Kit's Fledgling BY

[Kitsafari]

258: Dark-sided Flycatcher, Bidadari, Nov 5

 

 

It was flycatcher migration season in November to early December. there are 21 flycatcher species that transit through Singapore, and most of them have historically gone to the Bidadari cemetery-park to rest and refuel. But with the Bidadari park shrunken to just a fraction of what it used to be (for residential homes), I wonder what will happen to all these species. 

This dark-sided FC, which looks very much like the Asian Brown flycatcher , comes from Indian sub-continent, Siberia, northern Asia to winter here. 

Edited December 20, 2018 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

259: Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher, Bidadari, Nov 10

 

#Note: edited photos

 

Brown-chested FC

 

Asian Brown Flycatcher

 

apologies - I did ultimately confused the two FC species and had used photos of the Asian brown for what I had mistaken for the brown-chested jungle flycatcher,. I've left a photo of the BCFC so you can understand where I went wrong. Easily confused but not as bad as the waders/shorebirds! The brown-chested FC breeds in southern China and flies down to Southeast Asia for the warm climate. It is larger than the Asian Brown flycatcher and has a larger yellow mandible. 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

260: Ferrigeneous Flycatcher, West Coast Park, Nov 3

 

 

The ferruginous flycatcher, which is also dubbed as the iron boy because of its rusty colours, resides in northern India, China and Taiwan and migrates to southeast Asia during winter. It is an uncommon migrant to our shores. 

 

[Kitsafari]

261: Mugimaki Flycatcher, Bidadari, Nov-Dec

 

male: 

 

 

female: 

 

A resident in Siberia, northern China, it winters in Japan, Korea and down to Southeast Asia, and is a uncommon migrant on our island. The male flycatcher was a tough act to follow and catch with the camera. 

[michael-ibk]

Iron Boy is cute.

[Kitsafari]

262: Blue and white Flycatcher, Bidadari, Nov-Dec

 

 

there was a slight question over this flycatcher's ID. Both the blue and white FC and the Zappy's FC are almost indistinguishable but the overall consensus was this was the blue and white flycatcher so we went with the majority (and more experienced birders!). This pretty species breeds in Japan and Korea and winters in Southeast Asia. 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

263: Japanese Paradise Flycatcher, Telok Blangah Hill park, Nov 26

 

 

Almost EBC borderline case! the light was bad, it was in thick foliage high up in the fruiting fig tree and spotting it among a wave of small birds (in the tree were mugimaki FCs, oriental white-eyes, scarlet flowerpecker, orioles, etc) was challenging! the Jap paradise flycatcher, also known as the black paradise flycatcher, looks very similar to Amur and oriental paradise flycatcher but has black head and breast with a dark purplish mantle. Another migrant to our shores. 

[Kitsafari]

264: Indian Paradise Flycatcher, Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve, Nov 24

 

 

The Indian paradise flycatcher looks similar to the Blythe's and Amur paradise flycatcher, except for its long, pointed and fully erected crest. This particular long-tailed attracted quite a large crowd of photographers and birders, some of whom waited the entire day for its appearance. The low light meant my photos were completely useless.

 

[Kitsafari]

265: Grey Nightjar, Bidadari Park,  Nov 28

 

 

another winter migrant, the grey nightjar breeds in the Himalayas to east Asia. It's an uncommon migrant in singapore. 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

266: Ashy Drongo, Changi Business Park, Dec 3

 

 

 

In our Langkawi trip, our guide had ID-d the drongo as an Ashy Drongo (#155 in my list), but having seen it a couple of times as well as the black drongo in Singapore, we are of the view that that drongo - which was very dark in colour, was in fact a black drongo, and not an ashy one. so I've listed this as a new entry. the Ashy drongo is a pretty greyish bird, a rare migrant to Singapore, but well distributed in south and Southeast Asia. 

 

[Kitsafari]

155: Black Drongo, Neo Tiew Lane/Turut Track,  Nov 11

 

[Kitsafari]

267: Square-tailed Drongo, Changi Business Park, Dec 12

 

 

found in northern India and China with the  more northern birds flying south during winter. It's quite clear why it  is called square-tailed!

Edited December 21, 2018 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

268: Daurian Starling, Bidadari, Dec 12

 

 

we had been wanting to see this migrant species from Mongolia/Northeast russia/central china/North Korea, and were pleased to find at least two although they have been seen in relatively large flocks of 6-10. The daurian starling is also known as the purple-backed starling. 

[Kitsafari]

269: Barn Swallow, Neo Tiew Lane/Turut Track, Nov 24

 

 

The swallows, for which my personal Chinese name is named after,  are common migrants, with flocks of them just lying on the hot road to soak up the warmth.

