Sam Loves Nature

A Nature Fighter Plane

2009-10-01T23:00:00.006+08:00

Today is China 60th Birthday, and China has shown the world its new weapons during the celebration, including some of the most advance fighter planes.

I also want to take this opportunity to wish China a Happy 60th Birthday, and hereby present my most amazing Fighter Plane in Nature 'Hawk Moth' to participate in this celebration ;-)

Hawk Moth is the nicest Moth I have seen so far, and I spotted it in one of my Nature Walk recently.

OK, my fighter plane is going to take off and should be able to reach China in a few seconds. Ready to take off now, and here it goes.............

Wraglers' pit viper (Tropidolaemus wagleri)

2009-09-30T23:00:00.007+08:00

Being a Green Volunteer, I have trained to be more observant and always on a lookout for living creatures around me. During a few of my nature walk, I have managed to spot this Wraglers' pit viper (Tropidolaemus wagleri) and I couldn't imagine that I have come so close to this poisonous snake.

This snake can be easily found at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, usually lying quietly on a branch/leaf quite close to the jogging track. I have ever alerted the Npark staff there on this snake, and think it's a hidden danger for the joggers and hope that no one will disturb it.

There are quite a number of this viper at this reserve and varies in sizes. Wonder how big can this snake grows and hope that it won't attack the people there.

A Close Encounter with White-crested Laughingthrush

2009-09-28T22:00:00.011+08:00

I was jogging at Bukit Batok Nature Reserve yesterday morning and while resting at the carpark near the Memorials, I saw 5 birds singing on a tree. This bird is known as White-crested Laughingthrush.

One of the bird didn't seem to afraid of me, probably I looked harmless and friendly ;-) It flew right in front of me and stayed calmly there for me to take photo.

I am so lucky to capture this bird at such a close distance, as I always find it hard to take a nice bird photo using my Point & Shoot camera. Hope that I will have more of this opportunity to take bird's photo at a close distance.

My First Visit to Dairy Farm Nature Park

2009-09-24T23:00:00.011+08:00

After a tiring Semakau Transect Survey on last Sunday evening, I still managed to wake up early the following Monday (21 Sept 2009) to spend my morning at Dairy Farm Nature Park. Heard about the launch of this enhanced Nature Park over the News, but was disappointed by the size of the carpark - One word 'SMALL'.

As this place is getting popular, hope that necessary actions will be taken soon to address this parking issue, or perhaps the illegal parking problem.

The Trail Manners notice board is quite eye-catching and quite comprehensive as compared to those at other Nature Parks/Reserves.

Maybe too many people were at the park, and therefore couldn't see many new and interesting insects. Beside the unknown hopper that I still don't know its name, the other 2 are quite commonly seen in nature parks.

Nevertheless, the park is still quite refreshing as it has quite a number of nice flowers, just like the two of them below:

Semakau : Transect Survey (20 September 2009)

2009-09-21T23:00:00.002+08:00

Always looking forward to Semakau trip, but this Transect Survey on 20 Sept was my toughest and most tiring one as I have to complete 2 Transect Zones at the Coral Reef all by myself.

Actually, I was filled with excitement before the transect as I saw 2 Knobby Seastars while walking towards the Coral Reef. My colleague was so happy as she has never seen any Knobby before.

We reached the Coral Reef and also located the Markers quite fast. While I was helping my colleagues to lay the tape at Transect 1, I spotted a Blue-spotted Fantail Ray (Taeniura lymma) and also a hugh Red Swimming Crab. I therefore told my colleagues that if we could finish the transect before the sky turned dark, we would have some time to hunt for animals and take more photos.

The most common animals that I always found in Coral Reef transect were Hairy Crab (Pilumnus vespertilio) and Black Margined Nudibranch (Glossodoris atromarginata). They did not disappoint me this time as they showed themselves to wait for me at the Coral Reef.

When I completed the Transect 2, my 2 colleagues were still working on Transect 1 and they only covered about 40%. I therefore took over the Transect 3 and completed it also so that we can complete our Coral Reef transect assignment on time.

