Great Cormorants@Johor Straits~17April2021

https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/538700394

Three Great Cormorants seen flying about in the airspace between the Straits View Hotel, Eagle Point, Kranji Dam, Lido Waterfront at about 1030am on 17April2021.

Find out more about sightings of these birds:
https://fryap.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/great-cormorant-in-singapore/

https://besgroup.org/2019/03/15/great-cormorants-sighted-over-pasir-ris-park/

Clips shot in 120fps slowmo without audio.

Audio added in post : Incompetech.com - Kevin Macleod's 'Exotic Battle' CC3.0

Tailless crocodile rumble @ SBWR - 18July2020

'Tailless', a large crocodile frequently seen near the main bridge at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, had not been seen as regularly as it used to be. The incoming tide saw it entering the main river from the Johor Straits. As it crawled its way in the shallows, small groups of fish, likely mullet or milkfish, could be seen rippling the water surface swimming away from it. Earlier, there had been two smaller crocs about 3 metres long in the same waters but these had disappeared. Perhaps, they were male crocs and knew that Tailless was incoming. Tailless is after all a large male crocodile whose tail got stumped too many years ago likely in a fight with another capable croc. It's length is estimated to be about 2.5 metres from snout to stump. If it had a full tail, it might be about 4 metres long.

It headed below and past the main bridge much to the delight of the observing visitors and made its way to a small ditch nearby. There is usually a smaller crocodile about 3 metres long which uses that ditch and it had been seen earlier in the afternoon near the ditch but it was nowhere to be seen. My guess is that the smaller crocodile was a female and she was further up the ditch.

Tailless examined the ditch before turning out and backing his way in again. It then arched its back downwards raising its neck such that it angled the head down. Then it slammed the water surface with its head opening its jaw slightly before the water above its back exploded in vibration due to the low frequency murmur it was sending out claiming the area for itself and warning other male crocodiles that the area around the main bridge was his. There was too much noise from the visitors on the bridge to hear the murmur but I had seen and heard Tailless on another occasion about two years ago having performed the same territorial display. It repeated the vibration again before slowly making its way further upstream assisted by the incoming tide before crossing the river and following the bend to the right.

Find out more about crocodilian territorial and mating behaviour :

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160426-watch-a-huge-male-alligator-sing-to-attract-a-mate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCkTFEjo8qs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFeVAWrXrYs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAgRloUISEA

black-tailed godwits & asiatic dowitchers @ Endau, East Johor - 25Mar2019

The east coast of Johor continues to amaze. Kampung Teriang Besar has a muddy coastline and this is perfect for supporting yet another shorebird roost after Mersing Town's sandy bay. It was certainly a surprise to see 28 black-tailed godwits and 8 asiatic dowitchers huddling together with some (est. 80) common greenshanks and other waders as the tide peaked for the morning. In the background along the coastal edge of the mudflat, there were more than 100 bar-tailed godwits, 50 grey plovers and 50 whimbrels amongst a sizeable number of lesser/greater sand plovers, terek sandpipers and other small waders. There were a good number of greater crested terns and other terns also.

Both the Kg Teriang and Mersing shore sites are very likely complementary of each other with birds possibly flying to and fro to each site on a regular basis.

The black-tailed godwits repositioning themselves with the rising tide

Clip of the black-tailed godwits and asiatic dowitchers in the foreground.

28BlackGodwits&8Dowitchers from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Clip of the bar-tailed godwits, grey plovers, whimbrels and terns in the background. The heat shimmer over the 400m made it difficult to identify the species. The large passing clouds blocking off the sun made it briefly possible for a drop in the heat shimmer occasionally.

barwits, grey plovers, whimbrels&terns 25Mar2019 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

How to get there : [2.6320686, 103.7204811]

The access is behind SK Teriang Endau. Head on past the cemetary. There is a new clearing behind the cemetary for a watermelon patch. The access to the river mouth is a small pathway through some coastal vegetation. Quite easy to find. Check out the other coastal pathways south of the river leading from the coastal road. Some open out to good vantage points if you are prepared to brave the jigsaw (you'll understand  it when you see it) mud field.

Note : there may be some biting sandflies/mozzies/ants on the sand and amongst the shoreline foliage. Do come prepared. 

Small Wader roost @ Jeram, Selangor - 17Nov2018

Another few moments at this tiny roost spot. Quite a number of small waders at this spot with curlew sandpipers, red-necked stints, little stints, broad-billed sandpipers, terek sandpipers, common redshanks, sanderlings, lesser sand plovers and greater sand plovers amongst others.

