Singapore to celebrate Native Birds' Day

SINGAPORE - Singapore's native birds will take the spotlight in a two-day festival to celebrate the inaugural Native Birds' Day on Nov 23.

Organised by Jurong Bird Park with the support of National Parks Board (NParks) and Nature Society of Singapore (NSS), the festival is designed to build greater appreciation for native birds.

Singapore has more than 100 bird species native to the country, including White-rumped shamas, emerald doves, Oriental magpie robins, green pigeons and Oriental white-eyes.

"Birds play an important part in our rich biodiversity, especially native birds. However, not many of us are aware of their existence, and the role they play to maintain the balance in our biodiversity," said Mr Lee Meng Tat, CEO, Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

He continued, "The Native Birds' Day Festival is a weekend where we want to bring everyone together to celebrate our native birds and get everyone to learn about them in a fun and engaging way."

To mark the occasion, a pair of pink-necked green pigeons and a pair of black-naped orioles will be placed into a purpose-built rehabilitation aviary at Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West by Jurong Bird Park and NParks. Both pairs were brought to the bird park by a member of the public.

"The aviary at Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West will offer the birds a lush and green environment to rehabilitate before they are released back into the wild. The aviary, the first of its kind in a town park, is made possible with the support of the community at Ang Mo Kio. Volunteers have been conducting bi-monthly surveys at the park, and you might be surprised to know that more than 15 species of birds have been sighted in Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West. Such collaborations show that everyone has a part to play in realising Singapore's City in a Garden vision." said Ms Kartini Omar, Director of Parks, NParks.

Activities for the festival, which will be held on Nov 23 and 24 at Jurong Bird Park, include a native birds' forum, photography trail, a photo exhibit, an educational awareness booth, as well as a show where children can mimic parrots to win a token.

A 50 per cent discount on adult admission tickets will be given to those who sign up for the forum on Nov 23. Those who want to sign up can email their name, e-mail address, phone number, and number of tickets required to corpcoms.jbp@wrs.com.sg before Nov 20.

Each participant will be allowed to purchase up to two admission tickets at the special discounted rate.

The festival activities are free but park admission charges apply.

ellenja@sph.com.sg