The toughest part for me was to do the following alone:
1. Moved the tape from Transect 2 to Transect 3
2. Rolled back the tape when I completed Transect 3

Luckily, my friend Martina who completed her Coral Rubble Transect came over to help me to roll up the remaining 30% of the tape.

By the time I completed Transect 2 and 3, it was almost 7.20pm and the sky was getting dark. Therefore I didn't have much chance to see a lot of animals in this trip.

Luckily, I still managed to find the Dragonfish Sea Cucumber (Stichopus horrens) and the Stonefish Sea Cucumber (Actinopyga lecanora) using my torch while I was walking back to the shore.

Besides the Sea Cucumber, I also spotted the beautiful Peacock Anemone and the Sunflower mushroom hard coral (Heliofungia actiniformis).

Hope that there will be more volunteers involved in the future for hunting seeking and transect survey as working alone is pretty tough and challenging.

A Scary & Eerie Creature

2009-09-19T23:30:00.001+08:00

After involving in Green Volunteer activities over the past 2 years, I find that Spider can be quite Scary, especially those big and hairy ones. Whenever I tried to take a macro shot of them using my Point & Shoot camera, I actually quite afraid that they will hop onto me.

I will probably get a better camera so that I can zoom in to photo-shoot them at a distance.

The following are my spider photo collection:

It seems like I always bump into insect mating. During one of my nature walk, I witnessed two big spiders mating on a tree trunk. Luckily they did not feel shy when I flashed my camera at them. I think they will probably find a dark hidden corner next time so that I won't be able to see them again.

A Morning Walk at BBNR

2009-09-17T22:30:00.007+08:00

Went for a morning walk at Bukit Batok Nature Reserve (BBNR) on Monday after jogged there from my house.

While walking towards the pond, I spotted a Green Bug on a leaf. Though I went for the forest trails quite a number of times during my climate change activities, I have never seen this Bug before. Hope that I will find out what's this bug soon.

I always find it hard to take a nice butterfly photo as it keeps flying around and seldom settles down. This time I managed to capture this butterfly resting on the a leaf.

Actually I spotted a very thin brown snake on that day, but it moved very fast and disappeared itself in the bushes within moments. Therefore, I was not able to take a photo of the snake. Sigh!

Luckily, there was a Skink that not afraid of me, and stayed calmly for me to take photo. Though there was nothing much to see at BBNR on that day, but it was still a good workout for me.

A Touching Love Story of Millipedes

2009-09-17T21:00:00.005+08:00

As my office is just next to Hort Park, I usually go there after lunch for a slow walk if the weather is fine and not sunny.

I was there today after my lunch and saw a very touching love scene of Millipedes
(故事全是虚构,如有相同,纯属巧合)

Two Millipedes were on top of each other on a big stone, guess they were mating.

Suddenly another Millipede came by and started wandering near them. Feeling disturbed, they tried to move away from this intruder. The jealous millipede continued to circle around them and out of a sudden, crawled onto them trying to separate them apart.

The couple were annoyed by the intruder's rude action and finally gave up and crawled away in different direction.

Sigh! What a Sad Ending :-(

A Fruitful Day at SBWR (12 Sept 2009)

2009-09-15T00:30:00.031+08:00

Last Saturday was a fruitful day for me at SBWR. Beside spending an eventful day with a group of kids at the Young Naturalist Programmme (YNP), I also managed to see an amazing sight at the main bridge.

There was a group of more than 30 giant Catfish crowded near the water surface under the main bridge. Each Catfish is about 1 metre long, and I can assure you that you will be amazed also by this spectacular moment.

This day was also a See-Snake (not Eat-Snake) day for me. Saw 3 different types of Snakes in one SBWR trip which never occured to me before.
Just a few steps from the main hide, a Green Vine Snake (Oxybelis fulgidus) [later advised by Ron and Peiting that it's an Oriental Whip Snake] was hanging itself on a branch with its head looking at the ground. The last time I saw this snake was also in such position, as it probably looking out for its prey on the ground.

