In November 2017, the Australian Bush-cherry (Syzygium myrtifolium Dark Red) trees that grew along the fence separating two of my neighbours’ houses were trimmed LINK. This in turn discouraged the Red-whiskered Bulbuls (Pycnonotus jocosus) from roosting on the branches of these trees.
Now, less than a year later, the crowns of these trees have become dense to provide protection to roosting birds. So the Red-whiskered Bulbuls have returned. Every evenings and early mornings, the harsh noises of passing cars and trucks are a little more tolerable with the pleasant chirpings of the bulbuls.
Every evenings, the Red-whiskered Bulbuls gather on any available high points, be they on the roofs of houses or a TV antenna.
They also fly in to rest on the branches of nearby roadside trees, to interact with other bulbuls before flying into the their roosting trees. There, they jostle around to claim the best positions to spend the night. Slowly, the noise from these bulbuls quieten down until dusk when silence prevail.
This is not a purely Red-whiskered Bulbul roost. A few Yellow-vented Bulbuls (Pycnonotus goiavier) were seen roosting together.
Come morning, these bulbuls contribute to the dawn chorus as they prepare to fly off to forage.
Unfortunately, a few days later the trees were heavily trimmed by a team of workers (see video above) such that the bulbuls did not return that evening – maybe many months later when new branches regrow to provide shade and shelter to the roosting birds.
YC Wee
Singapore
10th August 2018
