Saturday, February 17, 2007

Common Gliding Lizard & Banded Woodpecker @ SBG by meerkat(AngHY)




There are interesting creatures at SBG as well! Happy CNY to you!
link

edit: thanks to AngHY for allowing me to reproduce his images for direct viewing!

OT: Wildlife Photo Contests

Sony Nature (ending 28 Feb hurry!)
http://www.a-click-of-nature.com.sg/aclick/index.htm
Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/Competition/

Sorry for the off topic but thought this might interest you readers.. here's a photo to finish this pseudo post :)


Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Mangrove tree dwelling crab Selatium brockii @Southern Isle by kevin


Mangrove tree dwelling crab Selatium brockii @Southern Isle by kevin
Originally uploaded by koiyau.

This crab was posing quite inanimately on a juvenile mangrove tree. (am tempted to call it Mangrove small tree Clinging for dear life crab) Thanks to the sharp eye of ysf (who was trying to id the tree actually) I could take a close shot of this crab and id it from a BP guidebook from the greenish tinge of the eye. I am guessing the loss of habitat for this crab forced it to find shelter in quite an inappropriate tree size for itself

Male Ornamental tree trunk spider by syazkal

link

Friday, January 26, 2007

Variable squirrel Callosciurus finlaysonisnacking noni fruit by Daniel Koh


Wow haven't even heard of this particular species before. Its also known as Finlayson's squirrel species name is Callosciurus finlaysoni . Id is by Daniel Koh (how does he spot these creatures??) Got the name from Kwok Wai's Wildlife Singapore. Its listed at wikipedia as an introduced species (i can't confirm this. anyone can verify?)

Budak points to this other source that says its introduced

p.s. for more shots of this furry creature check out Daniel's post

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Land hermit crab Coenobita purpureus @ Southern Isles by Kevin


Land hermit crab Coenobita cavipes @ Southern Isles by Kevin
Originally uploaded by koiyau.

Ha this poor bloke was housed in a Giant East African snail shell (which is very incongruous with a sea shore). Even though the shell was already pretty large, the Land Hermit Crab still can't hide itself into the shell. Oh well at least the soft bits are protected.

wow thanks felix for digging up this old post!

I based my id on this http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/2063.htm

will doublecheck this...

here's relevant links for those interested in the differences.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coenobita_purpureus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coenobita_cavipes

Storkbilled Kingfisher Taken @ Pasir Ris Mangrove Swamp

there's also a unknown bird in this thread
link

Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis by Arthur Chng

Female with a fish

link

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Seahorse @ Chek Jawa by Shufen


For their other finds check out Teamseagrass

Thanks Shufen for letting to use her great photo!

Sunday, December 31, 2006

Paradise Tree Snake Chrysopelea paradisi @ SBG by Micheal Lim

http://forums.clubsnap.com/showthread.php?t=247488

"The Paradise Tree Snake is considered by some to be rare, however in Singapore it is commonly encountered in a variety of habitats including mangrove, secondary forest, and parks and gardens. This is a back-fanged colubrid with weak venom sufficiently powerful to immobilise its small prey, which comprises mainly tree-dwelling lizards. The species is active by day."
Excerpted from ecologyasia.com

Hmmm I wonder with all the rain what happens to the sun loving reptiles... probably more lethargic and more daring to come out into the open for more warmth..Excellent combi for photography?

Monday, December 25, 2006

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Elegant bronzeback(?) eating a Green crested lizard by yangsf






Can anyone convince the snake to change its diet to the more common non-native Calotes?

ps is this elegant bronzeback?

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Striped Kukri Snake @ Lower Pierce by Mendis


http://forums.clubsnap.com/showpost.php?p=2687206&postcount=1

Phew one more post before i log off... there's a comment on whether the blue tip is part of a microchip tracking device? Any idea ppl?

Thanks for Mendis for kindly offering his photo for me to use on this blog. Photo copyrights belong to him!

Carpet Eel Blenny Congrogadus subducens @ Raffles Lighthouse by Danny Soh


Nice close up shot of a marine fishie!

