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BESG: A new year… a new start…

on 1st January 2012

As of today, the Bird Ecology Study Group is operating independent of the Nature Society (Singapore). We cannot accept the proposed restrictions that the society is planning to impose on our very successful and internationally respected website. We therefore have no choice but to operate as an independent group.

BESG has been a Special Interest Group affiliated to the society since mid-2005 LINK. It was formed to fill an urgent need. Local birdwatching was then in the doldrums with bird enthusiasts going into the field to mainly increase the number of species sighted and to compile lists. This was considered a waste of resources as they could, at the same time, make observations on bird behaviour.

Our guiding principal, as succinctly defined by the following quotation by Nobel Laureate Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988), has always been to know more about birds than just their names:

“You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you’re finished, you’ll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird… So let’s look at the bird and see what it’s doing – that’s what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.

We can claim to have been reasonably successful in our aim, as seen in the total of 2,300 postings since 2005 (left). Although most of these posts were contributed by casual birdwatchers and photo-enthusiasts, some also came from traditional birdwatchers.

Response from the public to the website has been fantastic. We hit the million mark in visitorship in September 2009 after less than five years LINK. Currently the website has received more than 2.5 million visits (below left). This is not too bad for a website dealing with birds. Based on the tracking by Nature Blog Network LINK, we rank reasonably well against similar websites worldwide.

Visitors to our website come from 174 countries, tracked by Cluster Maps LINK. Up to 40% of the visitors come from Singapore. This is understandable, as the website is based here (above right). The next highest group is from the US (22%), followed by Malaysia and India (6% each), then the UK (4%) and Australia (2%). These figures are based on the period February to September 2011.

In the field of ornithological publications, we have broken new grounds, especially in helping casual birdwatchers publish their field observations LINK.

Up to today, the website continues to attract many first time casual birdwatchers, especially those who are not adverse to using a camera, or even a videocam. Significantly, these are the birdwatchers who mostly move alone, seeking out not new species but new behavioural activities. Among the most prolific include KC Tsang, Kwong Wai Chong, Sun Chong Hong and Lena Chow. There are also a handful of once hardcore birdwatchers who have since moved off to indulge in more meaningful activities like Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS and Daisy O’Neill. But these last two are Malaysian birders.

With the continued support from all those listed earlier LINK and more, we will strive to be as aggressive and as innovative as during the last six-and-a-half years, if not more so. We aim to continually improve the quality of birdwatching in Singapore.

YC Wee
Singapore
1st January 2012

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

3 Responses

  1. Congratulations to BESG- now have wings and fly free!

    Nothing is permanent but CHANGE and change for the better is what aspiration to live worthily is all about in many ways, we would like it be.

    I don’t think this website will be successful without the utmost dedication of our administrator, Prof. YC Wee for which we are extremely lucky to have at this time of bird watching evolution and for which, I thank personally for handling all my articles contributed.

    Thank you too for acknowledging your regular contributors. They are like your wings to treasure or there be no flight to freedom for BESG.

    Being a ‘twitcher’and chasing after numbers to chalk up an impressive bird checklist in the 21st century is simply not good enough anymore.For discerning birders with the best optics available,means to travel,time and passion and good health, they want more. And why not if it is going to be a serious lifetime hobby to enjoy and can be enjoyed even alone or choose to do it alone.

    BESG IS DEFINATELY the birding site to express those individual,interesting findings and observations that could may I add, further contribute to having bird authors update and rewrite their their field guide books.

    Congratulations again and best wishes for another successful year!

    Daisy O’Neill
    Penang Malaysia
    Member OBC(Oriental Bird Club)

  2. Thanks Daisy. You have been a faithful supporter, always sharing new and novel field observations. We welcome such contributions and are never “shy” to acknowledge the contributors. We do not claim to be experts in birds and are always willing to share and learn. This is the only path to excellence. Have a good birding year.

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