At the mangrove boardwalk, saw a Dog-Faced Water Snake swimming in a pool of water. This snake is quite commonly spotted at the mangrove mudflat.

The most beautiful but dangerous snake I saw was the Pit Viper, resting itself on a branch along Route 1. Viper is one of the most poisonous snake and one bite can kill you if the poison is not purged out immediately.

The Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis) was seen standing at its usual spot, on a tree next to the main bridge. Just after the bridge at the little pond next to the main toilet, spotted a nice dragonfly. This Dragonfly which looks quite similar to Ictinogomphus decoratus, has a thin zebra-design body lines.

Actually I was there around 7.15am that morning, hoping to see the Smooth Otters before the YNP commenced. But I still have no luck seeing them, instead I saw a group of wild dogs wandering and swimming near the area along Route 1.

Spectacular Sight of Giant Catfish @ SBWR

2009-09-14T18:55:00.007+08:00

During my guiding of a group of kids for the Young Naturalist Programme (YNP), I saw this spectacular moment of a school of Giant Catfish swimming under the main bridge. I think there were more than 30 of them, and each about 1 metre long.

A China tourist was throwing fish food into the water, and therefore these Catfish crowded near the water surface, and formed this amazing scene.

A special thank to my friend Peiting who told me about this school of Catfish, else I would have missed them.

A morning walk at Sungei Buloh (6 Sep 2009)

2009-09-09T21:00:00.009+08:00

Went to Sungei Buloh (SBWR) on a Sunday morning around 7:20am and hoping to see the Smooth Otters. Although I went there so many times, I only managed to see the Otters once when I was conducting a guided walk there last year.

My hope was spoilt by a heavy downpour which lasted for almost an hour. By the time I started my walk around 8.20am, I could not even smell the shit of the Otter.

What I saw was a Water Monitor Lizard crawling its way onto the boardwalk, and posed calmly for me to take a close-up shot.

While walking along Route 1, spotted a pair of very unique Dragonfly (Rhyothemis phyllis) with a Bee-Coloured design on its wings. Being a Dragonfly lover, how could I miss such opportunity to capture it in my photo album.

Probably the heavy rain has destroyed the Ant Nest, and could see the Red Weaver Ants (Oecophylla smaragdina)were busy building up their Nest again. It's a great teamwork as you could see some Ants were stretching themselves to hold on to the Leaf while the others were trying their very best to join the Leaves together. While watching the Ants constructing their nest, I noticed a nice Caterpillar crawling on a leaf a few steps away. Guess it might sense that there were a group of Ants nearby and trying to crawl away from them.

Crabs were seen crawling their way out from the hole of the Mud Lobster Mound. The Singapore Vinegar Crabs (Episersarma singaporense)have a 'Special Skill', which is Tree-Climbing. Also spotted a hugh Snail, the Giant African Snail (Achatina fulica) on the Tree, one of the biggest I have ever seen.

At the Observation Hide along Route 2, saw a playful little Heron, the Striated Heron (Butroides striata) watching closely on a Dog-Faced Water Snake at about 50m away. Too bad my camera does not have a high optical zoom, didn't manage to capture a clear photo of this Bird-Watching-Snake.

When I almost completing my walk along Route 1, I saw a Mangrove St Andrew’s Spider (Argiope mangal) with its beautiful web near the signboard of the observatory hide. This Spider is commonly found at SBWR, and it has a smiling face on its body.

Though the heavy rain chased the Otters away, but it's still a good morning exercise for me. I have a strong feeling that I will be able to see the Otters soon at SBWR.

A short trip to Botanic Garden

2009-09-05T12:00:00.005+08:00

Passed by Botanic Garden 2 days ago, and have a feeling that I might see the Pink Dragonfly that I saw during my last visit.

Though I only have less than 1 hour before my appointment, I decided to pop-in to search for the lovely Dragonfly. My effort finally paid off as I saw the lovely Pink Dragonfly and managed to have a good photo shot.

While walking towards the big pond, spotted a plant with very unique brown flower which is different from the other flowers in this garden.

