Jason Tan, ornithophile, bodyguard, and a one-time Singaporean national karate champion and deliverer of this particular declaration, searches his phone for videos of songbirds to compare them with those of a crooning Humperdinck. Englebert Humperdinck is mentioned many times, by many people on this day. I wonder what Englebert is doing at this very moment. Englebertian Humperdinickian? Jason is the proud owner of a dozen songbirds β- some in Singapore and others in Thailand.
Beside it are dozens of fowls, their silhouettes dark against the blue sky. They sing better in the presence of other birds. The Club officially opened in but bird lovers have been congregating here for many decades. It began as an informal bird singing corner, when a few bird owners came together, pooled their resources and built makeshift structures to hang their birds from. Most bird keepers I spoke with recalled the s as the heyday for birdkeeping in Singapore, although the practice existed in the region for centuries.
Kebun Baru is about the size of two soccer fields, and it has the most bird species 5 in total, with each allocated a set area, since you asked , and a membership of over 3, humans. On a recent Sunday morning, co-founder of the club, Robin Chua, a tall, affable man with smiling eyes and a shock of white hair, graciously offers to give me a tour.
One could say he takes me under his wing. He has been instrumental in overseeing the operations and in bolstering the legitimacy of the club β and the practice of birdkeeping β by emphasizing its heritage and social value. People come to make friends. You are a bird owner; I am a bird owner; OK, we just talk. Robin and I walk along the perimeter of the grassy field bristling with flag poles. Bird songs fill the air. Robin greets people who are sitting in the shade, chatting, having a coffee or a smoke.
Everyone knows Robin. Robin knows everyone. Robin introduces me to a host of people, each more passionate about birds than the next. A man named Melvin lounges on a bench listening to the melodious chorus of Chinese thrushes hanging nearby. He owns 12 birds and has been bringing them to Kebun Baru for the last 20 years. It makes me happy. Robin brings me over to a row of bird-related shops on the housing estate which flanks the club.
