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Habitatnews 2002-14: Thursday, 13th June 2002
The Habitat Group's Nature Information List
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Current nature-related news busy Singaporeans might otherwise miss
More information and archives at: <http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg>
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Contents
- Public forum on Environmental Protection, Thu 27 Jun: 6.30pm
- Briskwalk – last session this Sunday, 30th June: 6.45am
- Sutari on Birdwatching at Woodlands, Sat 6th July: 2.30pm
- Biking in Ubin 2002, July 2002
- Coming in Ecotax: mountain flora, seeds, catfish and ants
- Crow story by Choong Mei Fun
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--> [1] "Do We Still Need Environmental Protection in Singapore?"
Thursday 27 June 2002: 6.30 pm
Orchard Parade Hotel, (next to Forum Galerie),
Tanglin Road
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“The Singapore Institute of Biology will be holding another
Public Education & Awareness Forum.
As this year is the International Year of the Environment, our Public Forum
on "Do We Still Need Environmental Protection in Singapore?" will be most
relevant. The Speaker for the Forum is Prof Chou Loke Ming, Fellow of the
Singapore Institute of Biology. Panelists are Dr Geh Min (President of
Nature Society of Singapore), Assoc Prof Irene Lye Lin Heng (Faculty of Law,
NUS), Assoc Prof Benito Tan (Faculty of Science, NUS) and Prof Chou Loke
Ming. Chairing the Forum is Prof Leo Tan, Fellow of the Singapore Institute
of Biology.
You are invited to attend the Forum. Admission is free. Not restricted to
members only, you are most welcomed to circulate this info to your friends
too.
Thank you.”
Jacques See
Hononary Secretary,
28th Council Singapore Institute of Biology
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---> [2] Last session of briskwalk this Sunday 30 June
<http://briskwalk.sivasothi.com>
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The briskwalk series has been a fast one this year – with almost
everyone reaching the summit in less than two hours and very few
wanting rest periods between breaks! Yes, even the guides have been
hard pressed to keep up, but the even the last man has been walked
up the summit by these hard-pressed guides.
June has five Sundays, and we are honouring the fifth Sunday with
a final briskwalk. If you are game, join us at 6.45am at
MacRtichie carpark. Register at <http://briskwalk.sivasothi.com>
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--> [3] "Birdwatching - A window to the great outdoors"
Saturday 6th July, 2.30pm – 4.00pm
Woodlands Regional Library
By Mr Sutari Supari
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Discover the appeal of birdwatching, with a veteran birder of over
20 years. Tips on how to get started, equipment, guide-books and
where to go for the 'action', even in urban Singapore.
ALL ARE WELCOME!
Eco@Woodlands series is held on the first Saturday of each month,
by Woodlands Regional Library & Nature Society (Singapore),
from Apr - Sep 2002: 2.30pm - 4.30pm at the Woodlands Regional Library
<http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/seminars/nss/ecoatwoodlands.html>
Sat 3 Aug - "Adventures in the Mud - Tales from South-east
Asian Mangroves" by N. Sivasothi
Sat 7 Sep - "Gardening for Wildlife" by Andrew Tay
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--> [4] Biking in Ubin 2002 – 3 Sundays in July
<http://ubinbiking.sivasothi.com>
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The annual Biking at Ubin is here once again!
Three guided bicycle rides will be offered in Ubin by Sivasothi & friends on the
7th, 14th and 21st of July 2002. The rides offered are in increasing difficulty,
from lesiurely nature guiding to mildly technically challenging. Learn about
nature and the geography of Ubin. For registration and details, please see:
<http://ubinbiking.sivasothi.com>
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---> [5] Coming in Ecotax
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If any of these titles appeal to you, you can get away
officially or illegally (macam world cup), and actually stay
awake during these seminars, then you had better already be on the
Ecotax mailing list. If you are not, don’t beat your chest in grief,
just send an email to: ecotax-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
2 Jul: The Flora of Mt Jaya, New Guinea; 3 Jul: The Millennium Seed
Bank Project (MSBP); 4 Jul: "The Vahona (Teleostei: Siluriformes:
Anchariidae): Diversity, Systematics and Historical Biogeography";
24 Jul: "Did Macaranga and Crematogaster Cospeciate? The Phylogeny
of Host Use in a western Malesian Ant - Plant Mutualism"
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---> [6] Crow story by Choong Mei Fun with comments from
Navjot Sodhi, Eunice Low and Lim Haw Chuan
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From: Amy Choong
Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 19:51:41 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: shocking crow
“Hi all,
18 April 2002
It was 9 am, hot and sunny at the Teck Whye flats. I saw a lot of mynahs, a
crow, swooping to and fro at the ground level between two blocks of flats.
It was like a reminder of the classic book where birds were flocking about
madly. I had an uncanny feeling of something not being right.
I saw a crow dashed after a peaceful dove, with the dove screaming in
distress, ‘Chhheeeep’, ‘Cheeeep’. I never heard a peaceful dove calling this
way before.
The crow which was faster and stronger, caught the poor bird in its beak,
turned around, flew on to a branch of Syzygium grandis, and started to pluck
the feathers off the bird. The bird was still, its body clamped under the
feet of the crow. Its eyes were opened. The crow was oblivious to me as I
was just below the tree. The feathers just drifted slowly down.
By this time, I presumed the bird was dead, not sure. I walked off, shocked
by what I saw. I never imagined a crow to be a predator, a scavenger or a
bully yes, but never an active predator.
Either times have changed or I am sadly ignorant of the capability of a
common bird that is a survivor.
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From: <eunicelow@...>
Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 13:57:41 +0800
Subject: RE: Any comments on crow as a predator
hello slack
Well, I think the crow was merely being opportunistic - it could be that the
dove could be juvenile or injured.
Some years back, when I did some field studies on Ponggol grassland using a
decoy stuffed dove, it prompted a crow to attack the decoy on open ground.
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From: "Sodhi, Navjot”
Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 04:33:32 +0800
Subject: RE: Any comments on crow as a predator
Hi Siva:
... I suspect that dove was already injured or sick. I don't think that
crows can be active predator taking healthy birds as large as peaceful dove.
One one occassion, we have heard of a couple of crows kill a myna in one of
the crow traps that are put by ENV. Myna by mistake went to the crow trap -
a fatal error.
Best, Sodhi
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From: "Lim Haw Chuan"
Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 09:31:31 +0800
Subject: RE: Any comments on crow as a predator
Hi,
I think crow is primarily a scavenger rather than a predator. In
radio-tracking of 13 crows, each followed for about 2-3 weeks, i did not
once see them predate large animals. Base on behavioural observations and
stomach content analysis, about 20% (at a population level) of the food were
natural, and most of them were insects, beach debris and fruits on tree.
Although they may be able to feed on larger animals (e.g., lizards,
nestlings), I think these are relatively rare events. Hope these help.
Best, Haw Chuan
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