Grace Chua Straits Times 28 Apr 11;
The white-bellied sea eagles were spotted last week by Choa Chu Kang resident Boris Chan and his family, after which he posted some photographs of them taken by his 10-year-old son on Facebook. It is not a rare species, says the Nature Society. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF BORIS CHANA PAIR of eagles have built a nest in a tree in Choa Chu Kang Drive, on a site slated for building an executive condominium.
Pictures of the breeding pair of white-bellied sea eagles, posted on Facebook, have raised a flutter on citizen journalism website Stomp, with a number of netizens asking what will become of the eagles when the piling starts.
The birds were spotted last week by Choa Chu Kang resident Boris Chan, 47, and his family, after which the software engineer posted some photographs of them taken by his 10-year-old son on social networking site Facebook.
The 189,335 sq ft patch of land, which is mostly grass, between the Al-Khair Mosque and the upcoming Mi Casa condominium project, was awarded to property developer City Developments Limited (CDL) last month.
Legal transfer of the plot is still in progress, a CDL spokesman said, so the land is at the moment still owned by the Housing Board.
As to the question of what - if anything - can be done about the birds, Dr Wee Yeow Chin, who coordinates the bird ecology study group for the Nature Society here, said that as it is a common species, it would depend on how passionate one is about birds.
'The loss of one nest is no big deal, because a high percentage of nests fail naturally, as a result of the work of predators, for example,' he said.
He added that passionate bird-watchers would obviously ask for the housing development to be delayed until the chicks fledge and leave the nest, which would take about four months.
'But this is not a rare species,' he said.
The Nature Society, a non-profit group dedicated to the appreciation, conservation, study and enjoyment of the natural heritage here and in the surrounding region, said the white-bellied sea eagle tends to return to the same nest year after year during breeding seasons.
Online resources say the eagle, which appears on Singapore's $10,000 bill, stands at about 1m tall and is one of the largest raptors in South-east Asian skies.
On its part, CDL said it usually engages independent consultants to conduct biodiversity studies of building sites rich in plant and animal life, so it can be mindful of the species that may need conservation or relocation ahead of its development projects, said its spokesman.
For example, it did so for the upcoming Tree House condominium project in Chestnut Drive, which sits between the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Zhenghua Park; it will do the same for the Choa Chu Kang Drive land parcel.
The property developer said via e-mail: 'In consultation with relevant experts and animal conservation groups, we will explore the best alternative for the nesting eagles on the site.'
Mr Chan said: 'We've seen the eagles for many years in the sky. We just didn't know where the nest was.
'I just hope something can be done to protect them.'