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NSS Bird Group Report – Jul 2016 Alltheexcitementcameduringthelast10daysofJuly.Onthe19th,afew days after its extreme date, Laurence Eu photographed aBrown-streaked Flycatcher, Muscicapa williamsoni, a rare nonbreedingvisitor,atLowerPierceBoardwalk.

Brown-streakedFlycatcher,ararenonbreedingvisitoratLowerPierce.Photo:LaurenceEu.Therecordthatwewerewaitingforcameonthe26thwhenLimKimSengspottedthreeLesserSandPlovers,Charadriusmongolus,attheLower Seletar Dam. On the same day Danny Khoo photographed aCommon Sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos, at the Marina Barrage.Three days later,Frankie Cheong reportedthree Whimbrels,Numeniusphaeopusand30-40LesserSandPlovers,at the southernpart of Pulau Tekong. On 30th Francis Yap brought news of thearrival of our first passerinemigrant, theBarn Swallows,Hirundorustica, at Punggol Barat andtwo Common Greenshanks,Tringanebularia, atSeletarDam.Thisheralded thereturnof thewinteringshorebirdstoSingapore.Bringoutyourscopes,themigrationseasonisgoingitsway.Lastyearthefirstwadersarrivedonthe1stAugust.Anothersignofclimatechange?

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ArareappearanceoftheMangroveWhistleratPasirRisMangrovescapturedbySengAlvin.Butthebirdofthemonthhadtobethesuddenonedayappearanceof the rare residentMangrove Whistler, Pachycephala cinerea, atPasir RisMangroves on 29th (Eric Bronson& Seng Alvin).Most ofour past recordswere fromTekong and Southern Islands. The lastmainlandrecordwasatChangiCovein2014.

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TheproudKingQuailparentsshowingofftheirfamilyoffivechicksoveratPunggolBarat.

Photo:MillieCher.As expected during the tail end of the breeding season, records offledglingscameinfromallovertheisland.Themostwelcomedwasafamily of rarely seenKing Quails,Excalfactoria chinensis with fivechicks over at Punggol Barat. Joseph Tan Kok Beng reported thefledglingoftwoCrestedGoshawkchicks,Accipitertrivirgatus,attheSingaporeBotanicGardenson3rdand6th.ThisisthesecondfamilyofCrestedGoshawkstohavesuccessfullyraiseafamilythereinthesame season. Over at Burgundy Drive, Doreen Ang reported twojuvenileBlue-crowned Hanging Parrots, Loriculus galgulus, seenwith twoadults feastingonherneighbour’smango treeon the7th.Onthesameday,shealsoreporteda juvenileThick-billedPigeon,Treroncurvirostra,atLorongSesuai.Goodtoknowthatsomeofouruncommonresidentsaredoingwell.

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TwojuvenileBlue-crownedHangingParrotsfeastingonthemangowiththeirparent.Photo:

MichaelToh.OveratPulauUbin,YapWeeJinreportedthefledglingoftheWhite-rumped Shama, Copsychus malabaricuson 9th. Lim Kim Keangreported thenesting of the Olive-winged Bulbul, Pycnonotusplumosus, on 14th and three dependent Abbott’s Babbler,Malacocinclaabbotti,juvenileson28th.

BothparentswiththenewlyfledgedSpottedWoodOwlsatWoodlands.Photo:RiaTan

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A second recordof a successful nestingof theSpottedWood Owl,Strix seloputo, this season came from theWoodlands areawith RiaTan’spostingon26th.Onefledglingwasseenwithbothparents.LiketheearliernestingatCashewtheywerealsousingtheBirdNestFernasnest.On26thLaurenceEuphotographedaLittle Spiderhunter,Arachnothera longirostris, looking after a juvenile at Dairy FarmNaturePark.Wearehavenotdocumentedanactivenestingof thisforestspeciesyet.

ParentwithtwojuvenileSundaScopsOwlsatLowerPierce.Photo:AlanOwYong

Following the sighting of the Sunda Scops Owl, Otus lempiji, atLowerPiercelastmonthbyVincentLao,wefoundtwojuvenileswitha parent there on the 5th (Alan OwYong). Two days later JohnnyChew came across threeSunda Scops Owls at Telok Blangah Hill.Lim Kim Keang photographed an adult with a juvenile at MandaiTrack 7 while Subha and son Raghav reported one adult togetherwithaBrownHawkOwl,Ninoxscutulata,atHindhedeNaturePark,on the 16th. This has to be the largest number of breeding SundaScopsOwlsinamonth.

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ThedramaofaSquare-tailedDrongoCuckoobeingchasedbyaOlive-wingedBulbulovertheCentralForestcapturedbyFrancisYap.Thisbulbulmayhavecaughtthecuckoored-handed

tryingtoreplaceitseggs.Other notable sightings include anOrange-bellied Flowerpecker,Dicaeumtrigonostigma, atBurgundyDrivenearBukitBatokNP, on4th (Doreen Ang), a resident Square-tailed Drongo Cuckoo,Surniculus lugubris, being chased by a Olive-winged Bulbul wassuperbly captured by Francis Yap from the Jelutong Tower, amaleGreaterGreenLeafbird,Chloropsissonnerati,afirstforSentosaon8th (James Tann). We have yet to determine the status of thisindividual. Mark Nelson Valino photographed a Black-crownedNight-Heron,Nycticoraxnycticorax, at theKhooTeckPuatHospitalpond on the 16th. Edwin Choy recalled seeing four adults and twojuvenilesthere.DanielOngconfirmedthattheyweretheresincethebeginningoftheyear.Letshopethesechoosyheronswillmakethisplace their permanent home as their numbers have not increasedmuchovertheyears.

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FirstrecordforSentosa,amaleGreaterGreenLeafbirdmaybeanescapee.Photo:James

TannWehadtwomainlandrecordsoftheWhite-rumpedShama,thefirstattheDurianTrailonthe15thbyKerryPereiraandacallingbirdatUpperPierceReservoironthe23rd(ReubenBraddock).LimKimSengreportedaBandedBayCuckoo,Cacomantissonnerati,and another Square-tailed Drongo Cuckoo at the CentralCatchmentForestonthe17th.Thisisourresidentracethatisquitevocal around this time of the year.A few uncommon GlossySwiftlets, Collocalia esculenta, were seen flying over the HindhedeQuarry on the 19th by Alan OwYong. Zacc photographed a loneGreat-billed Heron, Ardea sumatrana, at the Seletar Dam on the23rd.Asfarasweknowthisisthefirstrecordforthearea,indicatingthespreadingofthisuncommonresidentcoastalheron.Reference:LimKimSeng.TheAvifaunaofSingapore.2009NatureSociety(Singapore).YongDing Li, LimKimChuahandLeeTiahKhee. ANaturalist’s Guide to theBirds of Singapore.2013.JohnBeaufoyPublishingLimited.CraigRobson.AfieldGuidetotheBirdsofThailandandSouthEastAsia.2000.This report is compiledbyAlanOwYongandeditedbyTanGimCheong fromselectedpostings invarious facebook birding pages, bird forums and individual reports. Some were not verified.Wewishtothankallthecontributorsfortheirrecords.ManythankstoLaurenceEu,SengAlvin,MillieCher,MichaelToh,RiaTan,AlanOwYong,FrancisYapandJamesTann,fortheuseoftheirphotos.