Participants scanning for birds in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park as part of the first NParks Gardens Bird Count.

Citizen Science: The Next Step to Green Volunteerism
Have you thought of helping to conserve our biodiversity but not sure how to go about it? How about taking part in some of the citizen science projects by National Parks Board?

What is citizen science?
One way to enhance your volunteer experience is to participate in Citizen Science, a decades-old movement that has grown in recent years. Citizen science is defined as ‘public participation in organised research efforts’[1]. Recognising that the public has a significant role to play in research, scientists and academics have been harnessing the power of the people to collect large amounts of data. A prominent example is the Christmas Bird Count conducted in North America, which enlists hobbyist birdwatchers to count the number of birds along designated routes. This long-term information, collected since the 1900s, has proven very useful for monitoring bird populations.

How does citizen science work?
Public participation benefits scientific progress and the larger research community by harnessing the community to collect data that a limited group of researchers would otherwise find impossible to do. It also helps instil in its participants a deeper understanding and appreciation of research and its end goals. Recognising that the data collected may be of lower quality or reliability than that collected by researchers, many programmes ensure that adequate instructions or training is provided, and that the methods are simple and easy to replicate so that the data collected is usable.

NParks’ citizen science projects
On 16 April 2015, the National Parks Board (NParks) launched a suite of citizen science programmes at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park with MOS Desmond Lee. These include new nationwide community-based butterfly and bird counts, a series of BioBlitzes[2] (short intensive surveys to record species within a defined area) to be held around Singapore, and Malayan Water Monitor lizard surveys at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

 
The Black-naped Oriole is one of the common garden and urban birds that volunteers will be keeping an eye out for during the NParks Garden Bird Count.

The launch was held in conjunction with the start of the first NParks Garden Bird Count, which saw trained volunteers deployed to various sites around Singapore over 10 days to conduct point-counts (a standard bird counting technique) of 30 common garden and urban birds. With subsequent bird counts and repeated data collections, this biannual count serves to build our understanding of local bird populations and distribution, and its changes over time. This will enable us to make better-informed conservation and management decisions.

SGBioAtlas app
Also launched with the Bird Count was the SGBioAtlas app, which was used by many volunteers during the Bird Count. This new app allows the mapping of sightings, along with various metadata about the sightings that would be useful for analysis. The information is uploaded onto NParks online database, BIOME, and is also plotted onto an online Atlas for visualisation purposes. The app also has a fauna identification guide that helps users identify their sightings, and a project mode for the public to create their own projects to monitor targeted organisms or areas. The app allows the public to participate in Citizen Science anytime, and provides support for community groups to take the initiative to start their own programmes

.
Screenshots from the new SGBioAtlas app: Recording page to submit biodiversity sightings (left) and bird identification guide (right) The app can be downloaded from both the iTunes App Store and Android Playstore or at the NParks app page If you are interested in participating in any of our citizen science projects, just email CIN@nparks.gov.sg

Text by Samantha Lai

^[1] Citizen Science: Public Participation in Environmental Research. Edited by Dickinson, J.L. and Bonney R. (2012)^[2] Citizen Science: Public Participation in Environmental Research. Edited by Dickinson, J.L. and Bonney R. (2012)

A Citizen Science Project: Heron Watch
One early January morning, volunteers from all walks of life and backgrounds took part in Heron Watch, fanning out across Singapore in a coordinated effort to count herons and egrets. They surveyed sites as diverse as mangroves, canals, reservoirs, and parks, which helped to contribute important data on the populations and distributions of these iconic wetland birds.

A Heron Watch volunteer takes a photo of a Purple Heron at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park

What are herons?
A total of 19 species of herons, egrets, and bitterns have been recorded from Singapore. They can be seen in a wide range of habitats, typically close to water, although some species are often spotted in open fields.

These comprise a mix of resident species like the Purple Heron and Black-crowned Night Heron, which breed here and can be found all year round, and visitors like the Great Egret and Black Bittern, which breed elsewhere in countries like China and Thailand, but migrate to Singapore during the winter months. Standing at close to 1.2 metres in height, the Great-billed Heron is the largest of our herons, and is an uncommon resident usually seen in coastal habitats.

The group as a whole can be identified by their long necks, which have a distinctive S-shaped kink due to the unique shape of one of the bones. This allows a heron to lunge with great force, using its sharp bill like a spear to grab or even stab fast-moving prey such as fishes, frogs, large insects, and crustaceans. The name “Egret” applies to heron species that are almost entirely white, whereas “Bittern” refers to a group of smaller-sized herons that specialise in skulking about in reeds and other dense vegetation growing along the water’s edge.

Where can herons be found?
Herons and egrets are generally very wary of people, but can be easily observed in urban areas. For instance, Little Egrets and Striated Herons commonly patrol concrete canals and drains, while small flocks of Cattle Egrets forage in fields and other open grass patches. There is a nesting colony of Grey Herons in the mangroves along the banks of Sungei Tampines in Pasir Ris Park. Bitterns are much harder to spot, but the Yellow Bittern, our most common species, can be found hiding in the dense vegetation that grows at the edges of ponds, rivers, and reservoirs.

A Grey Heron and several Little Egrets seen at Lower Seletar Reservoir

Why count herons?
As predators, herons, egrets, and bitterns require healthy numbers of fishes and other aquatic prey in order to thrive. Monitoring the populations of these birds can help us determine the health of our freshwater and marine ecosystems. By finding out where they congregate, we may also be able to identify sites with potential conservation value that can be set aside and protected.

Compared to other types of birds, which may be more challenging to observe, or where differences between species are more subtle, herons and egrets are easy to spot and identify. They are conspicuous birds and can be seen in various habitats, both urban and rural. Although some species may look alike at first glance and can be confused with one another, telling them apart is relatively straightforward and easy to learn. It is simple for budding birdwatchers or anyone with a casual interest in birds to participate in identifying and watching herons and egrets.

After a training session, Heron Watch volunteers got a chance to practise their skills at identifying herons and egrets at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

By engaging the community in Heron Watch, NParks is able to get a better picture of the numbers and distribution of these birds, invaluable data that can help influence future conservation efforts. For participants, many of whom are novices, this provides them with an opportunity to pick up birdwatching skills, learn how to identify several heron and egret species, and be involved in caring for Singapore’s biodiversity and natural heritage.

Do look out for announcements regarding the next Heron Watch session!

Text by Ivan Kwan
Photo of volunteer taking photo by Teo Yu Lin
Photo of Great-billed Heron by Kim Swee Lioe
Photo of Grey Heron with Little Egrets by Kalthom binte Abd Latiff
Photo of Heron Watch volunteers by Yap Xinli

Resident bird – a bird species that stays in Singapore all year round

Migrant bird – a bird species that migrates between countries, and is found in Singapore only during part of the year

Common – a species that has been seen regularly in Singapore over the years, and in large numbers

Uncommon – a species that has been seen regularly in Singapore over the years, but only in small numbers

A Citizen Science Project II: Team Seagrass
TeamSeaGrass, established in 2007 by a group of marine enthusiasts, have been monitoring key seagrass habitats here with a strong volunteer base trained in methods used by the international Seagrass Watch. The collected information helps track the health of this crucial coastal ecosystem locally, while contributing to the global understanding of the world’s seagrasses.

If you are interested, you can sign up here.