Owl sighting on Lower Kent Ridge

My first owl sighting in Singapore!!! no pictures i'm afraid. cos it was too dark and all i had was my pathetic phone cam.

So there i was, walking along Lower Kent Ridge on Monday in the dead of the night (2.30am) towards NUH to grab a cab home when somewhere along near the junction of Science Dr. 2, I heard a crow squawking loudly. Odd isn't it? if it were a Chinese movie, it would mean that somewhere, someone's dead or something equally bad. I walked further up to the source of the commotion and high up on the branches saw 2 figures, a crow and something else i couldn't quite make out. Crow looked agitated enough and it was making louds screeches and flapping its wings. the intruder turned and then i saw it. the face of an owl. heart skipped a beat and all i could do was to run to the middle of the empty road, with head up all the time trying to get a better view. 2 cabs passed me by then, but were ignored. the taxi uncles must think i've gone mad.

white face with a dark brown back. i'm not much of a birder, so couldn't identify it. in anycase, i rang Z but she like any other sane person had probably gone to bed. R was up though, still in lab, so i rang him to share my joy. he's not much of a birder either, but managed to sound interested, bless him. stood at the same spot looking at this magnificent bird for a few minutes before it decided to up and glide away in the silence of the night, but not without some brave heckling by the lone crow whose's night's sleep is probably ruined.

thought it was a barn owl, but thinking back now, with the dark back, it could well have been the grass owl. will double check with the neighbours tomorrow.

not a bad start to 2005, i reckon...an owl!!!!! :D