35th Bird Race 16-17 Nov 2019

RULES & CONDITIONS

The following establish the rules and conditions under which the 35th Singapore Bird Race team members are expected to participate. All participants must familiarize themselves with these rules and agree and comply with them fully to compete. Failure to do so will lead to team penalties or disqualification.

1. TEAM COMPOSITION Each team shall comprise the following number of participants according to the race category: a. Birder (Sprint & Marathon): 3-4 b. Photographer: 2 c. School: 4

2. TIMING a. Birder Category – Marathon Race (20 hours) i. Race starts at 4:30 pm on 16 Nov. ii. Teams can decide to start their race at any locations but it must be within the race boundaries as defined under the rules and regulations of the 35th Singapore Bird Race iii. Race ends at 12:30 pm at the Plaza, Mapletree Business City at 20 Road, Singapore 117438 iv. All results must be submitted by 12:30 pm b. Birder Category – Sprint Race (5 hours) i. Race starts at 7:30 am and ends at 12:30 pm ii. Race shall start and end at the Plaza, Mapletree Business City at 20 Pasir Panjang Road, Singapore 117438 iii. All results must be submitted by 12:30 pm c. Photographer Category (4.5 hours) i. Race starts at 7:30 am and ends at 12:00 pm ii. Race shall start and end at the Plaza, Mapletree Business City at 20 Pasir Panjang Road, Singapore 117438 iii. Photographers will be given up to 30 minutes for organizing the photos before submission iv. All photos and results must be submitted by 12:30 pm d. School Category (4 hours) i. Race starts at 8:00 am and ends at 12:00 pm ii. Race shall start and end at the Plaza, Mapletree Business City at 20 Pasir Panjang Road, Singapore 117438

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3. RACE BOUNDARIES Except for the School Category, all other participants from all other categories are allowed to race and record species anywhere within the boundaries of the Republic of Singapore (including all outlying islands) except the SAF Live Firing Areas, Birdpark, Jurong Hill and Zoo.

For School Category, the race will be confined to the following parks: • Hort Park • Park • Park • West Coast park • Park

Buses will be chartered to ferry teams to the aforementioned parks. The bus schedules will be published in the NSS website and made available to all teams when the routes and timings are finalized.

4. COUNTING SPECIES a. All teams will be issued with the Official Singapore Bird Race Log Sheet. b. Teams are required to register the birds recorded during the bird race into this official log sheet. The time and location where the bird was recorded need to be registered into the log sheet. c. For the Birder and School Category, species must be seen and their identity agreed by all members of the team before it can be recorded. d. For the 35th edition of the Singapore Bird Race, the organizing committee will allow the calls/songs of some birds to be accepted for the bird race. e. Teams need to indicate in the Bird Race Log Sheets that bird was heard. Teams are also required to record the calls with their smart phones or other recording devices to show proof of correct identity. f. The list of birds whose calls are allowed can be found in Attachment 1. g. For the Photographer Category, all species listed must be photographed and correctly identified before it can be recorded. h. All Official Bird Race Log Sheet must be submitted by the finish time as indicated for each race category. i. Except for the Photographer Category, no additional time will be allocated for checking the log sheet after the stipulated finish time of the race. Teams are advised to allocate sufficient time for checking and finalizing their results before the finish time. j. Participants in the Photographer Category will end their race and report to the arbitrators by 12 pm. However they will be given an additional 30 minutes to organize their photos before submission. All photos and results must be submitted by 12:30 pm.

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k. The arbitrators may elect to penalize a team for late submission. l. Handwriting in the log sheets must be legible. m. All team members must race together during the duration of race.

RESULTS n. The winning team in each category will be the one with the highest total number of species recorded. o. In the event of a tie, the first team to record the last bird on the list will be declared the winner. If this does not resolve the deadlock, then the “count- back” method will be repeated until a winner is determined. p. The arbitrators’ decision will be final, and no appeals will be entertained.

5. SUBMISSION OF RECORDS FOR RARE OR UNUSUAL SIGHTINGS Arbitrators reserve the right to request for details of exceptional records or for species not listed for the island. This can be a comprehensive description or other evidences e.g. sketches and photographs. This will help arbitrators review if the sighting is acceptable. Acceptance is subjected to the decision of the arbitrators whose decision is final.

6. PROHIBITIONS AND EXCLUSIONS a. Trapped, caged or otherwise restrained birds will not count. b. Oiled, sick or dead birds are to be excluded. c. Attracting, luring or baiting birds with audio devices, sound recordings or food are prohibited.

7. PENALTIES AND DISQUALIFICATIONS a. Late finishing team will be penalized. For every minute late, five minutes will be counted back, and any species seen within that period will be deleted. b. The arbitrators reserve the right to disqualify team that breaches any of the Rules and Regulations of the Singapore Bird Race 2019.

8. PHOTOGRAPHER CATEGORY a. Participants must submit the following at the end of the race: i. Completed Official Bird Race Log Sheet with image number ii. ONE flash card with the images (JPEG) captured during the race. b. Participants need to bring their own lap top and empty flash cards to sort out the pictures before submission. c. All species photographed by the team shall be consolidated into only ONE flash card before submission. d. Only EMPTY flash card is to be used for submission. This can be CF or SD cards. Thumb drive can also be used. e. Only ONE picture per species shall be submitted.

