The first NHC (http://nakedhermitcrabs.blogspot.com/) guided walk for 2008 got off to a roaring start.
Isaac and his family had planned to come down to CJ for a walk. Along the way, they managed to pull along little Satish and his family visiting from India.
Here's CH briefing Satish & Co before the walk started.
First stop, the old well and second ...the grave tombstones...
Next, a little story about civet cat poo poo and the most expensive coffee on the planet.
Expensive coffee anyone?
Someone keenly spotted a Green Crested Lizard. Can you see it?
Next, a brief explanation on the 6 ecosystems (See http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/cj.htm) at CJ and an intro into Mangrove trees and their root systems and pod propagation.
What are the 6 ecosystems?
- the mangroves
- the sandy ecosystem
- the coral rubble area
- the seagrass lagoon
- the rocky shore
- the coastal hill forest
Ice Kachang anyone? Yumm! Looking at the Nipah palm fruits makes one desire a nice cool bowl of ice kachang topped with atap chee!
CH explaining about the native coastal Nipah Palm trees and Atap Chee.
some interesting links : http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/plants/palm_nipah.htm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipa_palm, http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/1068.htm)
Satish & Isaac begin to warm up with enthusiasm...asking about every little thing!
The ant-pod plant? Couldn't see any ants though.
Prop roots of mangrove trees provide a great protective nursery for small fish. This in turn ensure that one of the keystones in the marine foodchain is preserved and in turn ensures that we have fish for food...if we did not have the mangrove nurseries, our coastal ecosystems would suffer greatly...and maybe even be non-existent within a few years.
Satish spots a grasshopper!
...and then goes on to spot other things with infectious energy.
The group stopped for a look at the mud-lobster mounds...Unfortunately, no lobsters were brave enough to offer a glimpse of their hard exterior...unlike another group who managed to see one retreating into a mound.
What are mud lobsters and why are they sooo important?
Check out these links:-
1. http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/inverts/mudlobster.htm
2. http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/2064.htm
3. http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/pub/seashore/text/183.htm
4. http://www.wildsingapore.com/chekjawa/largfoto/m321ax.htm
The 3.0m tide encouraged a few Giant mudskippers to show themselves. This one was about 15cm long.
Soon it was time to climb up the tallest point in the east...Jejawi Tower. The cool air at the top and wonderful view made up for the effort. Check out the vast expanse of the Nipah palm forest. The massive sand bar ecosystem, which can be seen from the tower at low tides was totally submerged.
Strange discharge from the Nipah forest area. Looks like oil! Presumably, it is some sort of organic by-product of the hydrogen sulphide based decomposition of organic material...will need to check this out.
NExt, we made our way back down the tower and up onto the boardwalk again. Satish and co had to return and bid their farewells whilst Isaac carried on with his adventure in exploration.
Periwinkles(a type of marine snail which feed on algae) on a boulder.
Rock oysters....these are commonly found all over...even on the Ubin jetty steps...do look for them!
Issac's Dad spotted this yellow throated sunbird (off centre to the left) chirping away at the top of a tree.
We got back to House #1 a few moments before it started to drizzle for a few minutes.
Isaac started to draw his first masterpiece summarising his adventure. What a talented little chap!
A great NHC trip! and a good start for the NHC year!
More Information about Chek Jawa :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/chekjawa/text/cjguide.htm
What a fabulous blog! Thanks for sharing the delightful photos and stories.
ReplyDeleteIsaac's dad here. Thanks for taking us along for the ride and posting the lovely pictures. Will be back again when the tide is low.
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