- The 38th Singapore Bird Race is supported by Mapletree Investments for the fourth year running under its corporate social responsibility pillar of support for the environment
- This year’s Race is the first in-person Singapore Bird Race since 2019, after two years of digital races, and brings together more than 300 birdwatchers and nature lovers, the highest ever for the Race.
- The Crimson Sunbird – Singapore’s unofficial national bird, and one of the nation’s best-known species is revisited in this year’s logo – a testament to the Nature Society (Singapore)’s effort to identify a national bird nearly two decades ago.
- More than 160 species of birds were observed, including more than 40 nationally threatened species.
SINGAPORE – The 38th Singapore Bird Race, sponsored by Mapletree Investments (“Mapletree” or “the Group”), jointly organised by BirdLife International and the Nature Society (Singapore), and supported by the National Parks Board (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve) has returned as an in-person event after two years of ‘digital’ bird races. This year, more than 300 participants from 7 categories flagged off from Mapletree Business City, an energetic renewal of the Bird Race in the post-pandemic era.
Held over 12 and 13 November and coinciding with the peak migratory season for many bird species, this year’s Race saw the addition of a new category for primary school students with a keen interest in nature. Working in sync with the Nature Society’s ‘Every Singaporean a Naturalist’ initiative, the Race was able to reach out to primary schools for the first time since 2019, and brought together several teams of young naturalists. In addition, the race saw sustained participation in the Youth category, with six teams, and a demonstration of stronger interest in nature from young people.
Continuing from the past two years is the sustained use of technology via eBird, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s (a part of Cornell University) increasingly popular and well-regarded web-based platform which enables users to submit observations and photographs of birds digitally. Prior to the race, teams also received training on how to log their observations on eBird.
Mr. Edmund Cheng, Mapletree’s Chairman shared, “We are happy to continue our support as the main sponsor of the Singapore Bird Race, and establishing MBC as the axis for Southern Corridor birdwatching. By bringing people closer to nature, we can help raise awareness of our surrounding environment and help prevent the extinction of birds. “
At the end of the race, the teams gathered for the Prize Presentation Ceremony at Mapletree Business City graced by Minister for National Development, Mr. Desmond Lee, who also took part in the Race. Other guests included Mr. Wan Kwong Weng, Group Chief Corporate Officer for Mapletree, Mr. Lester Tan, Vice-President of the Nature Society (Singapore), and Mr. Vinayagan Dharmarajah, Regional Director for BirdLife International. A mini-fair of booths representing the different sponsors offered a microcosm of the conservation community in Singapore.
Team ‘SSKY Birders’ was the winning team in the Family Category, recording a total of 62 species. In the categories for experienced birdwatchers, team ‘Singapore Stringers’ beat eight other teams to win in the Marathon Race category. In the Sprint (5-hour) category, team ‘Nuggets’ triumphed with 72 species spotted. “Words alone cannot describe this extreme birdwatching experience. We roamed through grass taller than our height and birdwatched under the unforgiving rain. 110 species of birds were seen in 24 hours, and I saw 2 species that I have never seen before!”, noted Thongthornpatch Chamadol, who came in second in team ‘Dippers’ in the Marathon Race, despite taking part on the Race for the first time.
“My team went to Jurong Lake Gardens, Sungei Buloh, and Marina East Drive where we saw a number of fairly uncommon birds, namely the Red-wattled Lapwing, Great-billed Heron, Terek Sandpiper, Pacific Reef Heron, and Cinnamon Bittern. I’m glad to see that several threatened species here seem to be doing fairly well! Hope to see more improvement in the coming years!”, observed Lim Qian Xun from team ‘Malkohism’, which emerged champion in the Novice Category.
Supporting the Singapore Bird Race is aligned with two of Mapletree’s key Corporate Social Responsibility pillars – environment and education. It is also a continuation of the partnership between Mapletree, the Nature Society (Singapore) and BirdLife International, which started with the “Straw-headed Bulbul Conservation Planning” Workshop held at Mapletree Business City in May 2019 and the sustained sponsorship of the Singapore Bird Race for the past four consecutive years.
Mr. Tan Gim Cheong, Chairman of the Nature Society (Singapore) Bird Group said, “We are very thankful to Mapletree for their continued support for the Nature Society’s outreach, and especially the conservation work of the NSS’s Bird Group. The sponsorship has allowed us to quickly pick up our conservation outreach after two years of mostly online engagement events, while sustaining one of the Nature Society’s keystone events for near four decades.” Mr. Vinayagan Dharmarajah, Regional Director of BirdLife International agreed, and noted, “This year’s Race is a timely opportunity for us to reflect on the important role that birds and nature have played in engaging us physically and mentally during the two years of restrictions and lockdowns and how they can continue help foster wellness in individuals and society.”
“The Singapore Bird Race, for most of its history, has been an event that attracted an enthusiastic but relatively small birdwatching community. In recent years, however, birdwatching and bird photography have exploded in popularity, far beyond the confines of any one organisation. If we can translate this burgeoning interest in nature watching into nature-positive lifestyles, businesses and policies, we may be able to avert the worst of the global biodiversity crisis in the nick of time.” noted Dr. Shawn Lum, President of the Nature Society (Singapore).
The Singapore Bird Race is the longest-running nature appreciation and citizen science event organised by the Nature Society (Singapore) and spans three decades. The first ever bird race was organised in 1984 and it has been held every subsequent year since then. Recognising that Singapore supports more than 400 species of wild birds in a diverse assemblage of habitats, a key objective of the Race is to promote the appreciation of birds and biodiversity in general to the public.
Note to Editor
Winner of 38th Singapore Bird Race
Birdwatcher Category – Marathon Race
Team name
Singapore Stringers
Team Dippers
Team F4.0
The Watchers
Number of species spotted
115
110
107
44
Birdwatcher Category – Sprint Race
Team name
Nuggets
Falconets
Three Men and a Little Lady
Creamsun Sunbord
Number of species spotted
72
70
70
67
Photographer Category
Team name
IDK Leh
PTD
Long Live King Bill
Where Got Bird
Number of species spotted
61
46
40
28
Novice Category
Team name
Malkohism
Bird-I-View
Pitta Penguin Posse
Pitta Pls
Number of species spotted
68
64
56
53
Family Category
Team name
SSKY Birders
Clickid
The Chungs
The Kingfishers
Number of species spotted
62
55
52
38
Youth Category
Team name
Team Moon
Dinosaur Hunter
Uric Acid
D’Birds
Number of species spotted
93
42
38
37
Students (Primary School) Category
Team name
Tomorrow No School
Champs 5
Champs 4
Champs 1
Number of species spotted
36
21
18
17
38th Singapore Bird Race and the Prize Presentation Ceremony at Mapletree Business City as below
Photo credits: Yap Wee Jin/Nature Society (Singapore)
All bird race teams and participants gathered at the opening ceremony, together with Minister for National Development, Mr Desmond Lee and group Chief Corporate Officer of Mapletree Investments, Mr Wan Kwong Weng, for a combined photoshoot.
Group Chief Corporate Officer, Mr Wan Kwong Weng presenting a token of appreciation to Minister for National Development, Mr. Desmond Lee.
A family out and about spotting birds for the race.
