Mike Hooper (viator)'s 2008 List (1 Viewer)

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Viator's 2008 List

The goal for this year is to try and breach the 450 mark after falling just short the last two years with 447 and 436.

As of Dec 31st the total stands at 610 with 146 lifers (in bold)
USA 207
Singapore 233
Malaysia 122
Australia 169
Indonesia 26
Hong Kong 2

January 1
Capital Country Holiday Village, Sutton, NSW

The year started with 1/2 day in Australia before flying home to Singapore.

1. Rufous Whistler
2. White-winged Chough
3. Galah
4. Welcome Swallow
5. Common Myna
6. Common Starling
7. Australian White Ibis
8. Eurasian Coot
9. Mallard
10. Hardhead
11. Australian Wood Duck
12. Pacific Black Duck
13. Australian Raven
14. Superb Fairy-wren
15. Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
16. Fairy Martin
17. Tree Martin
18. Common Bronzewing
19. Crested Pigeon
20. Yellow-rumped Thornbill
21. Masked Lapwing
22. Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
23. White-plumed Honeyeater
24. Yellow-faced Honeyeater
25. Red Wattlebird
26. Eastern Spinebill
27. Australian Magpie
28. Magpie Lark
29. House Sparrow

Canberra Airport added
30. Australian Pipit
31. Dusky Woodswallow

A rush through Melbourne Airport to make our connection added
32. Silver Gull

January 2nd
Walk to the bus-stop to go to work brought the first common Singapore birds for the year
33. House Crow
34. Rock Dove
35. Black-naped Oriole
36. Javan Myna
37. House Swift
38. Rose-ringed Parakeet
39. Asian Glossy Starling
40. Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
41. Common Koel

Lunch time walk to just out the CBD added
42. Asian Palm Swift
43. Barn Swallow
44. Germain's Swiftlet
45. Tiger Shrike
46. Eurasian Tree Sparrow
47. White-breasted Waterhen
48. Yellow-vented Bulbul
49. Pied Fantail
50. Common Tailorbird
51. Blue-tailed Bee-eater

Trip back from the office at the end of the day added
52. Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker
53. Pink-necked Green Pigeon
54. Collared Kingfisher
55. Little Egret

 

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January 3
Another lunchtime walk to Marina South added

56. Black-nest Swiftlet
57. Glossy Swiftlet
58. Brown Shrike
59. Scaly-breasted Munia
60. Forest Wagtail
61. Black Baza
62. Asian Brown Flycatcher
63. White-throated Kingfisher
64. Zebra Dove
65. Spotted Turtle Dove

Bus trip home added added a Grey Heron crossing the Kallang River
66. Grey Heron

January 4
Lunch time walk along the Esplanade added
67. Olive-backed Sunbird
68. Pacific Swallow

 

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January 5
First chance of the year to visit my local patch at Marina East grasslands

69. Common Iora
70. Chestnut Munia
71. Brahminy Kite
72. Lesser Coucal
73. Zitting Cisticola
74. Siberian Stonechat
75. Common Kingfisher
76. Long-tailed Parakeet
77. Ashy Drongo
78. Pied Triller
79. Baya Weaver
80. Common Flameback
81. Barred Buttonquail
82. Black Drongo
83. Greater Coucal
84. Dollarbird

 

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January 6
Back to Marina East Grasslands to try for a few more of the local specials

85. White-bellied Sea Eagle
86. Yellow Bittern
87. Common Sandpiper
88. Little Heron
89. Long-tailed Shrike
90. Oriental Reed Warbler
91. Red-whiskered Bulbul
92. Brown-throated Sunbird
93. Javan Munia
94. Japanese Sparrowhawk
95. Paddyfield Pipit

 

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January 7
A quick visit out to Sungei Buloh for some waders

96. Intermediate Egret
97. Stork-billed Kingfisher
98. Pacific Golden Plover
99. Whimbrel
100. Common Greenshank
101. Common Redshank
102. Marsh Sandpiper
103. Golden-bellied Gerygone
104. Arctic Warbler
105. Crow-billed Drongo
106. Emerald Dove
107. Large-billed Crow
108. Black-crowned Night Heron
109. Copper-throated Sunbird
110. Purple Heron
111. Crimson Sunbird
112. Rufous Woodpecker
113. Grey-rumped Treeswift
114. Himalayan Swift
115. Mangrove Whistler
116. Great Cormorant
117. Cattle Egret

Below is a shot of the Rufous Woodpecker

 

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January 10
Kallang Riverside Park

118. Pacific Reef Egret

January 11
119. Chinese Pond Heron

 

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January 12
Usual Sat afternoon walk at Marina East grasslands added two more birds for 2008

120. Oriental Honey Buzzard
121. Little Bronze Cuckoo

 

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January 13
A family walk in the Singapore Botanical Gardens added 4 more year birds. The Black Swans shouldn't really be added here since not wild but I forgot to include the 1 seen on Jan 1 in Aus so I'll put here rather than re-number all the birds!