Saw two White Swans swimming gracefully at the pond, and when I lifted my hand, they thought I was trying to feed them. Suspected they are twins as their action almost similar, swam in pairs and even dipped head into water also almost at the same time.

Along the side of the pond, found a golden insect on the leave, and never see such insect before. After looking through the photo, my friend Martina spotted a small openning at the back of the insect, and therefore we concluded that it's the insect's moult. After checking with my expert friends Ming and Luan Keng, they confirmed that it's the moult of a Cicada.

Looking at my watch, realised that it's almost time for my appointment. While walking back to the main entrance, spotted a golden dragonfly outside a small pond of a French restuarant. Being a Dragonfly lover, how can I miss such opportunity to add this into my photo collection. This Golden Dragonfly is different from the one I saw at Sungei Buloh.

Almost reaching the main entrance, I heard a loud sound on the tree. It was a big Plaintain Squirrel (Callosciurus notatus) hopping on the tree and finally rested on a branch.

Though it was just an hour spent in Botanic Garden, but it's still a good trip for me as I was able to find two nice dragonflies.

My lovely insect : Dragonfly

2009-09-01T21:00:00.027+08:00

Before I involved in Green Volunteer activities, I never paid a serious attention at Dragonfly. After I have been to Sungei Buloh (SBWR) many times, I began to find that this insect is so beautiful and colourful. There are many different coloured Dragonflies in SBWR, and the one I like most is the Golden Dragonfly, which I found at the end of Route 2.

Dragonflies are similar to damselflies, but the adults can be differentiated by the fact that the wings of most dragonflies are held away from, and perpendicular to, the body when at rest. Even though dragonflies possess 6 legs like any other insect, they are not capable of walking.

Dragonflies are valuable predators that eat mosquitoes, and other small insects like flies, bees, ants, and butterflies. They are usually found around lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands because their larvae, known as "nymphs", are aquatic.

The Red Dragonfly can also be found at SBWR, usually at the pond next to the main toilet. This Red Dragonfly is quite common and you can easily see them there.

You can also find another type of Red Dragonfly at SBWR, but it has a pair of red wings. If you take a closer look at this red insect, especially on its wings, you will find that the design is very beautiful.

Beside the Golden and Red Dragonflies, you can also find other coloured Dragonflies at SBWR. The Black Dragonfly is also quite unique. If you are lucky, you may have chance to see two Dragonflies sticking onto each other, oops... mating again!

In my recent trip to Pulau Ubin, I found 2 special coloured Dragonflies. One is Purplish Blue and the other one is a very nice Silvery Blue.

The Pink Dragonfly is also very beautiful, which can be seen at Botanic Garden.

After seeing my Dragonfly photos, guess you also find it nice. When you go for a Nature walk next time and happen to see a Dragonfly, stop and take a closer look at it. You will be surprised and amazed to find that this insect is so BEAUTIFUL and LOVELY :-)

A Tiring Walk at Pulau Ubin (29 August 2009)

2009-08-31T21:00:00.020+08:00

Arranged with some friends to go Chek Jawa at Pulau Ubin on 29 August (Sat), but found out that the tide was high at Chek Jawa and we were not able to access the inter-tidal area. We therefore joined Ron and Luan Keng to explore the mangrove walk but it was indeed a very long walk.

Captured the morning dew on a leaf and was surprised to see that the photo turned out quite nice. On another leave, I found a colourful caterpillar crawling slowly and it's about 1.5 inch long.

My friend Martina always says I like to take insect/animal mating photo, and this time I spotted two flies mating on a leaf. I think they were too engrossed and never noticed me capturing their indecent 'R-rated' act.

Ron spotted a praying mantis on a big leaf, and its colour blended very well with the leaf. This is my first time to see such a big praying mantis, and it stayed very calm and still even though many of us were pointing our camera at it. While some of us were busy viewing the Grey Heron, a hugh grasshopper were also found among the branches.

While everyone was busy looking at the big leaf fig, a small insect hop on the leaf. At first I thought it was a spider as it moved and hop like one, but after checking with Ming, he told me that it's some kind of unknown hopper. At the other end of the bushes, I saw a lizard moving and hopping from one tree to another. It actually playing hide and seek with me as it sensed me trying to take photo.

