Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis)

Today on the way to the bus stop I suddenly found this little guy right next to (less than half a metre) from the busy Pasir Panjang Road. I reckon it has fallen out of its nest. Being afraid it may be run down by cars, eaten by cats or otherwise not in a position to care for itself I decided to take it home and care for it a few days to see how it is doing before I decide what to do with it. I will probably give it to AVA or call Jurong Bird Park to see if they can take care of it. So far it is doing very well and it has a very healthy appetite.
It also does not look sick or injured so I believe it managed to flap its wings enough to soften the fall. I am comtemplating what to do with it as I do not want it to be dependent on humans in the future. I need to feed it quite regularly, which does not fit my busy school schedule these days. I have decided to name it Sunshine because of its bright yellow colors.

Bird watching is one of my favorite past-times and the Black-Naped Oriole is one of my all time favorite Singaporean birds. To learn a bit more about this species and how it is doing in Singapore you can go this excellent link developed by Ria Tan: Black-naped Oriole

MAY 27, 06 - UPDATE ON SUNSHINE

Sunshine has continued to eat very well, indeed a healthy appetite for such a small fellow. Today I decided to take it to Jurong Bird Park. They agreed to take it and it will in all likelihood either be released back to nature after it is fully grown or be displayed in the South East Asia exhibit after passing quarantine. It is a very trusting bird and it let the Jurong Bird Park staff handle it without any protests. They decided to take it. I am sure it will be very happy in the park.

ASEAN Environment Year 2006 "launched" in Indonesia

From: PRESS RELEASE from the ASEAN Secretariat

ASEAN launches Environment Year 2006 at Bogor, Indonesia, on 18 May 2006

ASEAN has designated the year 2006 as ASEAN Environment Year (AEY) with the theme, “Biodiversity: Our Life, Our Future”. The official launch of AEY 2006 was held at the Bogor Botanical Gardens, Bogor, Indonesia, on 18 May 2006 in conjunction with the 189th Anniversary of the Bogor Botanical Gardens.

The launch of AEY 2006 aims to raise people awareness of the region’s rich biodiversity, and strengthen regional cooperation and implementation of actions on environment conservation. It supports ASEAN’s commitment to achieve the goals of sustainable development envisaged in ASEAN Vision 2020 on the establishment of a ‘clean and green ASEAN’.

For a copy of the complete press release go here: ASEAN launches Environment Year 2006 at Bogor, Indonesia, on 18 May 2006

The aims described in the press release are very worthy goals. It remains to be seen what results will come from the efforts. If the "cooperation" on the regional haze problem is any indicator the aims may be too ambitious as ASEAN clearly has not been able to control the haze problem as agreed to previously and if so how can it be effective in implementing environmental conservation? Maybe I am too pessimistic in my view and that some very good results will come from these efforts.

The ASEAN Vision 2020 is also an ambitious plan, but here I am more optimistic that ASEAN can to a high degree have some impact in meeting their objectives set forth. ASEAN has 14 years to accomplish the goal and as the evidence for human induced climate change becomes stronger and stronger so hiopefully will the governments will to do something about it increase. It is hopefully just a matter of time (and hopefully not too late) before governments will concur with the world's leading scientists that the global climate change is indeed caused by human activities and thus take action to counteract the current trends. To read more about ASEAN's Vision 2020 check out these websites:

ASEAN Vision 2020
An Assessment Study on the Progress of ASEAN Vision 2020

Movie of the Year: An Inconvenient Truth

Here is the trailer. DO NOT MISS this gripping movie by Vice President Al Gore.