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Sightings of engraved colour flags on shorebirds

on 3rd November 2012

Singapore’s Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR) has embarked on an “Engraved Flagging Programme” aimed at enhancing its shorebird ringing programme. This new method will allow it to study the movement of individual birds in Singapore and along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway by identifying the letter and number on the flags. Shorebirds that have been netted will have green over white colour flags on the right leg. Since Aug 2012, the flags even have an alphabet and a number to identify the individual waders.

Field ornithologist Wang Luan Keng is assisting SBWR to monitor the movement of shorebirds in Singapore. She has requested that anyone (naturalist, photographers, birdwatchers) encountering any of these flagged birds, whether in the reserve or elsewhere in Singapore, to please report these sightings by e-mail to [email protected].

It is also possible to encounter shorebirds with other colour flags. These, and the birds tagged with the new colour codes, would be netted in other countries and the information would be transmitted back to the SBWR for subsequent analysis.

Please include the following information in your sighting report: Location, Date, Time, Name of Observer, Species, Position and Colour of flags, Lettering and Number on flags and photographs (if available).

A Facebook group “Sungei Buloh Engraved Flag Sightings” has also been set up to share information on sightings of engraved colour flags.

“It is important that we find out where the shorebirds are feeding when they are not in SBWR, so that those areas can get some protection as well. We suspect that besides Mandai, the birds might be feeding elsewhere but we still don’t know where,” wrote Luan Keng.

Wang Luan Keng & YC Wee
Singapore
November 2012
(Note: Information provided by Wang Luan Keng and the Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve. Image by David Li of SBWR via the Digital Nature Archive (DNA) of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research LINK)

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

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