unless we know all that have taken place during the period that they were there.

“Possible scenarios include human disturbance, directly or indirectly or that this was a new site that the herons were trying out but found unsuitable due to unknown reasons. Such temporary colonies have occurred before and human disturbance has been the main reason for past abandonment.”

Our field ornithologist Wang Luan Keng, who did two major surveys of heronries in Singapore some years ago, found that their breeding sites are fragile entities. The birds are very sensitive to human disturbances and these can lead to the breeding birds abandoning their nests.

Once, there were many heronries in Kranji, Khatib Bongsu, Pasir Ris and Sungei Buloh. As the marshes were reclaimed and trees felled, many disappeared. Excessive fogging to control mosquitoes can also cause the birds to abandon their nests. If the trees are still standing, the birds may or may not return to nest the following year.

Images by TC.

References:
1. Wang, L. K., 2003. Where have the herons gone? Singapore Avifauna 17(2): 32-34.
2. Wang, L. K., 2004. Where have the herons gone? Singapore Avifauna 17(4): 24-26.

David Tan alerted everyone on the appearance of a female Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR) on 27th December 2008.

G Sreedharan was also there and sent in this report: “When I arrived at SBWR late saturday afternoon, most people had left. The Northern Shoveler had moved to the pool left of the main hide and was moving around and possible feeding in the open between some egrets, except that it was quite a distance away.

“After about 20 minutes, it flew off in the direction of Hide 1C. The few of us who were there decided to move in that direction as well. To our surprise and delight, we found the Shoveler feeding around Screen 1.1 (swimming around in ever increasing circles and further away from us).

“Although the light was generally harsh, we managed to get a number of pictures. After it’s third circular “tour”, we lost sight of it and never managed to see it again despite all our efforts in looking for it.

“I’d like to share one of mine taken (around 4.10pm from Screen 1.1) as the bird was swimming around, looking for food (above).”

This duck is a rare winter visitor to Singapore, first recorded in November 1959. The second record was 24 years later, after which there were isolated sightings. What is significant with the current sighting is that it is accompanied by images – otherwise it would be “unconfirmed” until a “reliable” birdwatcher sees it himself. Considering that most recent sightings come not from birdwatchers but from bird photographers, images provide indisputable evidence.

Image by G Sreedharan.