Type: Blenny
Scientific Name: Congrogadus subducens
Common Name: Carpet Eel Blenny
Date Taken: 4th Feb 2006
Place: Raffles Lighthouse, at depth of about 6m.
Size : Slightly larger than the size of a large tube of tooth paste

Hard coral genera of Singapore by Jeff Low and Staad3

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cat64fish/sets/72157594364391590/

post from Jeff
"I started to compile some of my hard coral photos and put them in this album. As my collection grows, hopefully it will cover all the coral genera that we have in Singapore. Sorry I can't go to species, because most (but not all) corals will require microscope work for that. The main reason I started this was because most of the idenification websites either cannot be searched, or use scientific names to search. If I already knew the scientific name (or common name), I probably won't need to search, right? So, anyway, at least for corals, you can use growth form to narrow down your search, based on the collection that is in the album. Staad3 has also contributed some of her photos If this "idenitification" album works out, I will try to do for the other organisms as well. Comments to improve the search functions of the album welcome. If you have photos you would like to add to the collection, please let me know. Enjoy! Jeff"

Bruguiera cylindrica @ SBWR by Sherlynn


This picture of the flowers of the Bruguiera cylindrica was taken at about 9:28 am on the 26th of November at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (Mangrove Boardwalk).

edit: yangsf has kindly pointed out that this is a picture of Bruguiera cylindrica actually :) and not Nyrieh (Xylocarpus granatum)
"
The leaves of Nyrieh do not grow in a whorl and are compound leaves, not simple leaves as shown in the picture posted. The flowers are also different. Below is a pic of Xylocarpus granatum, leaves :) "


CoUrTeSiEs:
OnG QiAn Yi SheRLyNn

Yellow Bittern hunting @ SBWR by skfoo

http://forums.clubsnap.com/showthread.php?t=244574
beautiful series of photos by skfoo once again. This time its of a Yellow
Bittern hunting for fish

Little heron Butorides striatus catching a tilapia(?) @ SBG by Steven

http://forums.clubsnap.com/showthread.php?t=242806
haha I wonder if the little heron finally got the fish into itself. I suspect that the fish is a tilapia (an introduced food species) which is very aggressive both in behaviour and in terms of replacing many of the native fish species. I never thought that other than humans there are animals that feed on tilapias here in Singapore.

read more about little herons here
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Butorides_striatus.htm

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Various marine life

Sea snakes, Eeltail catfishes, pufferfish, Anemone shrimps, etc at this unexpected stretch of shore at Sentosa where wild life other than Stone fishes can be found
link

" TWO small cuttefish" and "groupers, rabbitfish, fusiliers and TONS of nudibranches." and "Juvenile Tigertail Seahorse" at P. Hantu..
link

Note: I be away for army training so expect a break of 3 wks for this blog.. sorry guys..

Monday, October 30, 2006

the true nature of naturespies-PostgreSQL, GIS,GPS, photos

Dear readers,
I don't know if i have mentioned this before but I had loftier dreams
for naturespies than in its current incarnation. The idea was a photo
database preferably with GPS coords and time of spotting of the
individual(hmm shld add comments about individual markings to id the
individual). The idea was a wildlife research resource. So that
population statistics and even movements of these animals can be
tracked and be used in studies. Trap and recapture info would be great
too. The initial idea was met with slight opposition which are valid
concerns about the data being used for poaching. (so i think i should
refine the idea to keeping the coords data open to people who email me
for access). I am still in the process of refining the design of the
database. Any comments and ideas are appreciated! email me if privacy
is required :)

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Leopard Lacewing Cethosia cyane (Drury, 1773) @ Jurong by Sunny Chir


"here is a record shot of a male Leopard Lacewing taken in the shade at low shutter speed on the vicinity where the 2 females were shot "


link
Photos and text copyright of Bluesteel edit: Thanks for allowing me to repro the fantastic pics!
excerpted from original post
"One specimen of the butterfly was first seen and recorded on Western Singapore on 13 Dec 05 , another butterfly was last seen on 7th June 06 at Upper Seletar Reservoir Park.Have the good fortune of encountering 3 of them today on a field off Old Jurong Road.With this encounter , it appears that the butterfly has established itself on the Island."

to see more of Sunny Chir's photos (Silverstreak) for more beautiful butts go to The Circle of Butterfly

possibly Clouded Monitor Varanus nebulosus @ BTNR by Leonardo

link
pending verification
clues
1) smaller (scale from the logs)
2) its in BTNR (forested areas are the Clouded Monitor's habitat)
3) pending (position of the nostril)

Green Crested Lizards

link
Wow a starting post by hiker invited lots of shots by various ppl. warning- not for those with lizard phobia ;)

Wagler's Pit Viper @BTNR by hiker,sponge

Close up shots by Daniel of the adult and a headshot of a juvenile by sponge.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Owl in Jurong Apartment by Yullis Gwei

video at
http://202.157.174.100/20061019-news-owl/Player.html
Original post in http://www.stomp.com.sg/stompcast/newstips.html

'Exotic owl found in Jurong apartment   19 Oct 2006 - It's not everyday a 'giant flying object' lands in your living room. Yullis Gwei and her son, Jia Jun, were stunned to find an exotic-looking owl in her Jurong East condominium on 12 October. The owl was later released back into the wild by condo's security guards. "Could it be the haze that is causing this unusual big bird from the wild to seek refuge in buildings?" Yullis wondered.'

sorry wanted to link to the article but the site isn't done like a blog with a permanent link. So I had to resort to replicating the post here in case it gets lost.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Mousedeer spotted! Rare sighting! by Daniel Koh


cropped pic
link to CS

WOW! Double Wow!! Daniel has outdone himself again by managing to photo a mousedeer *gasp* in our forests this weekend!
Trying to get more details
added a cropped pic with the copyright left in for a better view
in here...