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f. Species photographed must be correctly identified and recorded into Official Bird Race Log Sheet. The image number must also be recorded into the Log Sheet for ease of checking by arbitrators. g. The arbitrators reserve the right to delete any species which cannot be positively identified. h. Refer to Attachment 2 for tips on how to manage your race and organize your pictures for final submission.

9. SCHOOL CATEGORY a. The race starts at 8:00 am and ends at 12:00 pm. b. Primary School: Each team to comprise of 4 students and 1 teacher. c. Secondary School: Each team to comprise 4 students. d. Schools will race within the boundaries as specified in item 3 e. Each team will be provided with a guide. f. Students will spot and identify the birds by themselves. g. The identity of the bird must be verified by the guide before it can be recorded. h. Guides can assist teams to identify the birds by giving tips and clues on the identity of the birds.

10. SUPPORTERS a. Supporters are allowed to follow the teams. However supporters should not help or impede the teams in any way. b. The number of supporters is limited to not more than two per team.

11. CODE OF CONDUCT a. The Code of Conduct for Birding and Photography must be observed at all time. Put the welfare of the birds and our environment above the race. b. All participants are to read the Code of Ethics for Nature Lovers and Photographers in the attached NSS link: https://www.nss.org.sg/documents/NSSEthics.pdf

12. SAFETY a. The organizing committee reserves the right to cancel the race in the event of inclement weather or other unforeseen events. b. Teams are to observe all safety and traffic rules.

13. COPYRIGHT Photos submitted by the photographers remain in the sole property of its authors, but the Nature Society (Singapore) and its authorized agencies reserve the right to use them for reports and promotional purposes after the event in both digital and printed format. All photo used will be acknowledged.

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14. In addition to the above rules and conditions, please note that by participating in Nature Society (Singapore)’s activities, you agree to abide by the following terms and conditions: a. Understand, accept and acknowledge that by providing your personal data, information, you give your consent to Nature Society (Singapore) (“NSS”) to collect, use and disclose your personal data for the specified purposes of enabling NSS to communicate with you; to facilitate the organisation of NSS activities, events and trips (including overseas trips); to provide you with products and/or services; to respond to your enquiries or complaints; to provide you with information, invitations and/or updates; and to disclose the same to any relevant third parties that NSS has engaged for the specified purposes. b. Understand, accept and acknowledge that by registering for this activity, Nature Society (Singapore) retains the rights to use any and all photos taken during the activity as deemed necessary without seeking consent of any person captured in the photographs. c. Understand, accept and acknowledge that you are solely responsible for your own safety during the course of the activity and will not hold Nature Society (Singapore), all sponsors and organizers responsible for any mishap, accident, injury or death as well as loss or damage to personal property that may occur in the course of the activity. d. Understand, accept and acknowledge that you are required to read the safety instructions provided in the briefing email as well as attend the safety briefing before the commencement of the activity and will adhere to it at all times during the activity.

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ATTACHMENT 1:

LIST OF BIRD CALLS ALLOWED DURING THE 35TH SINGAPORE BIRD RACE

To encourage more birders to pay more attention to bird calls, the organizing committee will allow teams to record the following species based on their calls. Teams are encouraged to learn the calls of these birds. A good resource to learn bird calls is xeno-canto or from NSS Bird Apps.

1. Sunda Scops Owl https://www.xeno-canto.org/explore?query=Sunda%20Scops%20Owl 2. Brown Hawk-Owl https://www.xeno-canto.org/explore?query=Brown+Hawk-Owl&pg=2 3. Spotted Wood Owl https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Strix-seloputo 4. Large-tailed Nightjar https://www.xeno-canto.org/explore?query=Large-tailed%20Nightjar 5. Savanna Nightjar https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Caprimulgus-affinis 6. Asian Koel https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Eudynamys-scolopaceus?pg=4 7. White-crested Laughingthrush https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Garrulax-leucolophus

8. Oriental Magpie Robin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU8W1B3-uNc 9. Collared Kingfisher https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Todiramphus-chloris?pg=3 10. Straw-headed Bulbul https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxoSCWSYYSc

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ATTACHMENT 2:

PHOTOGRAPHER CATEGORY:

Here are some tips to help you manage your race and organize your pictures for submission:

(i) Allow sufficient time for sorting and checking your images before submission. Remember all results must be submitted latest by 12:30 pm. (ii) Shoot in JPEG. Alternatively, shoot in Raw + basic jpeg. (iii) Assign a primary photographer and a recorder. (iv) Most of the pictures for submission from the team should come from the primary photographer. (v) Secondary photographer can supplement the pictures if required e.g. birds missed by the primary photographer or pictures not good enough for identification. (vi) The recorder should log down the species photographed including the time into the Official Bird Race Checklist immediately during the race. (vii) Checkmark the photograph on your camera immediately if you think that it can be used for submission. This will make it easier to look for the photograph later. (viii) Do not shoot too many pictures of the same species. Remember you will be required to submit only ONE picture. (ix) Delete pictures immediately if you think that it will not be needed. (x) There is no need to process the pictures unless you need to enhance the distinguishing features of the birds. (xi) Here’s what you can do to organize your pictures quickly: a. Transfer the images that you will be submitting into a separate folder on your laptop (or directly into the flash card) b. Scroll through the images in the folder and fill in the "image number" into the Official Bird Race Log Sheet.

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