Not Just for Birds: How Citizen Scientists Unite for Conservation

SINGAPORE: Birds sang around us as we gathered at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve visitor center early on a Sunday morning.

Birdwatching teams were armed with binoculars, sports scopes and cameras with lenses as long as bazookas, waiting at 7:30 a.m. when the Bird Race Sprint officially begins.

The race, held annually, involves spotting as many species of birds in the allotted time as possible.

The team behind CNA was taking note of the birds that could be heard even before the official start time, and they left at the chime, marking types of pigeons, parrots, sunbirds and a pair of sea eagles from white belly. gliding towards its nest.

“Usually you hear them first, seeing them is just the final confirmation,” said Dr. Yeo Seng Beng, an amateur bird professor with tousled white hair, who could apparently identify each bird by its call.

The doctor was with a team of avid bird watchers led by Mr. Alfred Chia, along with Ms. Sandra Chia and Minister of National Development Desmond Lee, who was participating in their third Bird Race.

The four of them walked and drove around the Lim Chu Kang area with pricked ears and eyes scanning trees, swamps, and skies. There were times when one or more team members quickly saw a flash of feathers, sometimes high up in the light blue.

“It’s a brahminy kite, you can tell by the shape of the wings,” Lee said, looking up as the group traversed the Kranji swamps. The others nodded quickly, eager to move to more “ulu” (remote) areas apparently known only to bird watchers.

Along the way, Lee patiently pointed and identified the specks in the distance to the CNA, from a red-bearded lapwing that had been tagged by researchers in Singapore, to shorebirds on a longkang in the middle of Lim Chu Kang.

Within five hours, they had walked about 12,000 steps each, Chia estimated, and detected 73 species of birds, about eight of which were threatened. They were second in the Sprint category of the Bird Race (the complete Bird Race lasts 24 hours).

READ: 20 new species of fauna registered in Pulau Ubin, including a new type of spider

Although the team saw the most bird species, they lost points as this year’s race came with a twist: More points were assigned to endangered native species and the team had not seen the rarest birds, which they were worth five points each.

For a newcomer, the speed and urgency at which the bird species were called was unnerving. Mr. Chia, 60, who planned the route the team took for the Bird Race, said there was no secret: only the calls, the way the birds flew and where they lived were learned from experience.

“EARS AND EYES ON THE GROUND”

Mr Chia, a longtime member of the Bird Group of the Singapore Nature Society, has been at it for over 30 years. He brings his experience to numerous bird population surveys and censuses conducted in Singapore by the Nature Society and the National Parks Board (NParks).

Citizen scientists like Mr. Chia have been helping to monitor insects, birds and animals in Singapore for decades, and the number of such volunteers has increased with increased awareness of nature and conservation here.

He was pleased to see that this year’s Bird Race, the 36th edition, attracted some 250 people, twice as many participants as races in recent years.

“This is a starting point; hopefully, they’ll stay interested … Those who started out as rookies today will have experience five years from now, especially if they cultivate an interest as children, ”he said.

Data collected on December 5 and 6, when the race was held, will also eventually contribute to conservation, he added.

How exactly does birding here contribute to research that might happen abroad or even in the future?

Lim Kim Chuah, lead organizer of the Bird Race and president of the Nature Society Bird Group, said that this year, race participants should enter their sightings in eBird, an app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. About 180 species of birds were recorded and this information will be archived in the Cornell laboratory database.

“Suppose you are doing research on the arctic warbler – you can go in there and then you can see … where all the arctic warblers were seen in Singapore … this is just one example of how people can use the information gathered during the Bird campaign Race, ”he said.

The arctic warbler is a migratory bird that can be found as far north as Siberia, but spends its winters in Southeast Asia.

FOCUS: How urbanized Singapore is learning to live with its wildlife

While the bird race is probably the most adrenaline pumping birding event of the year, the Nature Society also conducts quarterly bird censuses in Singapore, and has been doing so for decades. From these studies, they can see trends over the years, such as whether populations of certain birds are in decline.

“That begs the question: Why is the population declining? Why don’t we see this (bird) anymore? We hope that some researcher can detect this and then try to find out the root cause, ”said Lim, 55.

“There are a limited number of researchers, but there are many more citizen scientists. So these citizen scientists are ears and eyes on the ground. “

GROWING MOVEMENT

Birdwatching was one of the first ways that man in the street became involved in citizen science and nature conservation.

The National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count in the United States has been conducted since 1900 and claims to be the oldest citizen science project in the world. In Singapore, the Nature Society has conducted the annual bird census every year since 1986.

Native Species, Community Involvement: Why Planting Trees is More Than Digging and Watering

With more interest and awareness of the local natural heritage, as well as with the push of non-governmental organizations and government agencies, the number of volunteers for citizen science programs has increased in recent years.

By NParks tally, the number of citizen scientists involved in its Community in Nature Biodiversity Watch series increased from 400 in 2015 to more than 9,000 in 2020. The series engages members of the public in large-scale biodiversity surveys in gardens, parks and nature. reservations in Singapore.

Its oldest and most popular program, Garden Bird Watch, has about 1,400 participants who, according to NParks, have contributed “a great deal of citizen science data.”

Last year, those data resulted in the first book in Singapore showing the distribution of specific birds in Singapore’s green spaces, titled A Review of Garden Bird Watch.

“Monitoring our biodiversity is important to help us understand the quality of habitats, track the number and richness of species over time, and develop management strategies to maintain or enhance these populations,” said Lim Liang Jim, group director from NParks’ National Center for Biodiversity.

An upcoming project in which the Nature Society Bird Group will participate is the conservation of the straw-headed bulbul, a melodious songbird that is critically endangered. A recent study has found that there could be as many as 600 bulbuls in Singapore, which make up up to half of the species’ global population, and it may be the only place on Earth where the bird is thriving due to a shortage of poachers.

NParks is working with the Bird Group to conduct a two-year baseline study of the species’ population in Singapore and there are discussions to form a working group for its conservation next year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjiDiFgiyn4

In addition to birds, there are also community programs to monitor species of butterflies and dragonflies, and to report sightings of sea turtles and horseshoe crabs along the coasts.

READ: More turtle and nest sightings in recent years: NParks

READ: Lornie Nature Corridor Opens As Reconstruction Plan Released To Introduce More Naturalistic Landscapes

Comprehensive surveys of areas such as the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Pulau Ubin and the Southern Islands have also been conducted with community support, said Mr. Lim from NParks.

In addition to producing data for research, these programs have hooked novice nature lovers who have become true birders.

Ms. Liu Xinlu’s interest in birds began when she joined the Ubin Comprehensive Biodiversity Survey in 2018, a project to learn more about the wildlife of Pulau Ubin. The ongoing two-year project involves 200 NParks employees, researchers and citizen scientists from nature groups.

An environmental science graduate, Ms. Liu has always loved nature, but the training provided for the survey and expeditions with experienced bird watchers such as BIrd Group President Mr. Lim and Mr. Chia gave her the drive and knowledge to pursue bird watching as a passion. .

She recounted how during the “breaker” earlier this year, she couldn’t go anywhere, but the birds “came to her”, and seeing migratory birds from far away, she could almost imagine traveling again.

“I like to travel. I think the meaning of traveling is experiencing … different places, understanding different cultures and in bird watching, you get a different lens to look at the world,” he said.