Semakau Again

17 November 2009 - We're back on Pulau Semakau! But this time, we're exploring the "old shore" - which is new to me, since this is the first time I'm visiting it. Ha! Perhaps I may finally get to see my very first knobby sea star! =P

We were blessed with beautiful weather, which was really unexpected as it had been raining every afternoon for the last few days.

Professor Benito Tan kindly shared with us his knowledge of the plants on the shore. This is the fruit of a pandan plant.

He also shared a most interesting legend about the sea lettuce and its distinctive "half-flower" shaped flowers.

While exploring the high shore, we saw two pairs of kites gliding gracefully in the clear blue sky...

The death zone - a designated path used by shore explorers to minimise trampling when crossing the seagrass lagoon.

Spotted this beautiful shore bird in the distance...

If the Semakau "new" shore is huge, then this "old" shore is vast! This is only a teeny weeny portion of the whole shore!

Common Sea Star... Saw a small colony of them on the sandy shore.

Ribbed Venus Clam. I like its pure white shell. =)

and this is another type of bivalve - a Large Cockle. First time seeing one with such stunning colours.

The Pearl Conch is a popular shellfish served in many seafood restaurants in Singapore. This snail is also known locally as the Gong-gong.

This beautiful snail is a Noble Volute. This juvenile is the best specimen I've seen on my intertidal trips thus far.

and here's another noble volute, laying eggs.

Orange-clawed Snapping Shrimp...

This cute purplish crab is a Fiddler Crab. You can tell that this crab is a female as both its pincers are small. Male fiddler crabs have one enlarged pincer, often in a bright colour that contrasts with its shell. The enlarged pincer is not used to hunt food or to fend off predators. Instead, it is used to attract females and to intimidate rival males.

Red Swimming Crab... I accidentally interrupted its mealtime, and this fella waved its pincers at me menacingly...

The "teddy bear" of our shores... a Hairy Crab.

Lacy Red Seaweed. First time seeing one. I initially thought this was some kind of coral... =S

a bright orange Sponge... very conspicuous in the seagrass lagoon. Quite interesting to see the huge "cavities" in this sponge.

This is a Banded Frilly Anemone.

Coral? Nope, this is the Pizza Anemone... Another first sighting for me. =)

There are many different types of corals on the shore...

Octopus! I'm always amazed at how fast they can change colours and patterns to blend in with their surroundings.

and here's another one...

This is our most interesting and exciting, but also the most dangerous find for the day... a Hollow-cheeked Stonefish! This well-camouflaged fella is about 25cm long! *shudders*

It is really difficult to spot stonefishes as they really do resemble stones. The only thing that gives it away is probably its up-turned mouth.

and this is the Garlic Bread Sea Cucumber. Don't you think it really looks like a loaf of garlic bread?

Black Long Sea Cucumber. Pretty weird to find this in the seagrass lagoon. This poor fella probably got washed up by the tide.

The sky darkened ominously as we were making our way back towards dry land. Luckily for us, we managed to get onto our transport and back to the visitor's centre just before the thunderstorm caught us!

The power of nature is indeed awe-inspiring. Lightning and thunder clashed overhead as the rain came down in sheets, accompanied by gale-force wind. A pretty scary experience with the fury of Mother Nature.

Back to Pulau Semakau

6 November 2009 - We're back again on Semakau! This is yet another good trip with many interesting sightings. But of course, since we're there to help Mei Lin with her project, the main subject for the day would still be....

Giant Clams! This is the same clam that Kok Sheng found on our previous trip. It quickly clammed up when it sensed our presence!

Here's another one, partially submerged in water and more relaxed, exposing its fleshy body...

Wandering Cowrie... Cowries are threatened by over-collection due to their highly prized shells.

This is a Reef Bristleworm.

And a really tiny shrimp on a Haddon's Carpet Anemone...

This Hairy Crab looked kinda "muddy"... need a hairdryer perhaps?

Ha! I finally managed to get a picture of a Mosaic Reef Crab! This is the most poisonous crab in Singapore. There are several documented deaths caused by eating this crab as cooking doesn't destroy its toxins.

Is this a Chequered Cardinalfish? I like its colour... don't you think the fish is pretty photogenic?

And this is a Toadfish. This fish can really "croak" like a toad!

Copperband Butterflyfish! Isn't it pretty? The false eye on its dorsal fin serves to distract potential predators.

Peek-a-boo! No idea what this fish is though...

Giant Carpet Anemone... with a very shy False Clown Anemonefish hiding among its tentacles... Can you spot the fish?

Frilly Anemone... Saw quite a number of them today.

This is a White-rumped Sea Cucumber. As its name suggests, the distinguishing feature of this sea cucumber is the white or greyish zone around the rear-end.

And this is the Durian Sea Cucumber. The surface of this cucumber does indeed look a bit like durian skin!

hmm... is this a Smooth Sea Cucumber?

a Lined Chromodoris Nudibranch! This pretty nudibranch is quite commonly found on our southern shores.

And two cute Polka-dot Nudibranch engaging in procreation. =)

Somehow, I can't help thinking that this nudibranch looks a lot like...
a cow! ~moo~

Brown Striped Flatworm. This is a first sighting for me...

and another first - a Dog-faced Watersnake! Ria found it snacking on a fish.

A Yellow-lipped Sea Krait! This beautiful snake is highly venomous but is quite docile and will not bite unless provoked. But still, it is best to leave it alone.

Had a short but really interesting and fulfilling field trip today. This new shore is definitely worth many more visits!

Sentosa!

4 November 2009 - We're back on Sentosa! This time, we had a good "foot reflexology" session exploring the rocky shores of the island. The weather today was really pleasant - a little sunshine with a gentle breeze - a perfect day to be out!

Nerite Snails can be seen crawling about on many of the rocks... I find them kinda cute with their tentacles peeking out from the shell...

We were all happy and excited to see a colony of these not-so-common Common Sea Stars.

a Haddon's Carpet Anemone... also saw a couple of really tiny shrimps among the anemone...

Dragonets... there were many of them in the shallow pool. We saw at least 5 of them.

Egg case... no idea which creature it belongs to though...

Pearl Conch, or more commonly known as "Gong-Gong"...

Scallop! a first sighting for me! this fella actually squirted water at Kok Sheng for annoying it too much with his non-stop photo-taking! hahaha...

and another one....

We saw many Frilly Anemones today...

and another one....

and quite a number of Hairy Crabs too... don't you think they look a bit like teddy bears?

and this really, really tiny Gymnodoris Nudibranch (less than 1cm in length)... this poor fella was being "washed about" by the incoming tide...

Surprisingly, quite a number of these Peanut Worms were spotted on the shore today. According to Kok Sheng, these worms are seldom seen as they mostly remain underground.

and my favourite find of the day - an Ornate Leaf Slug! Another first sighting for me. =)

I inititally thought that this was just another piece of seaweed. Good thing the orange margin on its body caught my eye, or I'll have missed this beautiful slug!

Isn't it pretty?

We ended our trip with sightings of numerous Land Hermit Crabs... these fella seemed to be out in full force today. We saw at least 5 of them!

Today's trip was pretty short, and the tide wasn't that low... but still, we had a good haul!