Happenings

Event for 2009 - Details |

Last Update 18 December 2010

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Invitation by Bird Group

 

If you are keen to share with fellow members your knowledge about birds and birding skills, these positions may suit you: Birdwatching Trip Leaders and Speakers for Bird Chat. Please register your interest with Wing Chong at wingchong58@yahoo.com

 

Beginners Waders Workshop conducted by Kenneth Kee

(Posted 18 December 2010)

 

The first ever Beginners Waders Workshop was held on the 27th November 2010 at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR). 27 people attended including 4 staffs from SBWR. The response was beyond our expectation and what was most heartening was the attendance of four young boys, ranging from 3 to 11 years old together with their father.

 

Click to read/download report

 

 

 

 

 

 

27th Singapore Green Bird Race

Pulau Ubin 24th October 2010

(Posted 18 December 2010)

 

Eleven enthusiastic teams participated in the 27th Singapore Green Bird Race 2010. This year, the geographic scope of the race was narrowed down to Pulau Ubin to allow easier travel for participants and also to generate crucial information on the bird life of Singapores last rural frontier. There are two categories for participants, the novice category which lasted from 8am to 4pm, and the advanced category, which was slightly longer, ending at 5pm. Like the previous year, all teams had to forego the luxury of private cars and taxis, and even buses as there are none on Ubin! Instead, participants could move around on rented bicycles, or revert to the most basic transport mean, the foot!

 

Click to read/download report by Ding Li and Kenneth Kee

 

 

Bird Group Activities for May ~ June 2010

(Posted 7 April 2010)

 

7th May, Friday, 8pm

Talks: Raptor Migration in Singapore by Yong Ding Li

Raptor migration is one of the World's great avian spectacles and at some migration sites, many thousands of hawks and eagles past through hourly! Although Singapore does not bear witness to such numbers, a few thousand raptors still past through our hills and ridges annually on migration, with familiar favourites like the Oriental Honey Buzzard. The Bird Group has been regularly monitoring raptor migration island-wide for more than three years, collecting a large body of data with many new and interesting findings. All, especially raptor enthusiasts are welcome to attend a lecture summarising these findings and more! For more details, contact Yong Ding Li at zoothera@yahoo.com

 

16th May, Sunday, 7.30am

Bird Watching at Springleaf with Lim Kim Keang

Meet at the junction of Sembawang Road and Nee Soon Road at 7.30 am. Kim Keang will lead us to this almost forgotten part of Singapore where it still harbors some of its old rural charm. The numerous tall trees and thick woods are home to parakeets, woodpeckers, bee-eaters, trillers and many other rural and countryside birds.

 

13th June, Sunday, 7.30am

Bird Watching at Pulau Ubin with Ali Jaffa

Meet Ali Jaffa at Changi Jetty, at 7.30am. We will take a bumboat to Pulau Ubin; an island that never fails to surprise and always with new things to be discovered. Ali will take you through the rural areas of Pulau Ubin to look for specialties of this island, including Red Junglefowl, Oriental Pied Hornbill and globally endangered Straw-headed Bulbul.

 

 

 

Basic Birdwatching Course

(Posted 31 March 2010)

 

Date: 10 Apr - 23 May


The Bird Group will be conducting its popular Basic Birdwatching Course from 10 April to
23 May 2010. The course will equip participants with an understanding of the fundamentals of bird biology and field ornithology. Classroom theory will be reinforced by numerous outdoor trips. Techniques in bird observation, tips on identifying the commoner birds of Singapore and places to go birdwatching will be shared.


The course is conducted by veteran birder Lim Kim Seng. Six indoor lectures will take place at the NSS office on Saturday afternoons from
2.30 pm to 5.30 pm, followed by six outdoor sessions at various sites in Singapore on Sunday mornings from 7.30 am to 10.30 am.


Interested members are requested to send in the All Purpose Form and a cheque of S$150 to Nature Society (
Singapore). Please indicate NSS Birdwatching Course 2010 at the back of your cheque. Limited to 20 persons on a first-come-firstserved basis.

 

 

Report for the 26th Singapore Bird Race

(Updated 4 December 2009)

 

Ten teams participated in the 26th Singapore Green Bird Race 2009. There were two categories: Full Race (24hrs) and Sunday Race (10hrs). The Full Race started on 17th October at 1700hrs and ended on 18th October at 1700hrs. The Sunday Race started on 18th October at 0700hrs and ended on the same day at 1700hrs. For the first time, teams had to forego the luxury of private cars or taxis and use public buses and MRT instead or opt to race on bicycles.

 

Click to read report

 

 

NSS Birdwatching Trip to Pulau Semakau, 10 October 2009

(Updated 14 October 2009)

 

Dr. Ho Hua Chew led more than 20 of us, mostly first timers, to this landfill island. During the 30 minute boat ride, we were treated to a rainbow which arced over Pulau Bukom. After reaching Pulau Semakau, we had a short briefing on the function of the island and a look at the Pulau Semakau map to get our bearings. We had cloudy conditions which made our walk in the open rather pleasant. At one point, we could feel a sudden, refreshing coolness in the air as the winds brought the smell of rain. Fortunately, the small patch of rain graciously skirted off the eastern coast of the island!

 

Click to read report

 

 

 

26th Singapore Bird Race

 

17-18th October 2009

 

Main Sponsors: Swarovski Optik and Cathay Photo Store Pte Ltd.

Guest-of-honor: Mr. Shawn Lum, President of Nature Society ( Singapore)

 

The theme for this years race is GOING GREEN. Hence participants are allowed to use only public buses, MRT and ferries during the race. Alternatively they may opt to cycle or walk. Each team will consist of 2-4 racers.

