Man apparently tried to take away baby parrot that fell from tree in Bukit Merah, gets stopped by photographers

A man was spotted lurking near the nesting site of the Bukit Merah parrot family on Oct. 21, apparently with the intention of taking away one of the chicks.

A photographer who had been observing the birds, Alex Han, revealed this in a comment on a post in the Facebook group, Singapore Wildlife Sightings. The post questioned why the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) was present at the scene.

Speaking to Mothership, Han said that sometime after 4pm, one of the fledgling red-breasted parakeets flew out of the nest, only to fall to the ground.

Another man, who did not appear to be a bird-watching photographer, then picked up the bird and started to walk away.

Allegedly asked why he couldn't take the bird away, dared photographers to call the police

However, he was stopped by a few of the photographers, Han said.

In response, he supposedly asked why they could take photographs of the birds, but he could not take it away.

Another photographer who was at the scene, Sean Chua, told Mothership that he also heard one of the photographers telling the man that he could be fined, in an attempt to stop him.

Han added that when the photographers told the man they would call the police if he persisted, he allegedly challenged them to do so before placing the fledgling on the ground.

One of the photographers then took the fledgling and placed it back in the nesting tree.

However, when the fledgling took flight again, it ended up crashing against another tree.

Han said he called Acres in light of how the poacher was still around.

Images he shared of the Acres staff showed them arriving with ladders to rescue the fledgling.

One of the staff could be heard saying to the bird, "You're OK now. Don't worry, you will be reunited with your brother and sister, and your mummy and daddy will feed you tomorrow morning."

Han added that the man who had wanted to take the fledgling away was still lingering at a nearby hawker centre when the Acres staff arrived at about 7:35pm, and even after they had left.

Han also pointed out that the photographers had not been disturbing the birds and that if it were not for their presence, the fledgling would have been taken away.

"We also help protect them," he said.

Acres: Bird was placed high up in the tree canopy

In response to Mothership's queries, Acres Co-CEO Kalai Vanan replied that its staff did not bring back any young birds.

Instead, they helped to put the fledgling high up in the tree canopy so that it could be “safe for the night”.

Kalai highlighted:

"When young birds fledge, they can sometimes drop on the floor. They do not need to be rescued. They need to simply be put back up to rest where they can continued to be guided and cared for by their parents."

He also reminded the public that birds are wild animals and that baby birds should not be brought home to be cared for.

In cases where people have tried hand-raising such birds at home and released them, thinking they will survive, Acres’ wildlife rescue team has found the animals in a weakened and emaciated state.

“Such rehabilitation work should be left to organisations who know how to do it.”

"We urge the public to call us," Kalai said.

In this particular case, the parakeets have fledged and simply need some guidance.

He added:

"We urge the public not to bring the young home if they are found on the floor. We also urge the public to be vigilant of any suspicious person who is lingering in the area and report them to the authorities.

Poaching or keeping of wild birds is illegal under the law."

Under the Wildlife Act, those who keep wildlife can be fined up to S$10,000 or jailed for up to six months.

The penalties increase if the wildlife is a protected species — up to S$50,000 fine and/or two years' jail.

Previously, a family of nesting Sunda scops owls at Telok Blangah drew large crowds of photographers and passers-by.

One fledgling owlet fell from its nest as well, and was thankfully helped back up by nature photographers.

A post by Chua on Oct. 22 said that one of the baby parakeets had fully developed and fledged, leaving behind two of its siblings in the nest.

More about red-breasted parakeets

Red-breasted parakeets are not native to Singapore. 

Large flocks of them can sometimes be seen in residential areas, roosting on trees at night.

When present in large numbers, non-native species like the red-breasted parakeet can negatively impact native species like the long-tailed parakeet through competition for food and nesting sites.

The National Parks Board has previously worked with the Choa Chua Kang Town Council to carry out tree pruning to manage their population.

Top left photo by Sean Chua, right photo by Alex Han