Vol 6 No 3
Dec 99
Common Tailorbird
Lesser Known Predators
of Sungei Buloh
Butterfly Monitoring and Introduction
at Sungei Buloh
Why we should NOT feed the monkeys
Bird Ringing
at Sungei Buloh
Sluice Gate Management
International Coastal Cleanup
Sep 99
Care for Nature Family Hunt 99
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Bird
Ringing
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What are the flight patterns of
migratory birds?
Why do certain birds behave a certain way?
Adeline Chia provides more details.
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A bird in hand is worth
two in the bush
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Bird
ringing or banding is a skill not known to many, but it is an essential
skill for staff of Sungei Buloh Nature Park who regularly participate in
ringing sessions throughout the year. Much can be learnt by putting a
ring around the tarsus (leg) of captured birds.
Simple? Much preparation has to be done before data is to be collected. A
passerine ringing session starts with a recce for a suitable site and the
minor pruning (if necessary) of vegetation in the area to facilitate the
setting up of mist nests.
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Mist
nets are usually put up a day before the actual ringing, since a typical
passerine ringing session in the Park starts at 6am! The nets are then
rolled up or "closed" so that no birds get trapped before we
are ready.
Understanding the habits of the birds help to increase yield.
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Preparation for the catch
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The first catch of the day is supposedly the largest as
our subjects are on their way out for their first meal when dawn breaks.
Therefore it is necessary to open the nets before first light. Half asleep,
we will make our way to the site to open the nets. By the first net check,
we are usually wide-awake and eager to ring the early birds.
For wader ringing, the ringing site is usually one of our brackish water
ponds. Nets are set up before dusk on the day itself. When night falls we
plod into the ponds to open the nets with headlights and torches to guide
us. Wader ringing means having to wallow in the mud since the nets are set
on the mudflats. Sinking in up to the thigh, smelly and filthy fellows we
become as we slosh in the mud each time we go for a net check! The catch
for waders peaks at high tide when more waders fly in to mudflats to roost.
However, when the weather is bad and it starts to rain, you can see us
scrambling to close nets immediately! The safety of our feathered friends
must never be compromised.
A
net round (or net check) is conducted every 30 to 45 minutes to check for
birds caught in the net. Captured birds are retrieved and brought back to
the 'ringing stations' where measurements such as wing length, moult,
tarsus diameter, weight, age, sex are recorded. A ring is also placed
around the bird. Each captured bird therefore carries a unique
identification ringing number that serves to provide more information if
it is recaptured. Ringed birds provide a host of data used for research,
such as behaviour, migration patterns and longevity.
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Obtaining vital statistics
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The ringing team
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The
ringed bird is then released. Great care is taken when handling birds to
avoid any injuries. This process of net-checking, retrieving, recording
data and release continues until evening before the sun sets for
passerine ringing and the before day breaks for wader ringing when the
nets are closed and kept. It is another fulfilling day of work before the
next ringing session comes along.
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© Sungei Buloh Nature Park
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Vol 6 No 3
Dec 99
Common Tailorbird
Lesser Known Predators
of Sungei Buloh
Butterfly Monitoring and Introduction
at Sungei Buloh
Why we should NOT feed the monkeys
Bird Ringing
at Sungei Buloh
Sluice Gate Management
International Coastal Cleanup
Sep 99
Care for Nature Family Hunt 99
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Sluice Gate Management
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"Power Rangers"
Patricia Phua
and Stephen
Chua
explain the ins and outs of
the Park's sluice gate management
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What is sluice gate management?
A question any curious visitor would pose to understand this operation.
The practice of sluice gate management in the Park is a concept rather
different from the one adopted by the traditional prawn or fish farmer.
Farmers stock their ponds and practice water exchanges to drain waste and
let in nutrient-rich water regularly. Before harvesting, a complete
draining of the pond is required to attain the yield.
At the Park, apart from one prawn pond that we use for demonstration purposes,
we regulate some ponds for migratory birds as the mudflat is a feeding and
roosting ground for them. (For more about Prawn Pond
demonstrations)
During high tide, there will be less exposed coastal areas for the birds to
feed and roost around Singapore. At the Park, we have twelve sluice gates
placed at strategic points of each pond and facing the sea. Tide movements
into some of these ponds are regulated. When the tide is high, at least one
of three ponds in the Park will have low water level so that birds can feed
and roost on the exposed mudfiats. As these ponds cannot be left unattended
for a long period, there is a strict schedule to follow to allow both the
organic nutrients and crustaceans (crabs, prawns and allies), different
species of fishes and molluscs (snails, slugs, mussels and clams) to
procreate within the ponds. Sluice gate gate management ensures a flux of
vibrant oxygenated water teeming with rich minerals to rejuvenate the
ponds.
This
is the time Buloh Nature Park can present to Park visitors exciting moments
of viewing migratory birds by the thousands in shallow ponds. The scenario
is like that of many customers enjoying their meals in a crowded seafood
restaurant.
In this sluice gate operation, the method practised here is of a
conventional type and is carried out regularly at the Park. A pulley system
called "Chain Block" is used in this operation. The number of
sluice gates stationed at each pond depends mostly on the size of the pond.
