An audience with the Crested Serpent Eagle.
I spent Saturday morning birding at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Reports emerged a few days ago on the sighting of the Crested Serpent Eagle (CSE) at the Healing Gardens. So that was where I was headed.
As I entered the area, I immediately noticed a large brown protrusion sticking out of a tree branch. It did not look like an extension of the branch. As I was trying to make sense of what I was looking at, it turned its head and gave me a side eye. There it is, the CSE!
I managed to photograph the CSE from various angles as it remained still, keeping a lookout for prey.
Soon, a small crowd of birders and curious parkgoers began to congregate around the CSE, but it did not seem fazed.
After an hour plus, the CSE took off to perch on a higher tree and began to call. I waited with anticipation to see if there was another CSE nearby that would return its call.
About 10 minutes later the CSE took off to the skies and slowly gained elevation before going out of sight. Pleased to get a photograph of the CSE in-flight showing it’s characteristic wing patterns.
eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S311805155
The Salaryman Birder 