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Banded Leaf Monkey by hiker/Daniel Koh



http://forums.clubsnap.com/showthread.php?t=225021
New sighting for today!! It wasn't too long ago that Daniel spotted them!
Thanks Daniel for kindly allowing me to directly link to his pictures.

edit: sorry to Daniel for getting his name wrong! Wat a faux pas!!

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

kacang-kacang Aegiceras corniculatum @ Pulau Ubin by Shufen


kacang-kacang Aegiceras corniculatum @ Pulau Ubin by Shufen
Originally uploaded by koiyau.

Spotted by Shufen on one of our trips to Ubin, this uncommon mangrove plant

was just beside us when we were looking at mudskippers. Its in a rather

precarious position right now.(right beside a track). A funny story was that

when we saw the propagules, one of us thought its immature, another thought

that it can't be all immature at the same time and clustered together in one

bunch. Guess who was right? Hint: check out the word crytovivipary



mangrove flora: kacang-kacang (Aegiceras corniculatum)

http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/1048.htm

Vivipary

http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/1044.htm

Monday, August 21, 2006

Red Jungle Fowl Gallus gallus @Central Catchment area by Daniel


link to post

Wow. Another rare sighting and by hiker (aka Daniel Koh). They are rare and even described as "almost living dinosaurs and are of great interest and value." ( ref1). I saw pics of it at the Ubin info center and on habitatnews, but never thought that they can be spotted on mainland. But apparently I was wrong when I checked this with Dr Wee YC from the BES blog

edit: added photo whose permission was kindly granted by daniel. All copyright remain his.
References

Jungle Fowl
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4665/JUNGFOWL.htm
Pulau Ubin stories
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/heritage/ubin/stories/2004/06/red-jungle-fowl.html

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Green Crab Spiders Dieta virens (Thorell) 1891 by tchuanye



Great photos again by tchuanye looking at these photos I would think this spider is really really hard to spot. Much less to photograph so beautifully. I can hardly id this from the online photo in the guidebook.
if you wish to purchase any of his pictures
visit his gallery at http://www.tchuanye.smugmug.com

"A Guide to Common Singapore Spiders" by Joseph K. H. Koh
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/spiders/text/Dieta_virens.htm

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Banded Leaf Monkeys @ Lower Pierce Trail by hiker






link to clubsnap post
WOW!! .. Rare sighting !!!

note: thanks to hiker for generously allowing me to post the pics here for you!
all rights remain his.


if the name doesn't say it all for you visit here for the reason why this is exciting
http://www.wildsingapore.per.sg/discovery/factsheet/bandleafmonkey.htm


and here's the firsthand account of the sighting!
(with minor edits to hide the location to protect the monkeys)
email if u NEED to know the location.
p.s. i wonder if there were sightings of more than a pair by others.

its was friday, 11aug, about 1745hrs.
i was walking along lower peirce reservoir, XXX trail.
then i heard a loud 'crash' among the canopies, at first glance,
i thought they were the common long-tailed macaque...,
then i saw one swinging pass the trees like a spider monkey!!

!!Banded Leaf Monkeys!!!
then a second one swing by.. , about 20m behind the first one.
i took out my camera to shoot but no more came by....
THERE ARE ONLY TWO???

both the monkeys disappeared into the trees before i could get any shot.., i waited at that spot for some time to see if there is any
more coming.... , sadly, no..

so judging the direction they were going..,
i made my way to XXX trail and waited..

15mins later, both of them came by again!
i managed to shoot those few pics shown in clubsnap..
then they disappeared again heading south..

then i made my way south too, but the forest ends there,
behind the petrol kiosks...,
there were dozens of long-tailed macaque there, some cars
drove by, throwing some food out to feed them.
so i dun think i will see them appear again, so sad.

the end.
http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/lptmap1.htm

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Great-billed Heron Ardea sumatrana by skfoo

another great series by skfoo here's the writeup excerpted from his post

images and text copyright of Foo Sai Khoon!

