I do not have the strong desire to go for it.
In fact I wonder if I can be commited to it.
It is an interest. But I don't think it is my passion.
And it has been a long time since I get in touch with the natural world.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Semakau - 20th May
The break of a new dawn.
The long winding road.
Standing tall. The guardian of our coast.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
A rare dove I saw?
I do not know if this was the birds I saw. But I am sure the ones I saw on the evening of 28th March were not the usual birds that I will see in Hougang.
Like the Jambu Fruit Dove in the picture, the birds I saw outside Hougang Mall (precise location was the tree directly outside Hans) have bright green plumage. That was what that captured my attention because I have never seen birds of these kind or come across them in my birds guidebook (I shall check for it again when I'm free). There were about 4-5 of them when I saw them flying away from that tree. But because I was a distance away from the tree (diagonally opposite to be exact), I did not have a close-up view to try to identify them.
I have also seen them on another occasion, athough I can't remember where I was then now.
Upon yahoo-ing, I found that the dove have been sighted on this island before.
Some of the places include:
From SBWR's checklist of birds in 2006, this dove was recorded as a rare resident of the mangrove.
Here is a nice close-up picture of the rare dove from ClubSNAP photography.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Reminiscing the nights...
at sungei buloh.
The night sky, filled with countless and countless of stars, is really a magical sight to behold.
That is the magic of nature,
which is always full of wonderful surprises for us to discover.
Like little sparkling diamonds in the sky,
the glow from the stars ignites the heart of the lover of nature.
And at that instant, I was mesmerised.
It felt worthwhile to just live for the moment.
© Violia & Co. 2006
I miss the creatures of the night. The croc that lurked beneath the water, the nightjar resting on the mudflat, the bat that flew past me, the spider spinning its web, the shore pit and reticulated python that crossed our path, the toads and frogs croaking in the dark, plus the buzzing of some flying insects et ctera.
Not forgetting the ones that I went SBWR for - dog faced water snakes. Although puff faced are more beautiful in colouration and softer and smoother in touch, dog faced will always remain the dearest to me.
It was one hell of an experience, especially being chased by a feisty dog faced on the mudflat. But nobody believes us and they even thought it was comical. In retrospect, it was a rather interesting incident, one of a kind!
Well, I have had the most bizarre encounters at SBWR. Bizzare but fun! Hee. Thankfully I always walk away unscathed. Those events will be etched in my memories forever, I know.
I'll miss hunting under the starlit sky, and enjoying the solitude which I could hardly find in civilisation.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Amazing! 189, 186, 14...
Snakes are so darn adorable! And they are pretty amazing creatures too! Fascinating! Here's why...
Me and Cp finally pop by the lab to see our dear friendsss. While we were inside, Sj was telling us that 186, one of the catch from Wednesday night, had died. After doing a dissection on the fellow, he found 14 fishes in its gut! I just went 'WAAAHHH!'. Amazing right! So cool huh, 14 fishes in the gut, ranging from very big ones to teeny weeny ones. And 186 itself is not even that big, probably about 3+ cm in diameter only. How can? Why did it swallow so many fishes when the rest weren't even digested yet? I always thought that they eat one and that's it. They will only feed after the food has been digested, but apparently not. The reason why it died was due to excessive bleeding. Sj found this wood splinter in the snake and when he did the dissection, he realised that the gut was already torn apart by the splinter. Ouch, poor snakey.
[Life is a cycle, so lets move on.]
189. Why is it special to me. Because it is the BIGGEST wild dog-faced that I have ever catch (til now). As the chinese saying goes, '姜是老的辣'. I was waiting for it to swallow the fish but it showed no intention to. It just swam around the rocks and I thought it was looking for a more secure spot to feed and avoid being swept away by the current. Nah. It continued navigating around the rocks while I looked on and eventually, Cp and I chased after the snake again. It was only when I saw the helpless fish flapping under doggy's bite did I realised that it was still alive. Smart fish. Smarter doggy. Dumb homosapien.
After much waiting, 189 finally began to savour its dinner. This fellow is a darn seasoned feeder! It looked as though there was a conveyor belt within the snake's mouth to transport the fish to the gut. The now-dead fish seemed to "glide" straight into doggy's mouth, out of my sight. I was utterly amazed! (For a "mountain tortoise", this is one scene which I hardly ever witness.) My dear 189 had just swallowed a relatively big fish, effortlessly.
Here are some animals I saw on Wednesday night.
Me and Cp finally pop by the lab to see our dear friendsss. While we were inside, Sj was telling us that 186, one of the catch from Wednesday night, had died. After doing a dissection on the fellow, he found 14 fishes in its gut! I just went 'WAAAHHH!'. Amazing right! So cool huh, 14 fishes in the gut, ranging from very big ones to teeny weeny ones. And 186 itself is not even that big, probably about 3+ cm in diameter only. How can? Why did it swallow so many fishes when the rest weren't even digested yet? I always thought that they eat one and that's it. They will only feed after the food has been digested, but apparently not. The reason why it died was due to excessive bleeding. Sj found this wood splinter in the snake and when he did the dissection, he realised that the gut was already torn apart by the splinter. Ouch, poor snakey.
