Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) are large brown waders with a prominent curved bill. These birds breed in the subarctic and arctic regions and winter south, moving to Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, as well as all the way down to the southern parts of South America and Africa. In Singapore it is a common winter visitor and passage migrant, as shown in the image above, taken at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

Researchers from the College of William and Mary’s Center for Conservation Biology and The Nature Conservancy in the US have observed the record-setting migration of a female Whimbrel named Winnie from its feeding grounds on the Delmarva Peninsula in the east coast of the US to breeding grounds on the McKenzie River near the Alaska-Canada border (see map, left).

Fitted with a state-of-the-art satellite tracking device weighing just over a third of an ounce, Winnie (left, insert) left the study area on 23rd May 2008, flying northwest at an average flight speed of nearly 22 miles per hour, covering more than 5,000 kilometers (3,200 miles) in no more than 146 hours. This is a new distance record in the flight range of this species. For more information, check out this LINK.

We thank Erin Zagursky, University Relations, College of William and Mary for updating us.

Image of Whimbrel by Dr Eric Tan, that of Winnie and her migrating route courtesy of the Center for Conservation Biology, US.

“The reported ‘discovery’ of two Javan Pond Herons (Ardeola speciosa) at Serangoon (Lorong Halus) on March 1st 2008 (above), reported in the Nature Society (Singapore) bird group’s website (left), brought back old memories. I decided to do a little research and found that there is a need for a proper account. What has been reported so far about this species in Singapore is unsatisfactory.

“There was apparently an old ‘Singapore’ specimen at Berlin Museum formerly but this was dismissed by Gibson-Hill (1949) due to there being doubt over the actual origin of this.

“The first recent record is actually a sighting of a breeding plumaged adult at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve reported by Uthai Treesucon. This happened during the Singapore Bird Race 1994, which I was also a part of. Uthai, one of Thailand’s most prominent birders, came down with two other Thai birdwatchers to take part in the race. Their team was called Hawkeyes. At the end of the race, Uthai submitted his log-sheet to the arbitrator with notes and a sketch of the Javan Pond Heron at the back (below). I clearly remember the discussion after the race amongst the bird group elite (including members of the Records Committee). They felt that while the identity of the bird was not in doubt, due to Uthai’s familiarity with the species up in Thailand, the bird must be an escapee as it was in “summer” plumage at the wrong time of the year! Huh?!

“These notes and sketch seem to have vanished after that and instead, notes from Wu Eu Heng were produced in the Singapore Avifauna Vol 8, No 4 (Oct–Dec 1994) issue (left). The sighting on 22nd October 1994 (by Wu, Dave Thomson & Uthai Treesucon et al.) as reported as an escapee due to “it being in breeding plumage during the wrong season”. The subsequent Singapore Bird Report in the only bird group journal, Iora, simply reports this record as an “unconfirmed sighting of a summer bird at Sungei Buloh on 23rd October by Wu Eu Heng.

“Since both reports were done by the same individual, how can the record change so much… from a sighting to an unconfirmed sighting; from 22nd to 23rd. This was very shoddy reporting. The term ’summer’ further emphasises the confusion as the Javan Pond Heron is not a Palearctic migrant from the north, where there are different seasons!

“Anyway, Richard Ollington subsequently reported the same bird in Birdline Singapore. He had the bird at Sungei Buloh from October 4–29th, 1994. Birdline Singapore is an unpublished private publication of Ollington but David Wells receives his reports. Even here, there is some confusion. Wang & Hails (2007) report in their annotated checklist, where the species is under the doubtful/unconfirmed category, that Ollington had said that he took a colour photo of this species on October 22nd, 1994. Yet, they make no mention to the record published in Singapore Avifauna or the Iora.

“The 2nd recent record is a bird photographed by Ashley Ng on March 29th, 2003, at Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve. The 3rd record was of two birds in breeding plumage at Sungei Buloh between April 7–11th, 2004, as reported by Lim Kim Seng.

