Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Semakau Inter-tidal Walk

It was more than 2 years ago when I last visited Pulau Semakau before the closure for the work on 2nd phase of the last landfill of Singapore.

This time round, I'm happy to be able to share all the beautiful wildlife of Semakau shore with our Emeritus Senior Minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong.
Wefie with ESM Goh Chok Tong at Semakau
This photo was taken after the walk... wefie time!  :)
Forest trail at Semakau
A very familiar trail that we have to go through before reaching the shore.
Common Sea Star
The fun begin the minute we hit the shore. Common sea star can be seen everywhere on the shore which is very uncommon over the main land Singapore.
Sargassum Seaweed
Is the season of Sargassum seaweed during this time of the year. Large part of the shore are covered with them.
 dragonfish sea cucumber (Stichopus horrens)

Sand fish sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra)
Is good to see so many sea cucumber around.
Synaptic sea-cucumber
Another snake like sea cucumber that we saw taking shelter over the Sargassum seaweed - Synaptid sea cucumber
Upside down jelly fish
Upsidedown jellyfish (Cassiopea sp.) is also in season. Saw many of them almost every few steps.
Carpet anemone
Saw this very bright colour Carpet anemone.
hairy crab (Pilumnus vespertilio)
This Hairy crab can camouflage very well be it under water or on dry land.  When under water, their hair will break their outline so that they don't look like a crab!
noble volute
This Noble volute is laying egg.
Polka Dot (Jorunna funebris)

orange spotted gymnodoris nudibranch

Bohol nudibranch (Discodoris boholensis)
We also saw quite a number of nudibranch such as Polka-dot nudibranch, Gymnodoris & Bohol nudibranch.
Knobbly Sea Star
Another real "Star" attraction is this Knobly sea star. They are no longer found on main land due to over collection by beach goer.
Anemone fish, Clown fish
Managed to find 'Nemo'! We still have  wild clown fish in Singapore. Semakau is one of the place you can see them without getting wet with your dive suit/tank.
Finger corals
There are huge & soft. Used to see it when I was diving and is now expose during low tide.
Cuttle fish
Cuttle fish! So cute to see them swimming in the water.
Red egg crab (Atergatis integerrimus)
When you see red colour... Warning! This red egg crab can not be consumed and their toxin will not be destroyed with heat (after cooking).
Sun set at Semakau
The sun about to set as the tide return... another great day on our shore.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Another Walkaround at Singapore Botanic Garden

Singapore Botanic Garden is one of my favorite place whenever I have some space time for photography. 
Singapore Botanic Garden
 One of the many statue in the garden, this one was hidden near the Ginger Garden.
Golden Web sipder
 Golden Orb Web spider with her super strength & sized web.
Dragonfly

Dragonfly
There are several pond in the garden and dragonfly is one beauty that you will not miss. Darting around water edge, the hotter the weather, the more active they become.
White Breasted Waterhen
 This White Breasted Waterhen searching for food along the water edge.
Monitor Lizard
This garden is also one of the few area where you get to see 2 very similar but different species of monitor lizard. On the left is the Malayan water monitor (Varanus salvator) and the one on the right is the Clouded monitor lizard (Varanus nebulous). How to tell the difference? It may be a bit difficult from far, if you look closely, the main difference is the position of their nostrils. The Clouded monitor lizard's nostrils are lie mid-way between the eye and snout.
Cicada

Cicada
Another game I like to play in the garden is to try finding the Cicada location. They can be heard singing loudly everywhere in the garden but is a challenge to locate or spot them. Once you see one, you see all. I got them on video too. 2 male cicadas fighting for one female...


Monday, October 26, 2015

Hazy Afternoon at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

The migratory birds has arrived in the region and is time to pay a visit to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. The haze situation in the morning was quite serious so I visit the reserve in the afternoon when the PSI dropped slightly to just above 100 unhealthy level. The haze situation around South East Asia has no sign of re-treating despite with the helps from several country to fight the forest fire that is burning and still spreading.
Oriental pied hornbill
As I enter the reserve, this pair of Oriental Pied Hornbill appear right in-front of me! The male is trying to court the female bird and is in fact in the courtship feeding! Can you tell which is male & which is female?
White-Breasted Waterhen
This White Breasted Water Hen behave like a human being! She look left, then right and left again before crossing to another side of the board walk.
Fruit bat
Saw this fruit bat sleeping under the roof at one of the shelter. They are nocturnal animal and only active at night.
Collared kingfisher
Since it was low tide when I visited the reserve, most migratory birds will feed outside the reserve as the whole coastal area will be expose with the tide going down. So I look for resident bird instead. I saw this Collared kingfisher perched near the Main Hide.
Grey Heron
This Grey Heron was feeding solo at the far end opposite the Main Hide.
Striated heron
This Striated Heron was waiting for the tide to come back so that the fishing will become easy.
Red shank
One of the few migratory bird that still feeding at the Main Hide is this Common Red Shank.
Brown shrike
Another migratory bird that I saw before leaving the reserve is this Brown Shrike.

If you plan to visit Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, do check tide table and try visit the reserve during high tide so that more migratory birds will feed within the reserve.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Coney Island Park, Singapore

After waiting for more than 2 years, Coney Island Park finally open to public! As with all newly opened facility, I expect some crowd so I choose to go early morning. 
Coney Island Park
The park open from 7am to 7pm. What a beautiful sun rise when I arrived at West Entrance of the park.
West Entrance
 I enter the park through West entrance.
Coney Island Park, map
This tiny island have 2 entrances. The West entrance is just next to Punggol Promenade Nature Walk while the East entrance is joined to Lorong Halus.

What can you do on this tiny island?
Casuarina trees
You may just enjoy the scenery, get into the forest. Scenery like this is something that consider uncommon in highly urbanized Singapore. They may look like pine trees but they are not. They are actually Casuarina trees also known as Rhu trees. This is probably how Tanjung Rhu got her name.
Coney Island Park
 If you are a bird watcher, this bird hide will come in handy.
Coney Island Park

Coney Island Park
 There are lots of signs of wildlife activities on the island.
Heart shape nest
 This heart shape nest probably built by Baya weaver birds.
Nature photography at Coney Island Park

Nature photography at Coney Island Park
Nature photographer of all sorts (be it insects, landscape or birds) flocked to Coney Island this morning.
Cycling at Coney Island Park
 There are lots of cyclist too. Mountain bike is recommended due to the rough terrains.
Selfie at Coney Island Park
Some just take out their phone and take wefie with their love bike. One pacik  try his fishing luck here too.
Nature walk at Coney Island Park
You may simply just explore this tiny island on foot. Highly recommended as you will get higher chance to see wildlife on the island by walking.
Pet grooming at Coney Island Park
Some take the opportunity to groom their dog there too.
Pulau Ubin view from Coney Island Park
Pulau Ubin, another rustic island just opposite Coney island. It looks so close! Be forewarned, there are lots of sand flies on the beach. If you intend to walk on the beach, I will suggest that you wear long pants and long sleeve shirt.
Punggol jetty view from Coney Island Park
Or you may just sit on the concrete path and enjoy the scenery and sea breeze instead.
Shuttle service to Coney Island Park
Oh! There are shuttle service to Coney island from Pasir Ris and Punggol MRT!
Coney Island Park
Another nature space for the resident around Punggol/Pasir Ris area. What are you waiting for? Go visit today!  :)