Common Sandpiper @ Labrador Park Nature Reserve

Common Sandpiper @ Labrador Park Nature Reserve from BeachBum on Vimeo.
This is a large video so do wait for it to stream fully before viewing! or join Vimeo to download the file. Click on the Vimeo link for better quality viewing.

01 Feb 2009 : Came across this Common Sandpiper (not-so-common nowadays) whilst at Labrador Park Nature Reserve. This one seems to be a resident bird as it is frequently seen on the promenade seawall looking for food.

Read more about this bird species here :
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Actitis_hypoleaucos.htm

Giant Clam - Tridacna maxima @ Jong 13Nov2008

Tridacna maxima @ Jong 13Nov2008 from BeachBum on Vimeo.
This is a large video so do wait for it to stream fully before viewing! or join Vimeo to download the file. Click on the Vimeo link for better quality viewing.



The ViddYou clip is exactly the same as the Vimeo one above...posted to test out the download speeds and stability of the respective servers....Vimeo seems to provide for much faster streaming.

Was fortunate to visit Pulau Jong, one of Singapore's smallest islands. During the reefwalk, one of the group spotted a giant clam and we were lucky to have a undergrad student, ML, who specialises in giant clams along for the trip. She identified it as a Tridacna maxima instead of a Tridacna squamosa because of the placement of the scutes.

The clip ends just as I get squirted by the giant clam. You can just about see the spout taking aim towards the camera. The clam can aim it's spout due to light sensitive cells in it's mantle (flesh).

more about giant claims :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/bivalvia/tridacnidae/tridacnidae.htm

more about the trip :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/bivalvia/tridacnidae/tridacnidae.htm
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2008/11/pulau-jong-with-giant-suprise.html
http://colorclouds.blogspot.com/2008/11/of-dwarfs-and-giant.html
http://wondercreation.blogspot.com/2008/11/maxima-giant-clam-at-jong.html

pygmy squid @ chek jawa 10Jan2009

pygmy squid @ chek jawa 10Jan2009 from BeachBum on Vimeo.
Came across this tiny pygmy squid at Chek Jawa on 10Jan2009 after the Team Seagrass session.
It was only about 2cm long and it seemed all orange which is a first time for me as I've seen similar squids all spotty before. It was doing a crazy dance going back and forth before finally settling on the sandy bottom.

The tide was coming in and so the water was beginning to turn murky.

For more on pygmy squids, see http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/cephalopoda/pygmy.htm

more links :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2009/01/chek-jawa-with-teamseagrass.html
http://wondercreation.blogspot.com/2009/01/first-2009-team-seagrass-trip-at-chek.html
http://teamseagrass.blogspot.com/2009/01/chek-jawa-10-jan-09.html
http://cjproject.blogspot.com/2009/01/2009-good-start-for-chek-jawa.html
http://psychedelic-nature.blogspot.com/2009/01/im-team-seagrass-noobie.html

VeryLargeMudCrab @Chek Jawa 10Jan2009

Came across this gianormous mud crab whilst the group was walking back after the Team Seagrass session. It went on the defensive and stretched out it's claws ready to lunge and snap.

An unusual thing about this crab was that there were hardly any growths (except for 1 barnacle like protusion on the back of the shell). I had expected that a crab this size would have more growths. (see http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/othercrust/ciriipedia/thompsonia.htm)

More Facts about Mud Crabs : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/crab/portunidae/scylla.htm

other blogs from the same trip :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2009/01/chek-jawa-with-teamseagrass.html
http://wondercreation.blogspot.com/2009/01/first-2009-team-seagrass-trip-at-chek.html
http://teamseagrass.blogspot.com/2009/01/chek-jawa-10-jan-09.html
http://cjproject.blogspot.com/2009/01/2009-good-start-for-chek-jawa.html
http://psychedelic-nature.blogspot.com/2009/01/im-team-seagrass-noobie.html

New Year's Eve Reefwalk Sampler @ Big Sister's 31 Dec2008

A combination of clips shot on 31Dec2008.
Actors :
2 false clown anemone fish (Nemos) : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/pomacentridae/ocellaris.htm
1 burrowing snake eel http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/ophichthidae/pisodonophis.htm
1 banded fish,
1 Spotted Glass Perchlet :http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/chandidae/spotted.htm
1 fringe eyed flathead fish : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/platycephalidae/nematophthalmus.htm
1 fish probably a Tropical Silverside : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/atherinidae/duodecimalis.htm
1 green luminous hard coral,
1 coral with long brown polyp tubes : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/coralhard/poritidae/gonbig.htm
1 flatworm : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/worm/polycladida/polycladida.htm
1 blue hard coral and fanworm,
1 moon headed side gilled slug :http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/slugs/notaspidae/euselenops.htm
2 two spot octopuses : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/cephalopoda/twospot.htm
1 green shrimp : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/othercrust/shrimp/penaeidae.htm

For more on the 31Dec2008 trip , see:
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2008/12/happy-new-year-from-sisters-island.html
http://leafmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/01/welcoming-2009-at-sisters-island.html

Burrowing Snake Eel @ Big Sisters 31Dec2008

Snake Eel from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Came across this snake-like fish (eel) at Big Sister's Island.
It did not mind my prescence at all and even wandered up to my boot but swam away.
It looked around for food before finally disappearing down a burrow, head first.

For more on the Burrowing snake-eel, see :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/ophichthidae/pisodonophis.htm

For more on the 31Dec2008 trip , see:
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2008/12/happy-new-year-from-sisters-island.html
http://leafmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/01/welcoming-2009-at-sisters-island.html