The beginning of another breeding season?

on 11th February 2011

So far this month, there have been two reports of nesting, both by William Ip. Is February 2011 the beginning of another breeding season in Singapore?

The first report was an active eagle’s nest found high up a transmission tower on Bukit Batok hill. After observing it for a couple weeks, William finally saw the pair of White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) arriving at the nest at around 4:30 pm.

The small eagle landed in the nest directly without any prey. Five minutes later, the bigger eagle followed the same route and landed about a metre above the nest, rested for a moment before touching down in the nest. Both did not bring any prey to the nest.

The two birds stayed in the nest for a minute and the bigger eagle left with a big piece of object, which, according to William, “may be part of a big fish (above). The question is whether the bigger eagle ‘stole’ the food or carried it away for whatever purpose. There was no noise or stress call during the time when the two eagles were in the nest They did not struggle when in the nest.”

The second nesting was by a pair of White-throated Kingfishers (Halcyon smyrnensis). They were building a nest on the cliff in a nature park on the evening of 5th February 2011. The pair was flying in and out of the hole for more than an hour from 5 pm that day (above).

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

One Response

  1. Saw a white bellied sea eagle nest near my place last week. Worried about the mother eagle since it was raining heavily on and off these few days. This afternoon, the mother eagle looks ok. Do you think it is fine for the mother eagle ?? Have not seen the other eagle since Sunday.

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