[Life is a cycle, so lets move on.]
189. Why is it special to me. Because it is the BIGGEST wild dog-faced that I have ever catch (til now). As the chinese saying goes, '姜是老的辣'. I was waiting for it to swallow the fish but it showed no intention to. It just swam around the rocks and I thought it was looking for a more secure spot to feed and avoid being swept away by the current. Nah. It continued navigating around the rocks while I looked on and eventually, Cp and I chased after the snake again. It was only when I saw the helpless fish flapping under doggy's bite did I realised that it was still alive. Smart fish. Smarter doggy. Dumb homosapien.
After much waiting, 189 finally began to savour its dinner. This fellow is a darn seasoned feeder! It looked as though there was a conveyor belt within the snake's mouth to transport the fish to the gut. The now-dead fish seemed to "glide" straight into doggy's mouth, out of my sight. I was utterly amazed! (For a "mountain tortoise", this is one scene which I hardly ever witness.) My dear 189 had just swallowed a relatively big fish, effortlessly.
Here are some animals I saw on Wednesday night.
I think this is the tree climbing crab. It looks like one. Spot the crab and the unknown dead insect? I actually saw the crab shredding the insect and eating it. EeewwW! And homosapiens eat crabs, though not this species.
I hate centipedes and it has never cross my mind that one can find centipedes at the canal! Yucks, just when I was beginning to feel at ease hunting around the canal and walking over barnacles infested rocks, I see centipedes! Apparently they can't swim. Haha! But they can jump on rocks! This BIG one was stranded on an isolated rock and I tried to capture it (with my camera of cos). I think it got startled by my camera's flash cos it began jumping on the rock! They are sensitive to light ah? All of us hate centipedes; Sj wanted to kill it and throw it into the water to feed the snakes, ha!
Nerite snails. Quite a lot on the rocks. They love rocks eh? Can find them on rock bunds too.
Crescent perch? Sj said its a perch. It was pretty, prettier than those you normally find in the canal. But pretty things do not last. We found that it died after the hunt ended.
Dead bird found by Sp. Young heron?
See the plaster on my leg? The work of the barnacles from my previous trip.
The site. Adios.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Fieldwork @ Pasir Ris Park - Birds sighting
I'm writing a list of birds that I saw in case I forgot after a few days (I have VERY short term memory, that's why.)
Location: On a tree at the carpark (the one at entry from Elias Rd)
1: A particular species of woodpecker, though I do not know which one. Why do I think it is a woodpecker? 'Cause I saw one at the mangrove region where I also hear it's pecking.
Location: On a tree at the carpark (the one at entry from Elias Rd)
1: A particular species of woodpecker, though I do not know which one. Why do I think it is a woodpecker? 'Cause I saw one at the mangrove region where I also hear it's pecking.
Location: At the mangrove area, facing the sea.
2: Kingfisher, Collared kingfisher I think. Prof D said it was a white breast kingfisher. Collared and white breast, I supposed they are the same?
This was taken 12th Aug 2006, also at Pasir Ris Park. Hmmm, could they be the same bird? Can be possible, hor.
Location: Near the mangrove area, inland.3: The ever common Oriole.
Location: Intertidal shore
4: Heron, has to be 'cause it's too big to be an erget. But I could not differentiate whether it's a Purple or Grey Heron.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Herpeday: Snake hunting VIII and the invasion of lizzies
Just came back from my first official trip with Sj and co. "First official" because the other trip to SBWR was a trial run. And I have not participated in any hunting trip after he changed his project from Puff-faced water snake (Homalopsis buccata) to Dog-faced water snakes (Cerberus rynchops).
Anyway it was an eye-opener! Yups, even though I have been to quite a number of hunting trips before, the dogs in SBWR are quite different from those you find in Pasir Ris. For your information, the Pasirians are darn determined hunters. Because Sj's project is on the diet of these water snakes, we only have to catch those who have fed themselves or who are feeding.
Anyway, I saw 3 feeding. And had observed 2 of them doing so myself. The first one was a big snake (relatively to those in SBWR) but the fish it was trying to swallow was twice its width! Still it managed to gobble up the whole fish, impressive! The thing was, it immediately went into the water upon swallowing the fish, as if knowing I was waiting to catch it. Darn, me and Cp chased after it until a distance before it decided to come on (rock)shore again.
