sgbeachbum

Sunday, August 5, 2012

mangrove pit viper @ lim chu kang - 04Aug2012

This little critter was found late into the pre-National Day Lim Chu Kang cleanup and of all places, right outside a staging point on the beach and before the mangrove proper. At the start of the cleanup, seeing some of the Cleanup volunteers heading into the mangrove behind the beach, I took the oppurtunity to tell them about keeping a good lookout for snakes especially the mangrove or shore pit viper. (I had read that there were pit vipers in the Lim Chu Kang mangroves though i had never seen one myself despite quite a few trips into this mangrove.)

It was only much later when the group was preparing to remove the collected trash that someone spotted the dark maroon snake coiled around a low branch on a small tree on the beach right near to where the supplies (trash bags, gloves etc.) had been kept.

Once its existence was known, the cleanup volunteers were informed to keep their distance from the tree so as not to invite an unfortunate defensive bite from the snake. The tiny snake, which could have been about 25cm long, hardly moved at all and I think it thought it was doing a good job blending in with the tree and minding its own business.

Best to let sleeping snakes lie and keep a respectful distance.

mangrove pit viper @ lim chu kang - 04Aug2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Read more about the cleanup :
The 37 volunteers cleared 83 trash bags containing 669kg of trash (not including bulky items which were not weighed).
http://coastalcleanup.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/pre-national-day-coastal-cleanup-2012/
http://www.purplemangrove.blogspot.sg/2012/08/iccs-pre-national-day-coastal-cleanup.html (in mandarin)

black-spitting cobra @ lim chu kang mangroves - 04Aug2012

Came across this beauty about a metre long basking in the morning sun near a Rhizophora. It certainly startled me as I did it. I had instantly thought i was about to have my first supernatural experience in the mangroves with the tree roots coming to life and moving. It silently slid into the tangle of prop roots below the Rhizophora. ... i could not resist but follow it to make sure where it had gone to. It had moved into the shadows below the prop roots right in the middle of the tangle. After ascertaining that it was safe in the tangle of roots, i knew i was safe to walk on and I did, but I kept a close watch all about me both on the ground for cobras as well as on passing branches for the well-camouflaged pit vipers known to inhabit the mangrove woods.

black spitting cobra @ lim chu kang - 04Aug2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

scarlet-backed flowerpecker @ sg buloh - 29Jul2012

This little bird with a bright red stripe over the top of its head caught my attention as it tried to deal with a rather large Indian Cherry tree berry at the entrance of the SBWetland Reserve. It looked like it was trying to squeeze the berry in its beak no doubt to extract the pulp. It occasionally tilted its head back to help the extracted pulp flow down its throat.

It was unperturbed by the much larger oriental-pied hornbills a few feet away in the same tree.

scarlet-backed flowerpecker @ sg buloh - 29Jul2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Read more about this colourful little bird :

http://www.besgroup.org/2009/10/04/scarlet-backed-flowerpecker-eating-indian-cherry/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlet-backed_Flowerpecker

http://www.besgroup.org/2012/07/20/scarlet-backed-flowerpecker-feeding-on-myrmecodia-fruits/

http://www.besgroup.org/2011/12/07/scarlet-backed-flowerpecker-feeding-on-fruits-of-scurrula/

http://www.besgroup.org/2011/12/10/scarlet-backed-flowerpecker-taking-viscum-ovalifolium-fruits/

Sunday, July 29, 2012

grey-headed fish eagle @ sg buloh - 29July2012

It was just after 6 pm when most of the weekend's visitors to the reserve had already left. The hornbills were somewhere towards the front of Sungei Buloh Besar and started cackling loudly. I turned towards them to see what i thought was one of them flying towards the main bridge. However, the flying style of this bird was noticeably different from that of a regular oriental-pied hornbill. It was a raptor and I initially thought it was a white-bellied sea eagle (or white-bellied fish eagle as it is also known by). As it got closer, i saw that the head was noticeably grey. This was my first time seeing the grey-headed fish eagle up close. I had a fleeting glance of one on Pulau Ubin some months ago but this one was headed my way and flying rather low. I lost track of it when it was just past overhead and it flew into some trees. A quick reposition on the bridge showed it atop a tree looking around. It was there for about a minute before flying off towards the pond on the left of the main hide. Hope it finds a favourite tree at Sungei Buloh to take up residence!

Global status : near threatened

grey-headed fish eagle @ sg buloh - 29July2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

http://www.arkive.org/grey-headed-fish-eagle/ichthyophaga-ichthyaetus/

http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-grey-headed-fish-eagle.html

http://iyb2010singapore.blogspot.sg/2011/01/study-on-endangered-raptors-in.html

http://www.npss.org.sg/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2954

http://www.besgroup.org/2011/01/11/calls-of-the-grey-headed-fish-eagle/

http://bukitbrown.com/main/?p=3322

http://www.mangoverde.com/birdsound/spec/spec30-43.html

http://orientalbirdimages.org/birdimages.php?action=birdspecies&Bird_ID=869

http://singaporebirds.net/npassers_04/npassers_04.html

http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Icthyophaga-ichthyaetus

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/648820/majestic_greyheaded_fish_eagle_goes_hunting_at_little_guilin.html

Sunday, July 22, 2012

WBSE fished II @ marina bay - July2012

I was lucky to spot this adult white-bellied sea eagle fly into the bay area in a graceful glide. It suddenly changed direction and dropped into a steep dive swooping to the water surface to catch something. My guess is that a small fish was caught. The catch was not visible as the eagle's feet grasped it totally. The bird went into an upward spiral to gain height before flying off towards its favourite perch atop a nearby building. After it caught the fish, it turned its head to look at the catch in its feet ... as if to check what it had caught. (background audio from the parade rehearsal nearby).

WBSE fished II @ marina bay - July2012 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Thursday 19July2012, Time : about 6.20pm

WBSE fished @ marina bay - July2012

Was by the bay area in the evening looking out for the area's resident white-bellied sea eagles going about catching their dinner. The rehearsals for the National Day parade were going on nearby. One adult WBSE showed itself in the sky to the left of the floating platform where the rehearsals were being conducted. The background audio you hear in the clip is from the rehearsal. I guess the WBSE was not too inconvenienced by the audio and started swooping down. It went behind the structures on the platform and I lost sight of it for a bit. However, a few seconds later, it appeared with a large fish in its talons flying low just above the water. It took a beeline towards the Padang area instead of flying in a tight upward spiral. I later spotted it's silhouette far away atop its usual perch on a building beyond the Padang.