A walk to Jelutong Tower and Macritchie Reservoir

Early this morning, I made a walk to Jelutong Tower to meet up with a friend who came back for a short visit.

On the way to the tower, there were calls of the Brown Hawk-Owl, Short-tailed Babblers, Asian Fairy-bluebird and the Chestnut-winged Babbler. At the tower itself, there were the usual Orange-bellied Flowerpeckers, Van Hasselt’s Sunbird and the Crimson Sunbird. But the first bird that caught my photographic interest was the Banded Woodpecker (Picus miniaceus) that was calling away loudly.

(Banded Woodpecker)
 

Just after it flew off, a Chestnut-bellied Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus sumatranus) flew past the tower landing nearby.

(Chestnut-bellied Malkoha with an obvious chestnut-coloured belly!)
 

My last bird at the tower was the Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo (Surniculus lugubris). It was perched momentarily at an interesting branch and was calling loudly.

(Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo with the distinctive white nape patch)

Soon it flew off, but in the process it was mobbed by bulbuls. The pattern was repeated at the next perch and the following one after that. The bulbuls really did not like the presence of the cuckoo. For good reason too. The Yellow-vented Bulbuls¹ and the Olive-winged Bulbuls² are known brood host of the Drongo-Cuckoo. To protect their own nesting, they mob the cuckoo whenever they are seen.

(Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo calling loudly)
 

After the excitement of the tower, I had a brief walk at the boardwalk. No interesting birds to report, so instead I photographed another Banded species. This time, a Banded Imperial (Eooxylides tharis distanti) butterfly.

(Banded Imperial)

Reference
1. Photo by Alan Ng
2. Avifauna Volume 24 pg 17

Pompelon marginata

A day-flying moth. Taken at Macritchie Reservoir, August 2012.

Great Mormon

A walk to west side of Pulau Ubin yielded another larger sized butterfly.

The female Great Mormon (Papilio memnon) has many forms. This particular specimen is of the esperi form which is the predominant one in Singapore.

 

 

The journey continues

It’s been three years since I last posted. The last post was celebrating my first year of birding and the accomplishments that went with it. It reads like a resume now rather than an article and I highlighted things big and small, but at the time it felt important.

I suppose in actuality not much have changed. I still pursue this hobby with goals in mind and in truth, with an even more determined mindset after the first year. But enough of listing ‘accomplishments’ as it seems rather self-indulgent. Instead, there are some stories to tell and memories to jot down.

So let me start by posting butterflies instead of birds. The Great Orange Awlet (Burara etelka) is a rarely seen butterfly as it prefers to be active during dawn and dusk. It’s hard to miss though if it’s around, due to it’s intense orange colour. I was lucky to have seen this one at Jelutong Tower in the early morning.

 

After Jelutong Tower, I went walking on the trails where I met the female and male Saturn (Zeuxidia amethystus). They’re really good at camouflage and will only reveal themselves by flying away when the intruder gets close.

 

And lastly, a Common Faun (Faunis canens). I don’t know much about this butterfly, but hopefully in the future will be able to write more.