[Kitsafari]

270: Black-winged Kite, Turut Track, Nov 24

 

 

The black-winged kite is a resident bird in Singapore. They are often found in pairs and this was no different. we saw them as a pair later in the evening with the male mating with the female. The species found in singapore is of the vociferous race, found mostly in the regions spanning from east Pakistan to China to southeast Asia. This bird was very accommodating after it flew into the palm tree just in front of us, and posed for photos. a stunning raptor. 

 

 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

271: Coconut Lorikeet, Eastwood vicinity, Dec 1

 

 

The first few days of December surprised us. A fruiting tree in front of our house and a tree full of ripe mangoes had been attracting many birds. But still a coconut parakeet found its way to these trees. This is an introduced species, probably from the caged bird trade, which still flourishes on our island. The species reportedly faces challenges breeding successfully here, which could be a good thing as the native long-tailed parakeet is already facing survival problems against the flourishing red-breasted parakeets.Also known as the green-naped lorikeet, it is native to southern Maluku i the West Papua islands, and western New Guinea. It gained full status recently, after having been a sub-species of the rainbow lorikeet. 

 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

272: Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot, Eastwood, Dec 2

 

 

Early December the blue crowned hanging parrot, a resident here, flew to the top of the tree in front of our house in the slight drizzle. A pretty little thing, you can just see a flash of blue on its head, and flash of red on its tail. 

[Kitsafari]

273: Monk Parakeet, Changi Business Park, Dec 7

 

 

A resident bird in South America, the monk parakeets found their way here via the caged bird trade. They seem to have establish a small colony here but not as widespread as the red-breasted parakeets. Also known as the quaker parakeets. 

[xelas]

I really enjoy reading your comments for each bird, @Kitsafari! 

[Dave Williams]

Indeed, a superbly written up B.Y. You are certainly motoring now, 250 was a long way back but that's the bird that caught my attention as the one I'd really love to see and photograph! keep them coming!

[Kitsafari]

Thanks @xelas and @Dave Williams ! I enjoyed writing about the species. 

 

274: Changeable Hawk Eagle, Mount Faber, Nov 26

 

 

This is a resident pair that were starting to nest at Mount Faber. A pair of friendly birders had been following this pair of changeable hawk eagles for the last three years and they reckoned that the pair were protecting their eggs after they spent time cleaning out the old nest. This used to be a rare bird in Singapore but have been breeding relatively well in recent years.

[Kitsafari]

I took a day off during a business trip to Bangkok in early November to the coast of southern Thailand as I so wanted to see the critically endangered spoonbilled sandpiper. The tiny little bird is on the verge of extinction with only less than 500 estimated in the wild. The species starts to migrate during this period down south to southern China and southeast Asia. we spent a few hours in the hot sun looking for it, like a needle in a haystack. I was getting progressively sicker (I didn't know then, but it was the beginnings of a serious flu bug caught flying out to Bangkok). just as we were leaving, the guide Peter Ericsson yelled it was among a group of plovers. I looked through his scope, had a second of glimpsing it but was getting too giddy. when Peter took back the scope, it had vanished into the flock. I'm determined to make another journey to see this cute little bird in the near future. 

Meanwhile, I'm having major problems sorting out the shorebirds and waders before the Xmas eve deadline! so, i'm just putting the bare minimum of those that I am sure of the IDs, and wait for January to get help from Peter on IDs. after this, I doubt if I want to  be so courageous and do a wader/shorebird trip again! So, please bear with me and correct me if i get any IDs wrong!

 

275: Black-capped Kingfisher, Bangkok, November 11

 

 

I was very fortuitous that my Bangkok trip coincided with a friendly birder's trip in Bangkok to see the black-capped kingfisher hidden in a park in the city itself. the stunning kingfisher is a rarity in Singapore. Widely distributed in tropical Asia, it is a uncommon migrant from northern Asia. 

Edited December 23, 2018 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

#244: Crested Myna, Petchaburi, Nov 6

 

 

This species was in my count for the HK trip but the images weren't great. well, neither are these, but at least I can finally see the crests!

[Kitsafari]

256: Little Cormorants, Petchaburi, Nov 6

 

 

The little cormorant is slightly smaller than the Indian cormorant and is widely distributed throughout Indian sub-continent, Thailand, down to Indonesia. There were lots of them in this coastal area, mingling with egrets and painted storks. quite a sight when flocks flew to the coast as the sun rose. 

 

[Kitsafari]

257: Black-tailed Godwit, Petchaburi, Nov 6

 

 

A winter migrant in sub-continent India, west Africa, Australia, the godwit breeds in areas stretching from Iceland to Europe and central Asia.