- The 37th Singapore Bird Race is supported by Mapletree Investments for the third year running under its corporate social responsibility pillar of support for the environment.
- This year’s race aimed to raise the profile of migratory birds of prey in Singapore such as the Crested Honey Buzzard, Black Baza and Japanese Sparrowhawk, all prominently featured in the race logo.
- More than 180 species of birds were observed by teams across six categories, including eight species of migratory birds of prey.
SINGAPORE – The 37th Singapore Bird Race saw a sustained turnout in participation, with 109 teams competing in six different categories despite the Covid-19 restrictions. The Race is sponsored by Mapletree Investments (“Mapletree” or “the Group”) for the third consecutive year, and jointly organised by BirdLife International and Nature Society (Singapore) [“NSS”], as well as supported by the National Parks Board, in collaboration with Playlogue Creations. Under safe distancing guidelines, the average team size this year was reduced to only two members except for family teams where more flexibility in group size was allowed.
This year’s Race is curated to raise the profile of migratory birds of prey, a group of long-distance migratory species typically not well known to many Singaporeans. Singapore sits along a major migratory route for birds of prey such as the Crested Honey Buzzard, Black Baza and the Japanese Sparrowhawk in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, with thousands known to pass through the country each year based on 12 years of field studies by the NSS. Recent studies show that many of these birds of prey are in decline across the region, and that more effort is needed to better conserve this ecologically important group of migratory birds.
Mr. Edmund Cheng, Mapletree’s Chairman shared, “We are pleased to continue our support for the Singapore Bird Race, which, through the leadership of the NSS, has seen strong and sustained turnout. The 37th Race allows participants to revisit Singapore’s rich biodiversity in a time where overseas travel is challenging. With Mapletree Business City (“MBC”) located in the heart of the Greater Southern Waterfront, we aspire to have MBC as the axis for Southern Corridor birdwatching in the near future.”
Supporting the Singapore Bird Race is aligned with two of Mapletree’s key Corporate Social Responsibility pillars of environment and education. It is also a continuation of the tripartite partnership between Mapletree, the Nature Society (Singapore) and BirdLife International which began in 2019.
Mr. Tan Gim Cheong, Chairman of the Nature Society (Singapore) Bird Group said, “We appreciate the sustained support from Mapletree to the Nature Society (Singapore), and especially the conservation activities of its Bird Group. Mapletree’s support allowed us to scale up our conservation and social media outreach, while developing a robust model for organising future races. This support has also allowed us to develop a stronger alignment of the Bird Race with NSS’s conservation priorities, in this case, the conservation of migratory birds of prey.”
Mr. Vinayagan Dharmarajah, Regional Director of BirdLife International agreed, and noted, “This year’s Race revisits the protection of migratory species in Asia in a timely manner. This is aligned with a strategic priority for BirdLife’s work in Asia which includes serving as the lead consultant for the Asian Development Bank’s Regional Flyways Initiative recently launched to support conservation along the East Asian Australasian Flyway.”
Team Nuggets was the winning team in the Family Category, recording a total of 76 species. In the category for experienced birdwatchers, team Little Terns recorded 94 species to beat five other teams to win in the Marathon category that spanned 24 hours and started on 11 December. In the Sprint (5-hour) category, team F2.0 triumphed over 18 other teams with 81 species spotted.
Like the previous year, this year’s race is the second year where all birdwatching observations were recorded through the use of mobile apps via eBird, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s (a part of Cornell University) increasingly popular and well-regarded web-based platform, with the NSS now its official national partner in Singapore. eBird enables users to submit observations of birds digitally on the go. Prior to the race, teams also received training on how to log their observations during the race through eBird, where the results can be directly submitted. In addition, the Race was able to expand its social media reach and engage newer audiences through targeted promotions and refreshing new artwork by working closely with social media experts at the Playlogue team and renowned local artists Tan Zi Xi, Zoltan Pogonyi and Thong Chow Ngian, the Race
At the conclusion of the race, the teams gathered for a closing webinar graced by Minister for National Development, Mr. Desmond Lee, who took part in the Race with Mr. Lim Kim Chuah, the Bird Group’s vice-chair. Other guests included Mr. Edmund Cheng, Chairman of Mapletree; Mr. Wan Kwong Weng, Mapletree’s Group Chief Corporate Officer; Dr. Shawn Lum, President of the Nature Society (Singapore); and Mr. Vinayagan Dharmarajah, Regional Director for BirdLife International.
Spanning three decades, the Singapore Bird Race is the longest-running nature appreciation and citizen science event organised by the Nature Society (Singapore), or any non-government organisation (NGO) in the country and is nearly quite an institution on its own. The first ever bird race was organised in 1984 and it has been held every year since, and in spite of the ongoing pandemic. Recognising that Singapore supports more than 400 species of wild birds in a diverse assemblage of tropical ecosystems, the Race aims to sustain the promotion of an appreciation of birds and biodiversity in general to the public.
Winners of the 37thSingapore Bird Race
| Team name | Number of species |
| Marathon | |
| Little Terns | 94 |
| Drongoes | 93 |
| Raptors on VTL | 72 |
| Sprint | |
| F2.0 | 81 |
| Frank Bear | 71 |
| Pratincoles | 61 |
| Photographer | |
| Singapore Stringers | 70 |
| Meaningful Watching | 61 |
| ID Please | 60 |
| Novice | |
| Bird Blindness | 67 |
| Birdingding | 63 |
| Washi | 62 |
| Family | |
| Nuggets | 76 |
| The Incredibirds | 69 |
| Melody | 52 |
| Youth | |
| Unlarky Birders | 69 |
| The Youngwings | 50 |
| SCduoeggs | 40 |
Bird watching in action at the 37th Singapore Bird Race
Photo credit: Yap Wee Jin, NSS
A total of 109 teams participated in this year’s Singapore Bird Race
Photo credit: Yap Wee Jin, NSS
Closing Webinar on 12 December 2021
(Top row, left to right): Mr Vinayagan Dharmarajah, Regional Director for BirdLife International; Emcee, Mr Geoff Lim, NSS; Mr Wan Kwong Weng, Group Chief Corporate Officer, Mapletree; Mr Edmund Cheng, Chairman, Mapletree
(Bottom row, left to right): Mr Tan Gim Cheong, Chairman of the NSS Bird Group; Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development; Dr Shawn Lum, President of the NSS; Mr Lim Kim Chuah, Vice-Chairman of the NSS Bird Group
Photo credit: Lynette Lee, Playlogue Creations
