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NParks Garden Bird Watch

Ever wondered what the identity of that bird was? Are you interested in learning more about the garden birds of Singapore? Join us for Garden Bird Watch April 2024 as part of the NParks Community in Nature Biodiversity Watch series to help us gather valuable information about our birds. 

 

Learn more about our common birds through our interactive e-learning module, accessible via Mozilla Firefox browser. 

 

Registration for Garden Bird Watch April 2024 is now open. Register HERE! (Registration closes on 20 March (Wednesday) for new volunteers and 24 March (Sunday) for experienced volunteers)

We will be piloting our volunteer registration on Volunteer.gov.sg. Please download the step-by-step guide here for your reference. (Click here to download - 2.74mb)

 

 

 

What is Garden Bird Watch?

The Garden Bird Watch is a citizen science initiative led by NParks to get Singaporeans and residents involved in collecting valuable information about birds in our parks, gardens and nature reserves. With the data collected from the various parks around Singapore, we can start piecing together information about where our birds are found and in what numbers! This information will contribute towards better park management and conservation measures. 

 

Garden Bird Watch runs for 9 days in April and November, with training sessions scheduled beforehand in March and October. 

 

Learning Resources   
 

E-book: A Review of Garden Bird Watch (2015–2019) (PDF, 6.6MB)

 
 
  High-Resolution Infographic: Garden Bird Watch From Home- Special Results April 2020 (PDF, 3 MB)
 

 

Garden Bird Watch Infographics

 

Coming Soon! 

 

How can I participate?

Registration for the Garden Bird Watch happens in March and October, comprising of:

 

  1. Online self-guided training session (consisting of a video and a quiz) and

  2. Practical training session/guided walk

 

New volunteers are required to attend and complete both the online session and practical session to familiarize themselves with the various garden bird species and the survey protocol. Returning volunteers do not need to attend these sessions but can opt in for refresher.


What happens after I have signed up?

  • For Garden Bird Watch April 2024
  1. We will email you to confirm your sign up (for experienced volunteers). 

  2. For new volunteers, you will receive a confirmation email to attend the on-site practical training.

  3. Training materials will be sent to all registered participants for refreshing of basic survey and bird-watching techniques on your own time before the survey. You will also learn how to identify 34 common birds in Singapore. 

  4. One week before the Garden Bird Watch, we will send you information about your designated site and the point locations for your survey. 

  5. Head down to your site on any morning (from 7.00am to 9.00am) during the Garden Bird Watch week and do your point counts at the designated points. 

  6. Send the recorded information to us via an online submission form (which will be shared at a later date). 

 

If you have any questions, please email us at CIN@NParks.gov.sg with "[GBW A2024]" in the email subject. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. I don’t have any bird-watching experience. Can I still participate?

    Yes! You may once you sign up for our mandatory Beginner Training Sessions. The training sessions are targeted at people who are totally new to our native birds. These sessions are on a registration basis, and details will be shared at a later date.
     

  2. Is it compulsory for me to attend the training sessions?

    You will be required to attend the training session if you are a beginner volunteer or entirely new to the Garden Bird Watch. The training sessions will also teach you how to do the point counts properly and give relevant instructions for the Bird Watch itself. If you are a returning volunteer, you do not have to attend the training sessions, but if you would like a refresher for the survey protocols and bird identification, please feel free to sign up for the training sessions!


  3. When are the Beginner Training Sessions held?

    Our Beginner Training Sessions will be held a month before the Garden Bird Watch survey week. There would be both an self-guided online session and a practical session on-site, and the practical session would take up around 1-1.5 hours on a weekend morning.

  4. Where are the training sessions held at?

    For Garden Bird Watch November 2023 onwards, the online session will consist of a video and a quiz that volunteers are required to complete on their own time before attending the practical session. 

    The practical session will be held in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, where volunteers will be able to try out techniques taught in the online video with the help of a volunteer guide on-site. Practical sessions will be held over a weekend, and it will be kept to a group size of 1 volunteer guide to 5-10 volunteers. The dates for the practical session is on 23 and 24 March 2024. You only need to attend one practical session. 