It can vary from a minimum of one gate to four or more gates.
The timing to work on the sluice gate has to be right in relation to tide
movements. As we know, time and tide wait for no man. When the timing is
right, the job is smooth going, even though it is heavy. But when the
timing is out, this is the toughest job of the day.
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© Sungei Buloh Nature Park
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Vol 6 No 3
Dec 99
Common Tailorbird
Lesser Known Predators
of Sungei Buloh
Butterfly Monitoring and Introduction
at Sungei Buloh
Why we should NOT feed the monkeys
Bird Ringing
at Sungei Buloh
Sluice Gate Management
International Coastal Cleanup
Sep 99
Care for Nature Family Hunt 99
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An international issue.
One solution.
Linda Goh
reports on
Singapore's 3rd Mangrove Cleanup effort
International
Coastal Cleanup
The Call
Date: 20 September
"A
clean environment is the responsibility of not only the Government and
organisation, but individuals too", said Rear Adm Teo Chee Hean (The
Straits Times, 20 Sep 1996, International Coastal Cleanup).
The Close Look
Date: 4 September 1999
Time: 9am
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I hear
and
I forget
I see and
I remember
I do and
I understand
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A recce team of 10 students specially selected from St
Andrew's and Temasek Junior College were briefed to identify and mark out
the mangrove area for the cleanup operation two weeks before the event.
After a long hard search, they settled for an area on the edge of the Park
where they marked out four 10m by 10m quadrants. Another plot had to be
chosen to accommodate more requests of participation. This plot lies just
outside the Park.
Time: 3pm to 4pm
To raise public awareness with regards to the purpose of this exercise, a
talk was organised by the Park to furnish visitors with an insightful dose
of "International Coastal Cleanup" in Singapore. Ms Kate Thome
(Pioneer of this programme and from the Singapore American School)
delivered a powerful message that left us with a compelling urge to do our
bit for the environment.
The Experience
Date: 18 September 1999
103 students from St Andrew's Junior College, Temasek Junior College,
Commonwealth Secondary School and Singapore American School answered the
call to challenge and plunged themselves into the cause. As they trudged
through the mud for a first hand experience at the removal of waterborne
rubbish in a mangrove environment, they came to understand that trash
thrown in our waterways will ultimately end up on beaches, shorelines and
mangrove strand line. After three hours of toiling the land, different
categories of rubbish were collected for proper disposal.
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The International Coastal Cleanup, an
initiative of Centre for Marine Conservation started in the United States
in 1988. This international event involves over 60 countries worldwide in
a data collecting and trash clearing exercise to answer the question,
"what is on the world's beaches?". It is, however, not just
about ridding the sea of trash, which is so harmful to the creatures of
the sea. It is also about bringing people together for a common cause. It
is about community involvement, co-operation and partnership.
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Information
collected from all the different sites was sent to the Centre for Marine
Conservation in USA.
Through this activity at Sungei Buloh, the 103 students came to understand
that they too can do their part for the environment.
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© Sungei Buloh Nature Park
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Vol 6 No 3
Dec 99
Common Tailorbird
Lesser Known Predators
of Sungei Buloh
Butterfly Monitoring and Introduction
at Sungei Buloh
Why we should NOT feed the monkeys
Bird Ringing
at Sungei Buloh
Sluice Gate Management
International Coastal Cleanup
Sep 99
Care for Nature Family Hunt 99
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Chan Su Hooi gives an account of
a recent hunting session at the Park
Care for Nature
Family Hunt 1999
"On your mark, get set, go!" Almost 1,000 families gathered at
Sungei Buloh Nature Park over 2 Saturdays and Sundays of July (17, 18, 24
and 25 July 1999) to compete in a Family Nature Hunt, an event jointly
organised by the Singapore Press Holdings, and the HSBC. Associate Professor
Koo Tsai Kee, Senior Parliamentary Secretary of MND, set the participants
in motion with the launch of the event.
The teams comprising 2 adults and 2 children, were required to go around
Routes 1 and 2 of the Park to look for the clues and answers related to
nature in three hours. They were also required to participate in some
activities and games at various educational activity stations to score more
points. The questions and answers were designed such that participants will
get a better understanding and appreciation of the wildlife in the Park.
The clues, answers and bonus points were all very well-camouflaged which
made the hunt even more challenging. "Informers" were planted
around the registration booth to brief participants on the game procedures
before the start of the game while "Genies" roamed the Park to
guide the lost ones. There were teams, which were amazingly 'on' and tough.
They were able to finish all the questions and at the same time answered
most of the answers correctly! It was a challenge for the participants
while they got acquainted with nature.
The
Family Nature Hunt closed with a Prize Presentation Ceremony held at
Burkill Hall of the Singapore Botanic Gardens on the 1 August 99. Happy
faces were all around as those who came were all winners! The Family
Nature Hunt aims to provide a meaningful day out for families and allow
each and every one to walk into nature and discover the beauty and
mystery of Mother Nature. Judging from the happy and satisfied faces of
each participant at the end of the day, we knew that we had succeeded.
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The winners!
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© Sungei Buloh Nature Park
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