The second snake had a much harder time trying to swallow the fish. Its prey was more than twice the width of its body and the poor little Pasirian's gape was just not wide enough , or so it seemed. But it persevered and finally managed to swallow 1/3 of the dead fish. It was so determined to swallow its prey that it tried means and ways to force it down its mouth. Firstly, the snake twist and turn its head to get the fish into its mouth. Then it swarm out into the water and tried to swallowed it (which I could not understand why). We gave chase again and continued our observation when it swarm to another point along the banks. One method used by doggy was it elevated its head and pointed it downwards, pressing the food (it was biting on) against the ground. I never knew if it managed to swallow at the end because it swarm away when another big snake came over to disturb it. Duh! Below is a picture of a doggy from SBWR. Apparently, it gave up on the fish after 30 mintues, unlike the Pasirians.
It is really interesting to note that the foraging behaviour of these snakes differ in both sites, albeit of the same species. The ones in SBWR seem to feed (mostly) on smaller fishes and adopted more of a 'sit-and-wait' hunting technique. On the other hand, the Pasirians have been observed to go around hunting for bigger preys. Still, there are those who just lay in wait in the water for small fishes to swim by. I saw one doing just that. Although it struck at lightning speed, the fish managed to elude its predator. Better luck next time doggy!
Me and Cp came to a conclusion that these guys do not always follow the optimal foraging theory. Being an optimal forager means that the snake will focus on consuming the most energy while expending the least amount of energy. But in the field, we can see that not all of them adopt this theory. Instead, they are observed to exercise the most efficient foraging strategies, in accordance to their physiology and the environment.
-------------------------------------------------------------
I was at Blk 7 (NIE) busstop in the afternoon (at about 11:45 a.m.) when I spotted 2 Changeable lizards (Calotes versicolor)!
Notice that lizzy1's throat was puffed up. But I don't why eh? Maybe it was trying to scare me away, ha.
Lizzy2! See the 2 white bands on the dorsal side of lizzy.
These exotic creatures are really adaptable, having intergrated well to life on this little island. They are so common that one could see them almost everywhere. Just on Monday, I saw 2 in school. In fact I have seen them around NTU on many occasions.
Anyway it was an eye-opener! Yups, even though I have been to quite a number of hunting trips before, the dogs in SBWR are quite different from those you find in Pasir Ris. For your information, the Pasirians are darn determined hunters. Because Sj's project is on the diet of these water snakes, we only have to catch those who have fed themselves or who are feeding.
Anyway, I saw 3 feeding. And had observed 2 of them doing so myself. The first one was a big snake (relatively to those in SBWR) but the fish it was trying to swallow was twice its width! Still it managed to gobble up the whole fish, impressive! The thing was, it immediately went into the water upon swallowing the fish, as if knowing I was waiting to catch it. Darn, me and Cp chased after it until a distance before it decided to come on (rock)shore again.
The second snake had a much harder time trying to swallow the fish. Its prey was more than twice the width of its body and the poor little Pasirian's gape was just not wide enough , or so it seemed. But it persevered and finally managed to swallow 1/3 of the dead fish. It was so determined to swallow its prey that it tried means and ways to force it down its mouth. Firstly, the snake twist and turn its head to get the fish into its mouth. Then it swarm out into the water and tried to swallowed it (which I could not understand why). We gave chase again and continued our observation when it swarm to another point along the banks. One method used by doggy was it elevated its head and pointed it downwards, pressing the food (it was biting on) against the ground. I never knew if it managed to swallow at the end because it swarm away when another big snake came over to disturb it. Duh! Below is a picture of a doggy from SBWR. Apparently, it gave up on the fish after 30 mintues, unlike the Pasirians.
It is really interesting to note that the foraging behaviour of these snakes differ in both sites, albeit of the same species. The ones in SBWR seem to feed (mostly) on smaller fishes and adopted more of a 'sit-and-wait' hunting technique. On the other hand, the Pasirians have been observed to go around hunting for bigger preys. Still, there are those who just lay in wait in the water for small fishes to swim by. I saw one doing just that. Although it struck at lightning speed, the fish managed to elude its predator. Better luck next time doggy!
Me and Cp came to a conclusion that these guys do not always follow the optimal foraging theory. Being an optimal forager means that the snake will focus on consuming the most energy while expending the least amount of energy. But in the field, we can see that not all of them adopt this theory. Instead, they are observed to exercise the most efficient foraging strategies, in accordance to their physiology and the environment.
-------------------------------------------------------------
I was at Blk 7 (NIE) busstop in the afternoon (at about 11:45 a.m.) when I spotted 2 Changeable lizards (Calotes versicolor)!
Notice that lizzy1's throat was puffed up. But I don't why eh? Maybe it was trying to scare me away, ha.
Lizzy2! See the 2 white bands on the dorsal side of lizzy.
These exotic creatures are really adaptable, having intergrated well to life on this little island. They are so common that one could see them almost everywhere. Just on Monday, I saw 2 in school. In fact I have seen them around NTU on many occasions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