After a long walk, we took a water break at a shelter. I walked around and spotted an orange insect, and Ron highlighted that it was a Wasp. I never see such a big Wasp before, and it kept moving and flying around, giving us a hard time to capture a good photo shot. Luckily, it started burrowing and that's the best time for us to take photo. Ron later confirmed in his blog that it is a Spider Wasp.

Spotted a few young Cotton Stinger Bugs on a dried-up seed of the Sea Hibiscus and never expect the photo to turn out so amazing when the orange-red mixed with the brown. I always find it difficult to capture a good photo of butterfly as it never stays still. The Orange Common Awl was a bit different from the normal butterfly didn't fly away even if I went quite near it.

Towards the mangrove area, Ron found a big spider with its spiderlings on a leaf. By the time I tried to take its photo, it hided under the leaves and probably felt that it already had enough photos for the day, taken by Ron and Peiting. Nevertheless, I still managed to capture it under the leaves, though the photo is not that good.

After all these months of nature walk at Sungei Buloh, I like taking photo of Dragonfly as I find that it's very beautiful and comes in different colour. I am in the process of compiling my Dragonfly album. I am glad to find 2 different colours Dragonflies in this trip :-)

The only regret for this trip was not able to go to Chek Jawa, but nevertheless, it was still a fruitful experience for me.

Semakau : Hunting Seeking (22 August 2009)

2009-08-29T23:00:00.039+08:00

After almost one month since my last visit to Semakau, we went for another Hunting Seeking on 22 August. This round was quite tough as a few of us needed to do the Hunting Seeking alone due to shortage of volunteers. Though it was tough, but we still managed to complete the assigned task on time.

While walking towards our assigned zones, we spotted a Dog-Faced Water Snake wandering around at the Sandy Shores, just next to the Mangroves. It moved very swiftfully and then burrowed itself in the mud and water. This Snake is not poisonous, but I don't think I dare to catch it.

The zones we were hunting were full of Carpet Anemones. Haddon's, Gigantic, Magnificent Anemones all could be found, and there were many of them.

Carpet Anemones can emit toxic substances to sting its prey, example fishes. It will then use its tentacles to move its prey towards its mouth which is at the centre of the Anemone. Its Mouth is also its Anus, which seems to be a bit inhygenic, Yeeeeeee... Though this toxic substances may not be harmful to us, but it may cause irritation to those who have sensitive skin. Therefore, it's still best not to touch it with your bare hand.

There were also many Common Seastars found in this area, and saw 2 Seastars moved apart from its mating position. Maybe they were too shy when saw me looking at them, haha!

While at the Coral Rubble, spotted 2 different colour Knobby Seastars.

One coral that looks scarely is the 'Dead Man Fingers' as its 'Fingers' will start to wave at you when they are under water, calling '来吧, 不要怕!'

Almost towards the end of the Hunting Seeking, spotted a dead squid with its Green eyes, Ron spotted White-Spotted Reef Hermit Crab. It has an orange body with white spots, that's how its name comes about. When sensed danger, it immediately hided itself, therefore can only see its legs sticking out from the shell.

While walking back to the assembly point, spotted 2 Flatworm (Pseudoceros) almost dried up on a rock. Once I put them back into the water, they started swimming gracefully.

Flatworm gets its name because it's really Flat. It has both Male and Female reproductive organs, and one of the well-known feature is its 'Penis' Spinning. During the mating process, both Flatworms will try to dominate each other and want to take the Father's role. They will spin around and try to use their male organ to touch each other and also to avoid being touched. The one that being touched will have to play the Mother's role until it gives birth. Really amazing!

BulBul Hatching

2009-08-29T21:00:00.000+08:00

When I was at Sungei Buloh for a Green Volunteer event in May, I saw a BulBul bird hatching in its nest on a fan palm outside the main toilet. When I tried to move close to take a better picture, it flew off but was hiding nearby watching its nest.