 

Venue: Dairy Farm Adventure Center

 

Start: 5.00 pm on 17th Oct for Advance racers

7.00 am on 18th Oct for Novice racers

End: 5.00 pm on 18th Oct for both.

 

Entry fee: $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Entry forms from

 

contact@nss.org.sg or joe@nss.org.sg


Dinner for non racer at $15 per person followed by slide show by Lee Tiah Khee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

26th Singapore Bird Race

(Updated 02 October 2009)

 

The 26th edition of the Singapore Bird Race will be back this year on 17-18 Oct. The theme for this years race is Going Green. This means participants will be required to race without their beloved cars. Participants can either choose to race using their sheer human energy by running, cycling, roller-blading or other forms of human-powered vehicles. Or alternatively participants can also race by taking our public buses and MRT. No cars, taxis, buggies or any other forms of motorised transport will be allowed with the exception of public ferries for those intending to visit any of our islands that is open to public access.


The race will start at the Dairy Farm Adventure Centre (DFAC) on 17 Oct at
5 pm for the Advanced Racers. For the Novice Racers, the race will start at the same venue on 18 Oct at 7 am. However Novice Racers need to note that at least one member of the team is required to register their team on 17 Oct as there will be no registration on 18 Oct. The race for both categories of racers ends on 18 Oct at 5 pm at the same venue, DFAC. Another change from last years race is each team may comprise from 2-4 members. And as in last years race, all members of the team are required to see the bird. Recording of birds by calls is not allowed. Entry fee for the race is $10 per person for members of NSS and $15 for non members. Prices will be awarded to the top three finishers in each category. A dinner-cum-slide show will be held after the race and diners will be privileged to view a presentation on Singapore birds by one of Singapores top bird photographers Mr Lee Tiah Khee.

 

Closing date for team submission will be on 10th Oct. Do look out for details in the next issue of Nature News and do submit your team early to avoid disappointment.

We look forward to seeing your participation.

This Bird Race is sponsored by

 

 

 

 

 

Trip Report  NSS Bird Watching at

Bukit Brown on 23 August 2009

(Posted 03 September 2009)

 

Despite the heavy downpour with gutsy wind on the early morning, 16 members turned up for this trip. And later we learned that the pay-off for this persistence was good, as the birds were seemed to be very hungry after the heavy downpour and many turned up to feed in the morning. Most of them were so busy feeding that they stayed rather long on a location and this provided the members some very good opportunities to observe the birds.

 

more

 

 

Bird Watching at Bukit Panjang / Zheng Hua

Park Connector with Willie Foo

 

(Posted 11 June 2009)

 

Trip Report by Wing Chong

Date of trip 24 May 2009

 

On the morning of 24th May 2009, 19 members joined Willie Foo in this first Go-Green Bird Watching trip. It was few members first ride on the West LRT Loop line and was pretty fascinated by those relatively un-heard names of LRT stations like Phoenix and Segar. It was a fresh experience for many.

 

more

 

 

Launching of Nature Society Singapore

Bird Group's publications on 23/05/09 (Saturday)

(Posted 20 May 2009 by Willie Foo)

 

Date: Saturday, 23rd May 2009, 1300-1345 hrs,

Venue: Meeting Room, MOE Dairy Farm Adventure Centre, Dairy Farm Road

 

The NSS Bird Group would like to invite all bird-loving members to a special pre-AGM launch of its latest publications. These are:

 

  • State of Singapore s Wild Birds and Bird Habitats: Results of the Annual Bird Census 1996-2005

 

Edited by Lim Kim Chuah and Lim Kim Seng . This book contains the results of the second decade of the 24-year old Annual Bird Census, conducted by NSS since 1986. Trends of the 33 sites counted and 220 bird species and 43 families recorded are also provided.

 

 

 

 

  • The Avifauna of Singapore

 

Written by Lim Kim Seng , with colour photos from well known bird photographer Jimmy Chew and over 100 line drawings from bird artist and birder, Yong Ding Li. 
This book condenses data from Singapore Avifauna, the Bird Groups newsletter, and other known published and unpublished sources, to provide a complete summary of the status, distribution, breeding seasonality, migration patterns, conservation and museum collections of  every wild bird known to have occurred within its territory since records began in the 19th Century.

 

Copies of the books would be available for sale after the brief talk by Lim Kim Seng , co-editor of the first book and author of the second book. Kim Seng will touch on the writing of these two books and preview some upcoming trends and challenges on the local birding scene. His talk is titled, Challenges in Singapore Ornithology.

 

The launching price for the 1st book is S$20.00 and S$30.00 for the 2nd book. After that the books will be available from NSS Office and the selling price will be S$25.00 and S$35.00 respectively

 

Event Calendar

 

 

 

 

Trip & Activity Reports

Click top go to

 

Report on Beginners Waders Workshop conducted by Kenneth Kee

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Bird-watching with Yong Ding Li at Bukit Batok Nature Park on 28 March 2010 by wing chong

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Trip Report Bird-watching Trip to Semakau Landfill 21 March 2010 by Wing Chong

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Trip Report NSS Bird Watching Trip to Pulau Semakau on 10 October 2009 by Tan Gim Cheong

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Trip Report NSS Bird Watching at Bukit Brown on 23 August 2009 by Wing Chong

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Bird-watching at Bukit Panjang / Zheng Hua Park Connector with Willie Foo on 24 May 2009

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Bird-watching at Tagore Lane with Wing Chong on 25 May 2008

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Bird-watching on Pulau Semakau Landfill with Wing Chong on 2 December 2007

 

 

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