  5. When is Garden Bird Watch held?

    Garden Bird Watch is a biannual citizen science survey that is held in April and November.

  6. What should I expect?

    Volunteers will learn to identify 30 common native bird species, 4 migratory bird species, and learn basic survey and bird-watching techniques so that they will be able to independently conduct their survey. Many of our return volunteers say that it’s a lot of fun and easier than expected.

  7. Do I need any special equipment? 

    The survey was designed to accommodate surveyors without any binoculars or cameras; however, having additional equipment is definitely helpful. If not, all you need is a datasheet and a pen!

  8. What are the common species that you will be covering in the training? Would I still need to attend the training if I can identify them?

    The 34 common species are: 

     Common Myna  Large-billed Crow  Yellow-vented Bulbul
     Javan Myna Asian Koel White-breasted Waterhen
     Asian Glossy Starling Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker Common Iora
    Oriental White-eye Collared Kingfisher Red Junglefowl
    Eurasian Tree Sparrow White-throated Kingfisher Common Tailorbird
    Rock Pigeon Olive-backed Sunbird Magpie Robin
    Spotted Dove Brown-throated Sunbird Blue-tailed Bee-eater
    Zebra Dove Black-naped Oriole Blue-throated Bee-eater
    Pink-necked Green Pigeon Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker Oriental Pied Hornbill
    House Crow Common Flameback Scaly-breasted Munia
     *Amur Paradise Flycatcher *Brown Shrike *Tiger Shrike
    *Daurian Starling    

    Even if you can identify these species easily, you should join the training session if you are unfamiliar with the point-count technique. Expert bird-watchers who are familiar with the techniques and are confident of conducting the counts independently with minimal instructions can opt out of the training. 4 additional species (indicated by *) will be introduced during the Garden Bird Watch in November (migratory season). If you have attended previous training workshops, and can identify these 30 to 34 bird species, you can also opt out of the training.


  9. I’m an advanced birdwatcher, how can I contribute?

    If you are familiar with the techniques and are confident of conducting the counts independently with minimal instructions, you can opt out of the training sessions or join us and support our trainings! You can sign up as per normal on our registration form. The form would have a portion that asks of your birdwatching abilities. When you submit the results to us, you can also indicate bird species that you have surveyed, but are not in the list of 34 bird species, under “Other species sighted”.

  10. Will this Garden Bird Watch be very time consuming?

    The training sessions will take approximately an hour for the self-facilitated online session and 1-1.5 hours for the practical session. The Garden Bird Watch survey itself will only take one morning (from 7.00am to 9.00am) during the week of the Garden Bird Watch. If you volunteer to do counts at more than one site, you may be required to spend more than one morning within the stipulated week. 

  11. I don’t want to travel so far from my home, can you give me a closer location?

    When you sign up for Garden Bird Watch, the registration form will require you to fill up a portion that indicates your preferred location to carry out the survey at. Our team will then assign you to a location that is within your preferred choices. Alternatively, if you would like to have a location that is further from your home, please either indicate the zone that you would prefer to conduct the survey at, or no preference in the registration form. 


  12. My young children are interested to join, how should I do so?

    Children aged 12 years and below can be included in the group of 5 conducting the surveys as long as they are accompanied by their parents or guardian. However, please note that if there is more than one child aged 12 and below and in the group of 5, all children must be from the same household.

  13. How will the data I collect help in NParks’ park management and conservation efforts?

    The data on the bird species and their distribution collected during the Garden Bird Watch will help establish a baseline from which we can monitor the patterns in bird populations in Singapore. With the Garden Bird Watch held biannually, we can track changes over time and develop management strategies or even enhance these populations. 

  14. I would like to arrange a private session for my group or school, how should I do so?

    Yes, you may join our public training sessions and conduct surveys together. Please contact us at CIN@NParks.gov.sg for large group registration.      







 

 

Last updated on 15 March 2024

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