When I looked into the nest, I saw 2 eggs in it. Once I moved away, the mother BulBul flew back to its nest.

I went back about 3 weeks later in June for a guiding event, I visited the nest again. I was happy to see a baby BulBul in the nest, but its mother wasn't there. I heard from my friend that one of the egg didn't hatch successfully.

When I tried to take a close-up photo of the baby BulBul, it opened its mouth and thinking that its mother is back with food. If I can hear bird's voice, it must be calling 'I am Hungry, please give me some food!'

I guessed it must have starved for hours and I hoped that the mother BulBul could come back soon.

Strange Insect spotted at Night Safari

2009-08-28T22:00:00.011+08:00

Saw a strange insect crawling its way across a walkway at the Night Safari last Thursday. Wonder what is this insect. I immediately blocked the way and waited until it crossed the walkway so as to prevent people from stepping onto it. It's really a long wait as it really crawled very slow.

After confirmed by Ming and Luan Keng, and also my friend Peiting, it's a Pill Millipede. Pill millipedes are short compared to other millipedes, with only eleven to thirteen body segments, and are capable of rolling into a ball when disturbed. This ability may however have evolved separately in each of the two orders, making it a case of parallel evolution, rather than homology. Pill millipedes are herbivorous, feeding on decomposing plant matter.

Snake Eating Skink

2009-08-25T00:00:00.022+08:00

I was at Sungei Buloh last Thursday and so fortunate to see a specticular 'Snake-Eating-Skink' scene.

The Green Forest Weed Snake is about 1.5m long, which is the longest I have seen so far. It is usually very difficult to be spotted as it camouflages itself very well among the green leaves. I spotted it along Route 1 and wondered why it stayed so still and looking at the ground.

When I took a closer look on the snake, following its head to its tail, I was surprised by its length.

Out of a sudden, it dashed downwards to the ground and pulled back with a Skink in its mouth. Its action was so fast and swift, and a quick bite on the baby Skink and immediately killed it.

The Snake then slowly pulled itself back and disappeared behind the trees.

A GrassHoppers Re-Union

2009-08-24T23:00:00.008+08:00

Spotted a group of Grasshoppers gathering on a plant eating, just like a 'Re-Union' meal. Although Grasshopper is quite common in plants, but so many of them together is so amazing!

A Fruitful Inter-Tidal Adventure - Part 1

2009-07-27T22:00:00.049+08:00

After staying overnight at Semakau on 25 July, we went for an early inter-tidal walk the following morning at a new area we have not visited before and might give us a lot of surprises.

Indeed, I am pleased to see a Giant Clam burrowed itself in a rock, so beautiful and amazing. Looks like a rock having a big mouth with a green lip, it's really 'A Kiss of Life'.

Cryptic Rock Star was the first thing we saw when we first climbed down the rocks to the inter-tidal area, and I also found a Horseshoe Crab with it's sharp tail poking upwards, to give us a warm welcome. Unlike the StingRay, the sharp tail of the Horseshoe Crab is not harmful, it's just to turn itself upright when it's in an upside down position. The blood of Horseshoe crab is Blue in colour.

Spotted an Onch crawling slowly on the sandy shore, and it's also one of the biggest I have ever seen. There were also many upsidedown Jellyfish found in this area.

As usual, Swimming Crab is the most fierceful creature and always really to attack any intruder. I still prefer the small Fiddler Crab, especially this particular one who stayed so calm to pose for my macro shot.

It's good to see quite a number of Carpet Anemones in this area, showing a sign of good seawater quality for marine lifes. Missed seeing these Gigantic Carpet Anemones which I previously saw at Chek Jawa. I can find more Carpet Anemones in Semakau now as compared to Chek Jawa.

In my memory, I hardly found any Octopus in the usual inter-tidal area. Most of them I saw there were already caught by the Hunters during the Guided Walk. But in this new inter-tidal area, there were many different colour Octopuses spotted and I could easily see them swimming gracefully in the water. Octopus is the most intelligent creature and it's able to change its colour, camouflages itself well with the surroundings. The ink it releases has 2 purposes:
1. Confuse its preys to let them falls into its trap so that it can easily eat them.
2. Confuse its predators so that it can easily escape from them.

