Displaced juvenile Pink-necked Green-pigeons at Commonwealth Secondary School

“One year ago we encountered a pair of Pink-Necked Green-pigeons (Treron vernans) nesting in a tree outside our school’s General Office LINK.

“As biology teacher who is also in-charge of the school’s Eco Club, my duty is not just walking into the classrooms to deliver lessons. I have also to handle cases of displaced juvenile Pink-necked Green-pigeons when two students found them in the Commonwealth Secondary School’s compound yesterday. The thunderstorm the night before could have blown them off the nest from one of the trees.

“At 1100 hours during the Upper Secondary recess, Regan Chew (Class 5-1) witnessed a pair of Javan Mynas (Acridotheres javanicus) attacking a juvenile Pink-necked Green-pigeon outside the DI Classroom. He managed to chase the mynas away.

“Harshan (Class 4-3) carried the juvenile bird in his hands to the staff room. I placed it on a Coral Tree (Erythrina sp.) outside the General Office and after a period of rest, it flew off towards Climbing Bauhinia (Bauhinia kockiana) hanging above The Stream.

At 1340 hours, Erica Oh (Class 2-3) picked up another juvenile green-pigeon from the cleaner auntie area on the first floor and brought it to the staff room. This juvenile looked smaller than the earlier one and the feathers were more ruffled. It finally flew off on its own.

“Thank you Regan, Harshan and Erica for showing concern for these two young birds found in our school. What a great example of interaction between humans and nature.

“Let’s continue to make our school a safe haven for the wildlife creatures. Have a blessed weekend!”

Jacob Tan Guanrui
Senior Teacher (Biology)
Commonwealth Secondary School
Singapore
10th February 2017