Great-billed Heron (Ardea sumatrana)

I have seen a Great-billed Heron on a number of occasions at Chek Jawa (Pulau Ubin). Alone in solitary as it hunts on the mudflats/sandy banks during low tides. Accordingly, this is the tallest living bird in Singapore. It is bigger than the more commonly seen Grey Heron and easily mistaken for the Purple Heron. As its name suggest, it is known for its massive bill. It is a rare resident of the South Islands, very rarely seen on the mainland (West and East only). Its habitat is mangroves, mudflats and rocky islets.

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Squirrel eating durians by KK

link

Heh the REAL reason why we shouldn't poach tasty durians in the reserve. It might be a nice treat for us but seasonal treats like this might be  supplementing  the diet of various  animals in the reserve

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Nudibranch Tambja oliva ? by Staad3



Type: Nudibranch
Scientific Name: Tambja oliva?
Common Name:
Date Taken: 19 Feb 2006
Place: Western patch reef, Pulau Hantu, at depth of 9m.

Kevin: Lovely shot!

edit:
staad3 sent me this link which might be a clue to its identity.
Anyone knows if its a new species sighting for Singapore?
http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=tamboliva

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Four Lined Tree Frog Polypedates leucomystax by syazkal

link

Excellent closeup shots of this "common yet charming species" this color variation is quite different from the one shown in the ecology asia site. But one shot showed the four lines very clearly. ( N.B. feel free to contest the id of this animal I am not sure actually)

ecology asia
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/amphibians/four-lined-tree_frog.htm

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Rare! Black-winged Starling Acridotheres melanopterus (Daudin, 1800) by Amit

link to post
Shot by Amit
Apparently this is a rare resident of Singapore and this particular shot is of a juvenile. Thanks to Husky for the ID
more adult pics here

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Purple Heron @ Sungei Buloh by szekiat

link

Purple Heron caught in flight!

Ornamental Tree-Trunk Spider Herennia ornatissima @ Pasir Ris Spice Garden by syazkal

link to CS post
There's a few macro shots in this series taken by syazkal most interesting is the shots of the Ornamental Tree-Trunk Spider which is well camouflaged.

References:
"A Guide to Common Singapore Spiders" by Joseph K. H. Koh
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/spiders/text/Herennia_ornatissima.htm

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Blue spotted stingray @ Pulau Hantu by Thio (staad3)


A regular contributor to the Marine residents thread in clubsnap! Here
is one of her posts showing the diversity of life hidden in the waters!

Type:Fish
Scientific Name:
Common Name: Blue spotted stingray
Date Taken: 18 Mar 2006
Place: Western Patch Reef, Pulau Hantu, at depth of about 5m.
p.s. Pics are copyright of staad3

edit:hmmm my email to blog pipeline isn't working need to figure out why.. here's the pic again sorry guys!

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Male Laced Woodpecker @ Bukit Batok by TanHB

http://forums.clubsnap.com/showthread.php?t=207829
quote "Was at Bt Batok Nature Park looking for insects, suddenly heard
someone firing a machine gun behind me, turn my head around and saw this
gunner."

Spotted Wood OwlStrix seloputo and Barn Owl Tyto alba by Arthur Chng

link to pics

Excellent shots of our resident owls! I am still looking for my first!

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Hornbill sighting of the unnatural kind

The picture does say it all doesn't it? U can hardly argue with domestication of dogs, cats, chickens as pets. For dogs, u have to walk them to keep them happy with activity. But I can hardly imagine any sort of activity (mental/physical) that will keep these two happy to be caged up. For me the joy of observing any animal is watch its behaviour in relation to its environment i.e. bird behaviour described in the BES blog, heck even a cat stalking a house gecko is visually more entertaining than a caged hornbill with no stimulation.
The keeping of rare/exotic pets/plants is certainly a problem that can't be solved overnight. Especially when there is no overwhelming impetus for the local authorities to stem the problem. I have heard stories even of biologists guilty of such things. Things like these makes you reflect on the human condition and suddenly you are not amazed at why the world is in a mess.

here's the rest of the original post from Joseph Lai.
"I cannot begin to describe how heavy my heart felt recently when I found two huge Blyth's Hornbills being crammed into a tiny cage and put on sale at Chua's Pet Trading in Hougang. If there is any proverbial cupboard where skeletons are to be found in 'First World' Singapore, Hougang is one. It's the 'Guantanamo Bay' of Singapore... and freedom is taken away for no other crime than being 'wild and exotic' birds.

What else can I say?
: (

Beyond what I have just wrote, how do I begin to describe the intimacy with which our own freedom are tied to theirs? I am truly lost for words.

