Raptor Watch 2021 at Tanjung Tuan will be different this time around because of the Covid19 pandemic, making it difficult for many to travel around Malaysia. Since 2020, the pandemic has created much chaos in terms of events and travelled around the world.
After one full year of experiencing the up’s and down’s of the movement control order or MCO in Malaysia, the 2021 Raptor Watch will be held virtually on 13th March 2021 (Saturday). This is a first for a bird watching event.
Raptor Watch 2021 Tanjung Tuan
While the main event will occur online, the actual raptor count will still be ongoing by a select group of bird counters. However, instead of the normal 30 days taken to count the raptors, this time around, they have shortened it to just two weeks from the 6th to 21st of March 2021, and with a live feed during the main event.
The main event, the virtual Raptor Watch 2021, will take place for one day and offer multiple activities and contests for viewers and participants. You can expect quizzes, ad hoc contests, webinars and much more.
The entire live feed or virtual Raptor Watch can be accessed by visiting the MNS website or MNS Facebook page on the 13th of March, where they will be hosting the live session there.
Also, add that the MNS Negeri Sembilan and Malacca Branch had organized a special event called Raptor ID 2021 which took place live via Zoom on 6th Feb 2021 on Facebook. The live session was very educational and took place for 90 minutes.
How to Watch Raptor Watch 2021 Live?
There are two ways to do this as below;
- MNS Website – By visiting the main MNS website, there will be a section for the event live feed.
- MNS Facebook Page – The live feed will be hosted on their Facebook page.
Cancellation of Raptor Watch 2020 Event
Last year’s Raptor Watch 2020 was also cancelled and announced on the MNS website on 13th March, one day before the event took place at Tanjung Tuan. However, public counting was still done and conducted by a tiny group. Below is the official notice from MNS about the cancellation.
Heading the order from the Malacca State Government on postponement and cancellation of mass public gatherings, we regret to announce that we will have to cancel the Raptor Watch event scheduled from 14th to 15th March 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns. Although the public event has been called off, the raptor counting activity will proceed as planned because it is managed by our small group of dedicated counters to generate the Raptor Migration Data for this year.
For members and visitors who are already in Tanjung Tuan or Port Dickson for Raptor Watch 2020, we highly suggest for you to watch the raptors from the surrounding beach area. The Malaysian Nature Society information counter at the entrance of Tanjung Tuan Forest Reserve will be open to inquiries and assistance on both days (14th March : 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, 15th March : 9.00 am to 1.00 pm).
Other Raptor Migration Sites in Malaysia
There are also a couple of other raptor migration sites located around Malaysia, and those interested can also read about them below;
- Bedong Raptor Migration site in Kedah
- Taiping Raptor Watch site in Perak
Conclusion
Malaysia is home to many bird watching events, but because of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of them were cancelled in 2020, and for this year of 2021, nothing is confirmed about the other events. Not to worry, as I will do my best to update the information here.
Raptor Watch has been one of the main bird events in Malaysia, and this year (2021) marks the 21st year that the event has been taking place at Tanjung Tuan near the border of Melaka and Negeri Sembilan.
For the first time in the history of this bird watching event, the event was cancelled last year, and they even will go digital this year, so if you do not have any plans this 13th March 2021, log in to participate in the Raptor Watch 2021 virtual event.