“On April 11th, 2007, Shona Lawson and I observed two breeding plumaged Javan Pond Herons at Serangoon (Lorong Halus). These birds were in a tidal channel, along with up to ten Chinese Pond Herons. They were also seen two days later by Martin Daniel. This is the 4th recent record of the species here.

“That brings us to this year’s ‘discovery’ of two birds (the same birds?) in early March, at the same location as last year’s sighting. At least one bird was still around on March 29th (Mary Jane Hele and I).

“Six days later, on April 4th, these birds were still at Serangoon. There were two breeding plumaged Javan Pond Herons, along with breeding and non-breeding plumaged Chinese. The image above shows two Javan in breeding plumage together with a Chinese, also in breeding plumage.

“According to Hancock & Kushlan (1984), there are two separated races of the Javan Pond Heron. Ardeola speciosa speciosa which is found from Sumatra to Sumba and Flores and A. s. continentalis on the mainland, in Thailand, Indo-China and Myanmar. The book considers the species to be sedentary but Wells (1999) reports that since 1979, this species has been occurring during an 8-week window, from March 8th, along the west coast. As such, it is considered a non-breeding visitor to the region covered by Wells. He also mentions, that based on the discovery of many breeders in south Sumatra, that the western range may be expanding.

“As such, it may be logical to say that birds that have been turning up on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula over the past 30 years and in Singapore in the past 14 years, are genuine non-breeding visitors from the west and south of us. As such, this species is on my personal Singapore checklist as a Scarce Visitor.

“There are a couple of issues about the above records and how they have been perceived by others here.

“Firstly, in Wang and Hails (2007), there is a suggestion that Javan Pond Herons may be escapees from the zoo as Wang Luan Keng had seen some free-flying specimens there. I do hope that her identification is correct as I have only seen Chinese Pond Heron around the zoo. If she got it right, why are these free-flying zoo birds and not naturally wild occurrences? The zoo grounds do attract many wild migrants including a variety of other members of the heron family. Finally, all the records have been at the north-west and north-east migrant draws of Sungei Buloh and Serangoon, during specific months. If the Javan Pond Heron is a free-flyer from the zoo, why are there no records between May–September? Other free-flyers from the zoo, such as the Milky and Painted Storks, occur at Buloh during all months of the year!

“Secondly, if Uthai’s record of a bird in breeding plumage in October 1994 was deemed almost certainly an escapee due to its ’summer’ plumage in the wrong month, it seems strange that there were no doubts at all about breeding plumaged birds seen by bird group members in 2004 and 2008.

“We should remember that the Bird Group’s Records Committee is just that and nothing more. It is not a National Records Committee and whilst it might like all birders here to submit records to it, not all recognise its competence or impartiality.”

All images by Subaraj except the one at the top, by Lee Tiah Khee.

References:
1. Gibson-Hill, C.A. (1949). An annotated checklist of the birds on Malaya. Bull. Raffles Mus. 20:1-299.
2. Hancock, J. & Kushlan, J. (1984). The Herons Handbook. Croom Helm, London.
3. Wang, L.K. & Hails, C. J. (2007). An annotated checklist of birds of Singapore. Raffles Bull. Zool. Suppl. 15:1-179.
4. Wells, D.R. (1999). The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsular. Vol. I, Non-passerines. Academic Press, London.

The Oriental Plover (Charadrius veredus) breeds from Mongolia to NE China (including a part of Russia). It migrates through Eastern China, Eastern South-East Asia, Wallacea and Micronesia to winter in Northern Australia, with a few reaching New Zealand. Its usual route bypasses Singapore. However, freak weather conditions or biological factors may cause the occasional Oriental Plover to make landfall on the east coast of Singapore.

One such plover was spotted at Changi Cove by David Bakewell and several fellow birders on a sunny morning on 17th February 2008. Apparently feeling ostracised amongst the flock of Pacific Golden Plovers (Pluvialis fulva) with which it arrived, it harassed the latter birds by chasing them around.