However, let me share this photo (right), and invite you to step back in time with me and witness how insistent the hornbills were at biting the cold hard wire
of the cage. They just want to be free; as free as all wild birds are born to be.

Would you, my dear sentient friends, share your thoughts and feelings with me too? I look forward to post them faithfully here. Thank you.
WHEN THE BUYING STOPS, THE TRADING WILL TOO."

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Banded Woodpecker @Fort Canning Park by Denosha


link to clubsnap post

haven't got much luck with woodpeckers myself. I wonder where these ppl keep finding them! ;p
Thanks to Denosha for graciously letting me post the pic here. Do visit http://denosha.shutterchance.com for more shots!

1st record of Buffy Fish Owl Ketupa ketupu @Sentosa by Yury


link

With regards to the earlier id which was wrong this is actually the rare Buffy Fish Owl Ketupa ketupu. Great Catch Yury! And according to Subaraj, this is a first species record for that island!

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Paradise Tree Snake Chrysopelea paradisi @ Sungei Buloh by

link
Wow its just lying on the boardwalk! Lucky chap.. of course he could be luckier and actually spot it 'flying' ... (Yups this snake is able to flatten its body and glide through the air!)
"The Paradise Tree Snake is considered by some to be rare, however in Singapore it is commonly encountered in a variety of habitats including mangrove, secondary forest, and parks and gardens. "

p.s. read on the thread about another blog on Singapore Snakes

References
Snakes of Southeast Asia : Paradise Tree Snake - Chrysopelea paradisi
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/paradise_tree-snake.htm

Flying Snake Home Page by Jake Socha, University of Chicago: frequently asked questions on the species, quick-time video clips of their flight, photos, maps of their distribution, taxonomic details

Woodpeckers Common Flameback Dinopium javanense) @ Pasir Ris Park, Holland by Nur Bin Muhammad and hiker

A thread in clubsnap with quite a few woodpecker shots
There's one pic of a woodpecker pecking at its reflection in a mirror. Here's a funny report on the damage that it can do (non-ecologically speaking).It's  probably trying to fend off rivals, but I didn't expect females to do it as well. Doing a search on the topic made me realise I was wrong,

Bagworm renovating its bag, photos & write up by Adrian Wee

This is a mystery solved for me. For ages I have wondered what creature hides within this clump of twigs, being the morally inclined naturalist, i was reluctant to pry the home open to appease my curiosity.  But now I know!

here's a passage from the excellent writeup
"Bagworms are a group of highly specialized lepidopterans belonging to the family Psychidae and exhibit extreme development of sexual dimorphism. Males are winged whereas females lack functional appendages. Larvae of both males and females, soon after hatching from the eggs climb up to the top of their host plants in order to have an access to the soft and palatable tips of the growing shoots. They construct a small but tough bag of silk of either cylindrical or conical shape and glue small fragments of plant tissues around their cases. Larvae always keep their body inside the cases. While moving about, their head and thorax are protruded out so that they move forward on their thoracic legs dragging the case behind them, which is gripped by hooks on the abdominal prolegs. When taking rest, the rims of the cases remain attached to a twig by means of silken thread so that the cases hang vertically with both their openings remaining closed."

Savanna Nightjar Caprimulgus affinis by Foo Sai Khoon

Excellent writeup with great pics to boot! No mention of locality where he spotted this one but he does mention where u can see them

here's a preview of his writeup
"Nightjars are birds of legend. In the 17th century Britain, nightjars are thought to be "goatsucker" as people really believed that nightjars visited goats at night and drank their milk! Incidentally, Caprimulgus is a latin word for goatsucker. So you can imagine there are calls for action and cries for the creature blood. But none of the frightened crowd volunteers to venture out into the night ……
In south-eastern parts of USA, it was once thought that the number of times a Whip-poor-will (related to nightjar) sang in succession indicated the number of years it would be before a man married.
In Sulawesi, the Satanic or Diabolical Nightjar (Eurostopodus diabolicus) was named because of the belief that the call it made by night was the sound of it pulling out people eyes!"

p.s. sorry for the long break in posting i shall endeavour to post more frequently!

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Defensive Colugo mother spotted by Daniel Koh




link

A mother colugo and her baby shot by hiker from clubsnap. If you are wondering why a colugo needs to fear Homo sapiens you can read it here. The joy of a chance meeting in the reserves with a wild animal is indescribable. To be able to take pictures of them and show others takes the enjoyment of nature up a notch. The mildest word i can think of to use on poachers that choose to take away all these from us is SELFISH. The stronger words I shall reserve.

Thanks to Daniel for graciously providing me with the images!