A Fruitful Inter-Tidal Adventure - Part 2

2009-07-27T22:00:00.047+08:00

Though this new inter-tidal area has many things to see, but you really need to watch your steps as we spotted Stonefish, which is a dangerous fish that you do not want to step on. If you being bitten and poisoned by a Stonefish, you can basically rest at home for a month as you will not be able to walk.

It was the first time I saw a Stonefish and it's quite ugly and difficult to notice.

There were many Nudibranchs found in this area also, and this Black Margined Nudibranch spotted was pretty hugh, but it seemed to be under lots of stress and cramping itself up.

A volunteer found a Dog-Faced Water Snake and Ron highlighted that it's not poisonous. He even caught it for our photo shooting. Bravo! I also spotted another Dog-Faced Water Snake near the area where I found the Giant Clam. This area is really full of wonders.

The animals really grows well in this area as even the Snails and Slugs we saw are very lively and healthy, and pretty hugh. I found a Big Noble Volute, much bigger than my fist. The Nerites found on the rocks were also seen actively crawling from rock to rock, and I think there were few hundreds of them.

Semakau : Hunting Seeking (25 July 2009)

2009-07-26T22:00:00.013+08:00

It's a day of Hairy Crab as more than 10 Hairy crabs were spotted at my Zone in this Hunting Seeking, and also lucky to see a BIG ONE! This was the biggest Hairy Crab I have seen so far, about the size of my palm. I also pleased that it stayed so calm for me to capture a nice photo of its face.
Hairy Crab is 'mild' poisonous due to the food it eats and also the environment it lives, which is near the Sponges. Its hairs is able to stick up the particulars in the surroundings, and therefore camouflages itself well and makes it difficult to be spotted.

Another 3 nice crabs that were spotted are the Orange Swimming Crab, Saw-Edged Spooner Crab and the Yellowish-Green Fiddler Crab.
Swimming Crab is quite common in inter-tidal area, and is also one of the most fierceful as it always in an On-Guard position when senses danger. It has a pair powerful pincers and some of them are poisonous and not edible.

Fiddler Crab is an interesting crab as the male crab is usually colourful and has one big colourful pincer and one smaller pincer. The big pincer is not meant for fighting, but it's for scaring away other male crab and also to attract the female crab. The male crab can only use the smaller pincer to eat, and therefore eats much slower than the female crab.

This was the first time I saw a Noble Volute in a shiny blach shell, as usually they are in a brownish stripes shell. Noble Volute is a very fierce predator and feeds on bivalves. It uses its mantle to clamp onto its preys and then uses its long 'tongue-like' mouth to feed on them the moment when their shell open.

While walking back after completing the Hunting Seeking, spotted a school of Catfish swimming near the shore. There were about few hundreds of them and created a very beautiful formation.

Semakau : Guiding (11 July 2009)

2009-07-13T13:00:00.000+08:00

This guiding was my 3rd guiding experience in Pulau Semakau since I first learnt about this place. This time I partnered with my colleague Casey to guide a group of NUS High Students and their teacher.
Being a guide, I usually don't take photo unless it's really pretty ike the Knobby Seastars.

The Knobby Seastar is the icon of Semakau and you should not tell people you have come to Semakau if you have not seen one here.

Our Hunters caught many animals for us to see and talk about during the guided walk, but we have to end early due to a heavy rain.

While waiting at the shelter area for the rain to stop, I managed to find a White Seashell and an insect on a leaf.

Although the guiding was disturbed by the heavy rain, it's still a fruitful experience for me and looking forward for my next Semakau guiding.

Semakau : Transect Survey (13 June 2009)

2009-06-15T13:00:00.001+08:00

I always enjoy going to Pulau Semakau, not because of what I can see at the Inter-tidal area. The beautiful rainbow spans across the blue sky and the specticular sunrise are the two wonderful sights I experienced in this Transect Survey trip.

