sofa not so good @ Ubin-Jelutong 28Sep2013

Was out for a coastal cleanup along the first part Ubin's Jelutong shore. I had seen two rather unusual items on the second part of the shore (beyond the sluice gates) some weeks ago and wanted to take a closer look since the tide had not been suitable on the earlier occasion.

#1... a weathered yellow leather sofa.

 (you can see sofa #2 in the background - to the right - in the pic above)

 Turned upside down over a small heap of fishnets.

 a closer look at the discarded fishnets below Sofa #1

#2...another weathered yellow leather sofa

within 3 metres of sofa #1 and in a similar upside down position

(What are the odds of this occuring purely at random?)

Where could these sofas have come from?

Who put them there?

The wandering currents?

or a set of hands from nearby?

Where is the nearest human settlement?

Could the nearest human settlement have dumped these sofas on the shore?

If so, why?

P.s. The nearest peopled 'settlements' are from the offshore fishfarms just about 100-150 meters away. And they obviously do not seem to have a trash collection service despite having been where they are for ... decades.!!!!!?

mama spider creating web @ SBWR - 29Sep2013

Came across this rather bloated orb spider (Nephila antipodiana ?) re-creating a rather large web after heavy rains washed away part of its web. There was a little red male spider clinging on to the mama spider as she went about her business. 

mama spider creating web @ SBWR - 29Sep2013 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about orb spiders here :

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/inverts/nephila.htm

http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/spiders/text/Nephila_maculata.htm

http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/spiders/text/Nephila_antipodiana.htm

smooth-coated otter @ Ubin-OBS 28Sep2013

Was treated to a rare sighting of a lone adult otter at the OBS-Ubin sandy shore adjacent to the the jetty. It nervously trotted up the beach and started to rub its body over the sand cautiously stopping every few seconds to look around. It was on the shore for just under two minutes and trundled back down into the water before disappearing with a dive.  

smooth-coated otter @ Ubin-OBS 28Sep2013 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about these otters :

http://blog.nus.edu.sg/sgotters/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smooth-coated_otter

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/verts/smooth_otter.htm

malayan water monitor holed up @ pasir ris mangrove 14Sep2013

The amazing disappearing magic show by a Malayan Water Monitor was one of the highlights observed during a free nature walk conducted by the Naked Hermit Crabs volunteer guides. 

The lizard was about 1.4m long (maybe a bit longer as it had a very long tail) and had been resting on a branch of a mangrove tree which reached above the viewing platform. It was already about 6.30pm and the lizard must have been basking in the afternoon sun on a safe perch on a high branch. Some kids spotted it on the high branch and their howls of delight must have been too much for the lizard. We need to be quiet in Nature Parks so that the animals do not run and hide which is exactly what this lizard did. The lizard crawled down the branch to a hole in the trunk of the tree. The hole was not much wider than the lizard's head and certainly smaller than the lizard's belly girth. It cautiously looked inside the hole to see if anything else was inside before deciding that all was good. The video clip is self-explanatory....the background dialogue is also interesting. It was certainly amazing to see the entire lizard disappear into the cavity.

water monitor lizard holed up @ pasir ris mangroves 14Sep2013 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Check out all the mangrove denizens spotted during the walk at the unique Pasir Ris mangroves at this link http://nakedhermitcrabs.blogspot.sg/2013/09/family-fun-exploring-pasir-ris-mangroves.html.

Find out more about the unique Pasir Ris mangroves :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/prp.htm

http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/1017.htm

http://tidechaser.blogspot.sg/2012/08/pasir-ris-mangrove-boardwalk.html

Find out about wild happenings in Singapore here :

http://wildsingaporehappenings.blogspot.sg/

And here are some fabulous links about the star of this blogpost...the ubiquitous Malayan Water Monitor :

http://varanidae.org/6_1_Ng-and-Mendyk.pdf - read about a water monitor getting eaten by crocodiles at SBWR!

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/reptilia/salvator.htm

http://iyb2010singapore.blogspot.sg/2010/12/magnificent-monitors.html

http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/lizards/malayan_water_monitor.htm

http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/2115.htm

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/verts/monitor_lizard.htm

https://www.sbwr.org.sg/Wetlands/text/06-133-1.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_monitor

http://www.besgroup.org/2007/11/21/monitor-lizards-at-the-sungei-buloh-wetland-reserve/

http://www.besgroup.org/2008/10/25/malayan-water-monitor-catching-catfish/

buffy fish owl @ pasir ris mangrove - 14Sep2013

Finally got a few seconds worth of this rarely seen fishing owl in the Pasir Ris Mangrove.

The owl was spotted during a free nature walk conducted by a group of passionate volunteers who call themselves the 'Naked Hermit Crabs'. Find out more about their fabulous free walks! Join them as they show you what gems Singapore's shores and mangroves have! Send them an email at nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com.

buffy fish owl @ pasir ris mangroves 14Sep2013 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Check out all the mangrove denizens spotted during the walk at the unique Pasir Ris mangroves at this link http://nakedhermitcrabs.blogspot.sg/2013/09/family-fun-exploring-pasir-ris-mangroves.html.

Find out more about the unique Pasir Ris mangroves :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/prp.htm

http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/1017.htm

http://tidechaser.blogspot.sg/2012/08/pasir-ris-mangrove-boardwalk.html

Find out about wild happenings in Singapore here :

http://wildsingaporehappenings.blogspot.sg/

Find out more about this fabulous owl :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_Fish_Owl

http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/pub/naturewatch/text/a051a.htm

http://www.besgroup.org/2007/05/31/buffy-fish-owl-encounters/

http://www.safeproject.net/animal-sightings/buffy-fish-owl-ketupa-ketupu/

http://www.planetofbirds.com/strigiformes-strigidae-buffy-fish-owl-ketupa-ketupu

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/buffy-fish-owl-ketupa-ketupu

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=2232&m=1

bad birding practice @ pasir ris - 11Aug2013

Visited a small nook at Pasir Ris to see if there was any appearance by the rarely seen Greater Painted Snipe(GPS). However, the disappointment came not only from a no show (which I had been expecting) from this shy bird, but mainly from the wanton use and discard of styrofoam boards on the muddy ground. 

I had previously seen photographers use these boards to stand their tripods on them or even sit their chairs on the boards whilst waiting for the GPS to show but I had assumed that the photographers would know better than to simply abandon the boards on the ground once their watch was over. 

As can be seen in the photo, some bit of the boards had broken off and littered the muddy ground. The smaller bits of styrofoam will likely remain in the ground for a very very long time (forever by human lifetime references) and I hope the GPS or some other animal would not inadvertently consume the muddied styrofoam granules peppering the muddy ground.

The two photographers on the right who have been masked out are doing the RIGHT thing as pictured by using boots and being unafraid of the mud. The styrofoam boards to the left were probably left by other photographer(s) doing the WRONG thing.

Perhaps it is time for bird photographers to pay more attention to how they go about their art and to take a critically reflective attitude towards some basic dos and don'ts. Peer pressure by other photographers should also be practised to encourage the baddies to practise good common sense. It would be a shame if the GPS or some other animal suffered fatally from ingesting the undigestable styrofoam bits.

The bird photography community will know who the lazy photographers are and what little value to accord to their images....all of them. Professionalism does count.

I hope I maintain a decent standard of good practice as well.

It should not be too difficult.