It's not often one gets to see small migratory waders in such numbers and this site is endangered due to increased human prescence and activity.

Nordmann's Greenshank @ Mersing, Johor 4Nov2018

Strangely the previous week saw about 60 common greenshanks at the shore but there were zero seen on 4 Nov. There was just one lone greenshank with the grey plovers and barwits. I had initially glossed over the greenshank thinking it would just be one of the many common greenshanks. It was only later when David started exclaiming excitedly that there was an unusual Terek Sandpiper (he was using his bins from a long way off) in the bunch of birds and that it could be a Nordmann's Greenshank that I turned my attention to it again. Scoping it out, we had to wait until it turned to show us its bill and started walking along the shore in order to confirm what it was. It did look similar to a Terek in that it was hunched although its bill was noticeably bicoloured and its legs were slightly off yellow. It did not raise its neck to stand tall much like how the Common Greenshanks would.   

Nordmann's Greenshanks (Tringa guttifer) are rare and there might only be between about 600 to 1300 mature birds left (according to the IUCN website). This is apparently due to breeding habitat degradation in Russia and also the loss of important coastal feeding areas along the East Asian coastline due to development. 

This was certainly a welcomed sighting and on my first Wader Conservation Watch #WCWW5. Check out waderquest.net/wader-conservation-world-watch/ for more information.

This group of shorebirds is rather sensitive to people on the shore or even other birds such as white-bellied sea eagles and house crows. You have to maintain a good distance from them so that they do not get spooked and fly off. Once spooked, it is unlikely that they will come back to the same spot as the shore is a very long one and there would be other spots to choose from. There are also nearby islands and rocky outcrops which they could roost. Birders should be careful about this to avoid spooking the birds.

nordmann's greenshank with friends @ mersing, johor 4Nov2018 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

More info :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordmann%27s_greenshank
https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22693225/93391729
http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/spotted-greenshank-tringa-guttifer
https://www.arkive.org/nordmanns-greenshank/tringa-guttifer/image-G14593.html
https://singaporebirds.com/species/nordmanns-greenshank/
http://www.besgroup.org/2008/11/22/nordmanns-greenshank-at-sungei-buloh-wetland-reserve/
http://www.thaibirding.com/news/toptenresults7.htm

Whimbrel flypast @ Kingfisher pod-SBWR-22Sep2018

It was already 6.40pm and close to closing time for Singapore's Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. I had noticed the flock of whimbrels as they landed at the sandbar near Eagle Point. With the tide rising, it was only a matter of time before the sandbar would be covered with water and the birds would have to fly towards and into the reserve's controlled ponds for a safe roost on dry land. 

Luckily, the birds flew off at 6.50pm just when it was getting dark. They took just about a minute to traverse the about 1 kilometer of their flight path from the sandbar to just past Kingfisher Pod as they went behind the trees. This means they were flying at about 60km/hr just above sea level with a zero wind factor. That's fast! It's not obvious until about the end of the clip that the birds were flying in a V formation.

The whimbrels and some of the other shorebirds such as the common greenshanks and pacific golden plovers prefer to fly out to feed at the rich mudflats near the Singapore-Malaysia causeway at the mouth of the Sungei Pang Sua, Mandai Besar and Mandai Kecil estuaries. This is one of Singapore's last remaining northern mangrove mudflats. Although all three are short rivers and the mudflat is not wide, the area provides for sufficient food for a variety of these long-distance migratory shorebirds. 

Some of the shorebirds do also alternate visiting sites such as Sungei Danga and Sungei Sekudai across the Johor Straits roughly opposite of Sungei Buloh. Johorean birders have documented redshanks with Singapore green over white flags at Sungei Danga roosts.

Let's hope that the entire ecosystem triangle (taking into account future upriver and shoreline developments) is sufficiently protected for future generations of shorebirds.*

[UPDATE 7 Oct 2018 : It's been announced that the Mandai mangrove and mudflats will have the protection as a park managed by the National Parks Board. This is indeed fabulous news. Click these links for more info : 

https://www.nparks.gov.sg/news/2018/10/mandai-mangrove-and-mudflat-will-be-conserved-as-a-nature-park

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/mandai-mangrove-and-mudflat-to-open-as-nature-park-in-2022

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/mandai-mangrove-and-mudflats-be-singapores-newest-nature-park