122. Black Swan
123. Oriental Magpie Robin
124. Ashy Tailorbird
125. Lesser Whistling Duck

 

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January 15
Marina South

126. Indian Cuckoo
127. Oriental White-eye

 

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January 17
Bukit Timah Nature Reserve/Hindehede Nature Reserve

128. Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
129. Abbot's Babbler
130. Striped Tit Babbler
131. Yellow-browed Warbler
132. Lineated Barbet
133. Blue-and-white Flycatcher
134. Dark-necked Tailorbird
135. Laced Woodpecker

 

[viator]

January 20
Pulau Ubin

136. Mangrove Pitta
137. Great Crested Tern
138. Little Tern
139. Greater Sand Plover
140. Grey Plover
141. Lesser Sand Plover
142. Osprey
143. Olive-winged Bulbul
144. Great-billed Heron
145. White-rumped Shama
146. Red Collared Dove
147. Red-breasted Parakeet
148. Yellow-bellied Prinia
149. Straw-headed Bulbul - flock of 7 in the open singing!
150. Rusty-breasted Cuckoo
151. Lesser Crested Tern


Upon arrival back at Changi Village
152. Tanimbar Corella

 

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January 26
A brief walk in the grassland of Marina East added 1 new 2008 bird

153. Black-shouldered Kite

 

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January 31

Leaving the office today a dark morph Changeable Hawk Eagle was being mobbed by House Crows

154. Changeable Hawk Eagle

 

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February 2

A two hour walk at Marina East yielded 48 species and 4 new ones for 2008.

The first was a common winter visitor a Cinnamon Bittern that was standing only 3 feet from a Yellow Bittern.

155. Cinnamon Bittern

The next new bird is a tricky one that is either a vagrant or could be an escapee - no way to tell. I haven't seen references to Brahminy Starlings in Singapore either as vagrants or escapees but there are vagrant references for Peninsula Malaysia.

156. Brahminy Starling

Not far from the starling a tree held three Yellow-fronted Canaries that seem to have built up a feral population in the area with flocks seen quite regularly recently.

157. Yellow-fronted Canary

The last new species for the year was a flock over 20 Ashy Minivets.

158. Ashy Minivet

 

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February 4

A surprising find on a lunch time walk around Marina South was a Yellow-rumped Flycatcher - normally a passage migrant but this one appears to be wintering over!

159. Yellow-rumped Flycatcher

 

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February 8

A visit to Hindehede Park trying to find the reported Orange-headed Thrush and Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo was partially successful - dipping on the cuckoo.

160. Orange-headed Thrush
161. Purple-throated Sunbird
162. Hill Myna

 

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February 9

Another visit to my local patch, Marina East, finally yielded Pintail Snipe (3) which I'd figured should be present during winter but never managed to flush.

163. Pintail Snipe
164. Savanna Nightjar
165. Rufous-tailed Tailorbird

 

[viator]

February 10

Headed back over to Marina East to try and photograph the Pintail Snipe and Savanna Nightjar again. Both species were sighted again and as a bonus two more new species for my Singapore list.

166. Common Snipe
167. Greater Painted Snipe

 

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February 13

A few days non-birding trip to Langkawi, Malaysia with the family - luckily mostly a bird friendly island so still plenty of birds to see. Anywhere with Hornbills flying around the resorts and touristy areas can't be bad...

Trip from the airport added several year birds:
168. Red-wattled Lapwing
169. Wood Sandpiper
170. Jungle Myna

Walking along the street in Pantai Tengah looking for somewhere to eat then added
171. Oriental Pied Hornbill
172. Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

 

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February 14

The biggest surprise of the day was just after sunrise when two Pied Imperial Pigeons were seen flying across the hotel grounds from our balcony.

173. Pied Imperial Pigeon

We were disappointed upon arrival at the Gunung Matcincang cable car station to discover it was closed for maintenance...the second time this has happened to us, the first last October! For me at least this disappointment was made up for with the flight of two Great Hornbills across the station with an Orange-bellied Flowerpecker in a nearby bush!

174. Great Hornbill
175. Orange-bellied Flowerpecker

A hike then to Telaga Tujuh (Seven Wells) brought plenty of Purple-throated and Copper-throated Sunbirds but the only new year bird were several

176. Red-eyed Bulbul

Whilst everyone else had an afternoon nap to avoid the midday heat I drove to the marsh surrounding the airport to see what could be found - the answer was not as much as last October but still pretty good. New birds for 2008 were

177. Yellow Wagtail
178. Little Ringed Plover
179. Common Moorhen
180. Great Egret
181. Ruddy-breasted Crake
182. Rusty-rumped Warbler
183. Oriental Pratincole
184. Bridled Tern

The day's activities were completed with a drive to the summit of Gunung Raya for sunset (and Hornbills!). In addition to the two previous trip species my target Wreathed Hornbill was sighted after dipping on it last October.

185. Grey Wagtail
186. Red-throated Flycatcher
187. Asian Fairy Bluebird
188. Wreathed Hornbill

Below are images of an Oriental Pratincole and a Little Ringed Plover