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NSS 6th Parrot Count 2016 Report Authors:AlbertLowandAlanOwYongIntroductionTheWorldParrotCountwasinitiatedsixyearsagobyMichaelBraunand Roelant Jonker from the parrot researchers’ group of theInternationalOrnithologicalUnion(IOU).Akeyobjectiveofthestudywas to document the status and abundance of feral andnon-nativeparrots in urban environments globally where populations areestablished. Being part of this study provides an excellentopportunity for us to also monitor native parrot abundance anddiversity inSingaporebeyondournaturereserves.Giventhatsomespecies such as the non-native Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittaculaalexandri) have increased in abundance across Singapore, it is alsotimely to identify areas where these species are concentrated andtheirroostsites.

Yellow-crestedCockatooatone-northpark.

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ResultsandConclusionsCoordinated annually by the Bird Group since 2011, this year’sParrot Count took place on 27 February 2016. 16 sites acrossmainlandSingaporewerecoveredby33surveyors.Thisyear’stotalof 2,483 parrots of 8 identifiable species is slightly lower than the2,725parrotsof7speciesrecordedlastyear.Aswasthecaseoverthepast2years,thewell-woodedMountRosiewasthemostspecies-richsite,withsevenspeciesofparrotrecorded.BottleTreePark,asitefirstsurveyedin2015,wasonceagainthetopsite in terms of total abundance, with 892 individuals from twoparrot species recorded. The Long-tailed Parakeet (Psittaculalongicauda) was the most numerous parrot recorded during thecount, with a total of 1,837 individuals seen, a decrease from the2,059 individuals observed last year. This constituted 73.6% of allparrotsrecordedduringthecount.526Red-breastedParakeetswerealsorecorded,makingupthebulk(21.1%)oftheremainingparrotsrecorded.OtherspeciesrecordedincludesmallnumbersofTanimbarCorellas, (Cacatua goffini), Coconut Lorikeets (Trichoglossushaematodus), Rose-ringed Parakeets (Psittacula krameri), Blue-crownedHangingParrots (Loriculusgalgulus) and4Yellow-crestedCockatoo(Cacatuasulphurea).During the census, parrotnumberspeakedbetween7pmand7.30pmwhere1,683parrotswere counted.As shown in recent counts,the largest parakeet flocksweremainly observed at last light,withcounters atmany sitesmanaging to observe the noisy spectacle offlocks of parakeets returning to their roosting trees just beforecompletedarkness.With a second year of data collected from pre-roost staging areasthroughoutcentralandnorthernSingapore,theannualparrotcountis nowproving to be useful inmonitoring the large flocks of Long-tailed Parakeets which travel along the eastern boundary of theCentral Nature Reserve to roost sites in the vicinity of Yishun viastaging sites in Springleaf. While numbers are slightly down from2015,thecontinuedpresenceoftheselargeflocksforasecondyearsuggests thatSingapore’sonlynativeparakeetspecies isable toco-existwith the introducedRed-breastedParakeet.While the latter iswidespread throughout Singapore, it is noteworthy that they areconspicuously absent at staging sites used by the Long-tailedParakeet. These findings have important conservation implicationsfor the globally near-threatened Long-tailed Parakeet, and go someway towards alleviating fears that the recent expansion of the

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introduced Red-breasted Parakeet in Singapore would lead to thepotentialextirpationofthenativeLong-tailedParakeet.

OurnativeLong-tailedParakeetisgloballynear-threatened.

NewsitesincentralSingaporeatBishanParkandBukitBrownwerecounted this year andhavebeen revealed as roosting areas for theintroduced Coconut (formerly Rainbow) Lorikeet, a species that isslowly expanding across Singapore. It is hoped that annual surveyslike the Parrot Count will also provide a platform for monitoringtrendsrelating toother introducedparrots like these inaddition tothemorenumerousparakeets.Last but not least, the organisers would also like to reach out tovolunteerswho are aware of Red-breasted Parakeet roosts in theirneighbourhood and are willing to survey them. Anecdotalobservations show that while Red-breasted Parakeets arewidespread and common in urban Singapore, many of their roostsiteshaveeithernotbeen locatedasyetorareotherwisenotbeingcounted. It is hoped that with an increased pool of surveyorscountingatmoreroostsitesthroughoutSingapore,amorecompletepicture of the local Red-breasted Parakeet population can beobtained.

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AcknowledgementsOnbehalfoftheBirdGroup,wewouldliketothankthefollowingfortheir willingness to carry out parrot monitoring on a weekendevening–SiteLeaders:AlbertLow,LimKimChuah,DoreenAng,AlanOwyong,LimKimKeang,CherylLao,DebraYeo,LeeEeLing,NessieKhoo,Marcel Finlay, ShirleyNg,Wing Chong,NgBee Choo,MortenStrange,AngusLamont.AssistingCounters:PengAhHuay,JervisGoh,MartinBarry,WooLaiChoo,SeeSweeLeng,JitendraPutcha,PranabDas, Mac Ng, Lee Phua, Jeyabalaji, Akanksha Bhagat, Yong Jun Zer,Cheong Shu Min, Lee Wen Qi, Shanmugam Kumaraguru, FlorenceIpert, Elliot Ong and MingWei. Finally we also thank Roelant andMichaelforinvitingustobepartofthisstudy.