sgbeachbum

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

oriental pied-hornbills @ SBWR 30Apr2011

A couple of birdwatchers looking up into the trees at the Mangrove Boardwalk piqued my interest as I could not make out what they were intently pointing and looking at. A change of viewpoint soon highlighted a pair of backlit birds with distinctive bills...hornbills!

The pair were grooming themselves on top of a mangrove tree. The bird on the left occasionally groomed the bird on the right. The bird on the right occasionally spread out its wings as if to give them a good stretch and even seemed to twist its neck.... It was as if the bird was doing some warm up exercises in preparation for some strenuous activity...or perhaps some confinement. Perhaps this was a mating pair with the female getting ready to be holed up somewhere close by. The birds had disappeared when I next looked up.

Later, I had overheard a volunteer saying that the hornbills may have been introduced to the reserve from elsewhere in Singapore as part of a breeding/re-introduction project.

Read more about the hornbills here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/birds/albirostris.htm
http://besgroup.talfrynature.com/index.php?s=Anthracoceros+albirostris
http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/ecolodge/58/oph/nesting.html

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

3 otters @ SBWR 30Apr2011

Here are the 3 smooth otters going off on their evening hunt (about 5pm). Interesting how the otters form a wall of teeth as they move through the water in close formation. This is a great way to corral fish into the shallows for easy catching. Or to look out for the resident crocodiles submerged in the water!

The otters swam up the main river and crossed the central embankment of smud (sand and mud). From the video, it looks like the first otter crossing the smud was a female with the distinctive nipples visible below its abdomen. The other two otters seemed a little smaller than the first one. There used to be up to 10 otters at one time a few years ago. Where did the rest go?

There have also been otter sightings at various other local shores like Pulau Ketam, Pulau Ubin, Chek Jawa, Changi, Pasir Ris, Woodlands Park and even Pulau Semakau!

eagles @ SBWR & Labrador

A short compilation of 2 white-bellied sea eagle clips. One was recently from SBWR and the other from 2010 at Labrador Nature Reserve. Both seemed to be juveniles and did not therefore did not sport the full white underbelly but instead showing some brownish colouration on the upper chest and patchy coloured wings.

eagles @ SBWR & Labrador from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Check out these links for more info about this majestic bird! :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-bellied_Sea_Eagle

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Haliaeetus_leucogaster.htm

http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/09/white-bellied-sea-eagle-not-just.html

http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_579_2005-01-05.html

Monday, May 2, 2011

wolf snake @ KNT 30Apr2011

Came across Dr Chua EK and friends photographing a house wolf snake just outside the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve carpark and where the Kranji Nature Trail begins. This snake is non-venemous and can be found all over Singapore, even in neighbourhood parks and it has also been seen on some of Singapore's Southern Islands. This particular specimen was about 40cm long.

wolf snake @ KNT 30Apr2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

black spitting cobra @ SBWR 30Apr2011

This 1.2m black beauty was trying to sun itself near the mangrove boardwalk when it got spooked by too many footsteps from the boardwalk. With a few flicks of its curves, it graciously slithered off into the safety of a nearby thicket.

equatorial spitting cobra @ SBWR 30Apr2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

It did not have the characteristic sharp narrow tail but a stubby thick one. Perhaps it had had a lucky escape but had to sacrifice its tail end.

Read more about this snake :
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/equatorial_spitting_cobra.htm

Sunday, May 1, 2011

apathetic fisherman @ SBWR 01May2011

I had seen a very similar (probably the same) canoe with person paddling past the exit of Sungei Buloh Besar yesterday and thought it unusual that anyone would want to canoe in this area but thought nothing of it as the canoe was moving along quite well.

Saw the canoe again this afternoon but this time the occupant was checking a long gill net. The net was very long and it covered the entire river mouth at Sungei Buloh Besar.

apathetic fisherman #1 @ SBWR 01May2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

As I was shooting from the main bridge, i decided to move over to Platform 1 to get a closer look as the kayak seemed to be headed that way. When I got to Platform 1, it was obvious that the net stretched right across to the mudbank opposite Platform 1 and where the channel to Platform 2 starts.

apathetic fisherman #2 @ SBWR 01May2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

I waited for the kayaker to get to the end of his net. He went along the whole of what seemed about 200m of net checking for fish or clearing the net of flotsam. When he came within earshot, I called out to him saying that he could not put his net across the mouth of the river or within the reserve.

apathetic fisherman #3 @ SBWR 01May2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

He shouted back insisting that he was 'outside' of the reserve. Sensing his reluctance to retrive his net, I promptly revealed my camera and pointed it in his direction. He 'got the picture' real quick and turned around to where the start of his net was and started pulling it into his kayak. He made quick work of retrieving the net whilst trying to keep his face away from the shore and away from the camera.

apathetic fisherman #4 @ SBWR 01May2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

I made my way back to the SBWR reception counter and informed the staff of the events. They promptly scrambled their team to intercept the kayaker whilst I made my way in advance to the Kranji Nature Trail bridge to see if I could get a clear shot of the kayaker. He paddled by making sure to avoid looking towards the camera and paddled his way in the direction of Kranji Dam.

apathetic fisherman #5 @ SBWR 01May2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

I met the SBWR team on their way out and informed them that the kayaker was already speedily moving towards Kranji. Not much point in tracking him down since his fishing sojourn had been abruptly ended. Plus the drizzle looked set to turn into a downpour. Upon looking at the pics (on the small camera LCD), it appears that this particular kayaker had put up nets before and the SBWR had taken action and removed the nets before.

Note to self : in case of intruding kayakers, fishermen, poachers - call the SBWR reception immediately so that they can activate their response team to intercept the intruders on the spot. By not informing at the earliest oppurtunity (whilst I was initially on the main bridge), I had inadvertently given the kayaker a lot of time to move around and eventually make his speedy kayak getaway.

Have a look at this post (and associated links) to see why these nets are are so dangerous : http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-fishing-please-kranji-nature-trail.html

Sungei Buloh currently has 3 resident otters, a couple of crocodiles and many many monitor lizards. All of these can easily get caught in these gill nets and drown with the tides. Indeed, there is a recent record of a crocodile found dead caught up in a net. (See here.).

We should take better care of our Nature Reserves and their natural residents. Help SBWR effectively monitor intruding fishermen and nets! Inform the staff ASAP so that timely and effective action can be taken. The main line is +65 6794 1401.

Fishing enthusiasts should realise that leaving long gill nets unattended can result in inadvertent deaths of already critically endangered marine animals. This is especially so in critical areas near mangroves and on seagrass meadows. Setting up a net near such areas is inviting trouble and we cannot afford to lose even one such animal.

Please Mr. Fisherman! Help us save our endangered animals.

Update :
02May2011 - located the kayak at the Kranji Dam cove. Looks like there is a small fishing community there with some 'permanent' gear stored at the park. This is not mere recreational fishing as it looks as if there was some selling and buying going on.