This is only the eighth record of the Oriental Plover in Singapore. The first two were actually old records from 1891 (2 birds) and 1898 (2 skins). The next record was from 1985/1986, one at Changi. This was followed by 2-4 birds at Tuas in 1993 (Richard Ollington). Then came the 5th & 6th records; single birds in 1998 and 1999 at Seletar Estuary/Dam. The 7th record was one bird at Changi in 2006.

This latest record is even more special - it is the first time the plover is seen in Singapore in breeding plumage. The characteristic dark breast band of the male bird in breeding condition can be clearly seen in the photograph by Lin Yangchen.

On 25th February 2008, KC Tsang circulated the following account:

“It is sad to see this very regal-looking bird end up 
this way in someone’s cage in Bintan, Indonesia. Could it be
 for the better? I found this out from two very
 reliable sources. One was an Indian couple I met at a party, and 
the other, a person who was able to supply these pictures.

The Himalayan Vulture (Gyps himalayensis), also known as Himalayan Griffon, is now caged in a resort there.

“I was told that it was
 caught while feeding on a pig’s carcass in a pig farm.
 I am just wondering how is it that a pig’s carcass was
 left rotting, and for the vulture to come and feed on
 it.

“As it was so hungry, it was not too concerned with 
humans coming close enough to capture it.
 The time of capture of this beautiful bird, I was told, 
was sometime last year, I would hazard a guess, some
time November, December?



“So if there is some one out there who has more information on this bird, please do let us have it.”

This vulture is resident of Central Asia and the Himalayas. So far, a number of birds have been recorded to migrate as far south as Singapore since 1989. In January 1992 a small flock of nine birds were photographed at roost by J Smith and Morten Strange at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. As recent as 23rd January this year, we have sightings of three birds, two of which were photographed by Lee Tiah Khee flying over Bukit Timah.

Previously known to be sedentary and only migrating altitudinally, these vultures are more and more seen south of its normal range. This may be suggestive of an irruption or a range expansion of the species (Wang & Hails, 2007).

Wang. L.K. & Hails, C. J. (2007). An annotated checklist of birds of Singapore. Raffles Bull. Zool. Suppl. 15:1-179.

Three Himalayan Griffons (Gyps himalayensis) were sighted by Lee Tiah Khee flying over the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve on 23rd January 2008. Tiah Khee managed to capture two of the three in the above image.

On the morning of 26th January, James Heng similarly made contact with these birds: “The bird flew overhead at 10.10am when I was at the northern part of the island that faces Johor. Where I was, there were also a pair of Black-winged Kites (Elanus caeruleus) and a White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster).

“That solitary Himalyan Griffon flew higher than the usual White-bellied Sea Eagles. As it was against a clear blue sky, the fold of feathers around its head (when its neck is retracted) was clearly seen. Even the small baldy head and large curved beak was very
visible.

“It flew inland from the Johor side for about 300-400m, took a left turn and then flew back out to the Straits of Johor again. You’d probably have a higher chance to see it flying along the Straits of Johor.

“In fact, I had probably seen the same bird gliding near the same location the previous day at about 2pm. It was seen from the beach in front of Bottle Tree Village at Sembawang Park. That raptor was soaring above the Straits of Johor towards Johor’s side.

“At that time, I thought that it was strange that the colors on that “adult WB Sea Eagle’s” tail were the wrong way round, i.e. white above black. I excluded the WBSE’s juvenile plumage as the lower primaries were lacking the pale patches and the breast and its lower coverts were grayish-white. Though I was very puzzled, the bird was too far away for my binoculars to get any further details. In hindsight, it may very well have been that same bird.

“In fact, as a scavenger, it makes more sense for the Griffon to feed at Johor’s side as there are far more mangroves, kelongs and kampungs. Singapore’s side is far too urbanised for them to find any carrion.”
.
Image of Himalayan Griffons flying by Lee Tiah Khee, that of the bird crouching by Wang Luan Keng was taken in January 2006 at Changi.