Professor Bernard Tan & Birdwatching in a Garden City

POSTED ON BY Kathy Poh

Over the past two years, Emeritus Professor Bernard Tan Tiong Gie took up bird photography as a hobby. He often takes his walks within Singapore’s suburban housing estates and has found an unexpectedly wide variety of birds beyond the familiar feathers that most of us are well-acquainted with. Taking this interest further, Prof Tan has also written ornithological articles to share about his findings, and even set up an Instagram account to showcase his images.

Long-tailed shrike at Luxus Hills Park. Photo by Bernard T. G. Tan

Prof Bernard Tan and the LKCNHM

Prof Tan’s enthusiasm for birdwatching came as a fascinating and delightful surprise to our museum head Prof Peter Ng, who learned of this during their recent lunch meeting. Prof Tan’s relationship with our museum goes back a long way, to when he served as the Dean of Science in the National University of Singapore (NUS) from 1985 to 1997. He oversaw the Zoological Reference Collection being moved into its new home on the university’s Kent Ridge campus in 1988, and he was also the person who hired Prof Ng as well as Kelvin Lim, the museum’s curator of vertebrate collections.

In Prof Ng’s own words: “Prof Bernard Tan, ex-Dean of Science in NUS for over a decade and Emeritus Professor in the Physics department, is well known locally as an outstanding educator, physicist and musician. While I have always known him to be polymath with a love for photography, I never figured him for a birdwatcher and writer of ornithological articles! I am sure many of his friends will be equally and pleasantly surprised so I have to share this nugget of information. Welcome to the zoology brotherhood Bernard!”

The Birds of Seletar Hills

In February 2021, Prof Tan published an article in the Seletar Hills Estate Residents’ Association (SHERA) Newsletter, documenting the birds that he observed on his strolls around Seletar Hills. This is one of the oldest and largest suburban areas in Singapore, known for its tree-lined roads and abundant greenery. In his article, Prof Tan identified and photographed a total of 38 different birds, including native, introduced and migratory species such as the common flameback, jambul (red-whiskered bulbul) and oriental honey buzzard.

Given the broad diversity of bird species that Prof Tan recorded in Seletar Hills over the span of just nine months, he suggests that the estate could be considered a bird sanctuary.

Common flameback woodpecker at Seletar Hills. Photo by Bernard T. G. Tan
Little egret at Seletar Hills. Photo by Bernard T. G. Tan

An Exciting and Gratifying Pursuit

Apart from these strolls around Seletar Hills, Prof Tan has also photographed feathered creatures in places such as Hampstead Wetlands Park, Bishan Park and Pasir Ris Park.

Spotted wood owl at Pasir Ris Park. Photo by Bernard T. G. Tan

For Prof Tan, bird photography is more than just a scientific method to record his sightings. He shared, “While I have been taking photos since I was a little kid, I only took up bird photography during last year’s circuit breaker. I am still a novice and have much to learn, but I am now hooked on bird photography! For me, it is a perfect blend of science, technology, art and nature!”

“I am just beginning to appreciate the astonishing range of bird life on our little island, not counting the many seasonal migrants. The excitement and joy of spotting and photographing a species which you have not seen before is akin to discovering something novel in scientific research or creating a new piece of music or art!”

Check out his article here.

Reference

Tan BTG (2021) The Birds of Seletar Hills. SHERA News, February 2021: No 1/21: 38-52.