While walking towards the inter-tidal area, spotted a hugh Grasshopper and luckily it stayed quiet and calm for me to take a nice photo. I never see such a big Grasshopper for a long time, and I think I will scream out loud if it suddenly hop onto me.

My Transect Survey area is at the Coral Reef Habitat and usually does not have much time to take photo. Luckily, I still managed to find the Polka Dot Nudibranch and the Black Margined Nudibranch.

The word "nudibranch" comes from the Latin nudus, naked, and the Greek brankhia, gills, that's the reason Nudibranch is also known as 'naked gills'.

Nudibranchs are often casually called "sea slugs", which led some people to assume that every sea slug must be a nudibranch. Nudibranchs are very numerous in terms of species, and are often very attractive and noticeable. The following website shows a good collection of Nudibranchs.
Nudibranch Collection

On my way back after the survey, spotted the Cassiopea Jellyfish at the Coral Rubble Habitat. The Jellyfish also known as Upside-down Jellyfish because it lies on its back, so that the bell touches the ground. In this position it resembles a sea anemone. They have a mild sting since they are primarily photosynthetic, but sensitive individuals may have a stronger reaction.

Though I need to wake up early morning and take the ferry around dawn for every Semakau trip, but I enjoy it as I love Nature.

Semakau : Hunting Seeking (30 May 2009)

2009-06-01T13:00:00.000+08:00

Set off for Semakau Hunting Seeking event on 30 May 2009 at 7.30am, and hoping to see many new animals there. I was in Group 57 with my friend Martina, and we needed to walk very far from the starting point to the hunting area.

We were told that many new animals (eg. stonefish) might be seen there as not many people have explored that area.

While walking towards my assigned zone 57, I was greeted by the Haddon's Carpet Anemone. This reminded me of the Carpet Anemones at Chek Jawa but were destroyed 2 years ago by the fresh water flowed down from Johor due to the massive flood.

Spotted a cute Onch Slug crawling slowly near the mangrove area, and the underside of it is Light Green in colour.

The Onch Slug camouflaged itself well among the sandy area and it was the biggest Onch I ever saw, almost close to 5cm.

Saw 2 very small snails sticking onto each other, and realised that they are actually the Red Berry Snail. They are so small and tiny, and not easy to spot without good eyesight.
While looking at the snails, a sparkling worm suddenly caught my attention. It is the poisoness Bristle Worm, and its movement is so swift and fast and very difficult to catch it.

After started our hunting for about 15 minutes, the weather suddenly turned bad and we had no choice but to stop and go back to the assembly point. Sigh :-(

Semakau : Hunting Seeking (11 April 2009)

2009-04-13T13:00:00.000+08:00

It was 2.30am on 11 April 2009 (Sat) and my first time to Semakau so early morning. The sky was still dark and we walked about 1.6km from the main office to the inter-tidal area as there was no shuttle bus service.

It was a very different Hunting Seeking experience as we barely see anything without torch. I was quite lucky that night as I managed to find a nice Brown Egg Crab and captured a nice photo of it.

The swimming crabs were extremely active in the dark, and always in the 'on-guard' position when sensed intruder.

Captured a strange looking crab which has branches growing on it and it reminds me of the 'walking tree' in the movie 'Lord of the Ring Part II'.

The Synaptid Sea Cucumber is the longest sea cucumber which can grow up to 3m long. It has long feeding tentacles and looks/swims differently from the other common sea cucumbers. Never imagine that a sea cucumber will look like that.

Guess the sky is still dark, and spotted a 'R-rated' act by the common sea star. The male is on top of the female, but they were just in the position preparing to mate. Note that the mating process is basically external, as their reproductive organ will not in contact with each other. The male and female will both eject the 'sperm' and 'egg' respectively in the water and this position will increase the chance for the 'hit'.

Another interesting thing I saw was the Octopus Eggs, hidden in the sponges. It's a big white ball and I was amazed to see so many of them.

I always feel excited about going to Pulau Semakau as there are many things to see and explore and the nature is really wonderful and amazing. Looking forward for my next Semakau Trip.