Last 4 December, I brought along Alex (enrichment programme for him) to Jurong Bird Park (JBP) where they were holding a small session for birding enthusiasts and members of the public to join on for their talks.
The staff at JBP placed some of the stuffed birds on the table... Sweet! :) Here shows a Buffy Owl and the juvenile.
Outside the lounge, the Flamingos were parading around the ponds...
Interestingly, the Flamingos were 'in flight'... One individual began to attempt flying, then a few others followed. I think it's an escape behaviour where when one decides to fly off for a reason (not known to us), others start to follow or mimick. This helps increase the chances of survival in a group... I remember that some students attempted to study this 'security in groups' for birds at Sungei Buloh and Pulau Ubin. Sweet eh!
Some slides from the presentation that are interesting... The first three slides are about what JBP does to birds that were given to them or picked up by them... The procedures are similar: nurture and rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation is an important step for these wild birds as any human interactions and manhandling may result in learning to rely on us. Therefore, JBP simulates scenarios that allow these birds to emulate what they may find in the real environments. This component is especially more crucial for the young birds.
A rare visitor - the Himalayan Griffon Vulture! It was apparently highly dehydrated and once it was given sufficient liquids, the bird recovered and released back to continue its journey. :)
The next presentations were from NUS-DBS alumni, Yong Dingli! I have met with him once for a different collaboration and he's one of our well-known (and young!) birder in Singapore. Dingli shared with us about birds in general, anatomy and how to identify them efficiently. The other portion of his presentation focused on the conservation aspects of birds (with reference to Singapore). Dingli shared with us how our bird diversity has fared and what are the threats they faced.
Sadly, poaching (for food or sale) is still a big problem in Singapore, and happening in sensitive areas within Singapore. Alot of these birds are the uncommon and rare forest species, and Dingli emphasized the great need for more research and studies on bird ecology in Singapore.
He also shared a topic (that I could relate to well enough) on alien bird species. For my mini assignment, I decided to take up the topic of alien parrots in Singapore. With Dingli's help, I am currently refining my manuscript and hopefully publish in the next NiS issue (2012).
All in all, it was a fruitful session! The best thing - we got to visit the bird park after the talks too! It has changed so much since I last visited and I'll definitely visit it again. Cheerios!
1 comments:
Birdcage veils are available in many bridal shops offline and online. They also come in various styles and colors. For the diy bird cage, you may even be able to make your own.
Post a Comment