stonefish exposed @ terumbu semakau - July 2014

Was about to take a 'next' step at the western corner of the reef when i saw an almost forgotten shape. I had been looking for it all throughout the dark morning trip to the reef. Finally, and in good time before i lifted my foot towards the sandy space just in front of it.

The video starts with a pan from right to left. Can you see it before it gulps a passing fish and reveals its position? The camouflage is so good that one has to take a few glances to make sure. 

The cam went under for a closer look at its eyes and hollow cheeks (where you may see a dark hollow below its eyes).  Do look out for the lure above its mouth. Stonefish sometimes wriggle their lure which looks like a tasty (to a fish perhaps) worm in order to attract fish closer to its cavernous mouth. When that happens, the fish is gulped down in a split second.  Too bad i missed the gulp during the pan.

I managed to get a close up of the dorsal spines but these were very well hidden and the stonefish did not bother to raise its spines as i passed the cam over its head. I did notice some minor movement of its lips. Perhaps it was sizing the cam up. Luckily, it decided not to try to make a meal of the cam (and my fingers).

stonefish exposed @ terumbu semakau - July 2014 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about this super cool fish :-

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/synanceiidae/horrida.htm

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2011/02/mr-horrida-stonefish-tanah-merah.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2010/05/stonefish-ed-almost-st-johns-island.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2008/05/beautiful-cyrene-6-mr-stonefish-in.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2010/02/stonefish-tanah-merah-13feb2010.html

reef octopus hunting @ terumbu semakau - July 2014

Came across this octopus just before dawn as it used up the last few minutes before dawn to complete its search for food. It kept searching around various rocks and algae clumps with its tentacles causing a good many small crabs, prawns and fish to scramble out of the way. It was interesting to see the instantaneous changes in colour as the octopus went about searching its neighbourhood. I did not see it catch anything during the few minutes of observation.

reef octopus hunting @ terumbu semakau - July 2014 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about the reef octopus :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/cephalopoda/reefoctopus.htm

and other octopii :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/cephalopoda/octopus.htm

Festival of Biodiversity 2014

Infopanels from the Festival of Biodiversity 2014

http://www.nparks.gov.sg/festivalofbiodiversity/index.php

(for those who missed reading them at the FOB)

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brahminy kite, flying @ Changi - July 2014

Spotted this large raptor sitting on a bare tree branch in the morning sun close to the shore. I had initially thought it was a White-Belllied Sea Eagle but soon realised that it was a Brahminy Kite instead. It was accompanied by another much smaller bird on another bare branch to the left. This looked like an oriental dollarbird but it was too far away to confirm.

The kite soon took off and flew in my direction before i lost track of it above the canopy. Brahminy Kites are known to be masters of flight and frequently catch fish from the surface of water bodies and whereafter they eat their catch on the fly whilst skilfully coasting against the wind. 

Despite being impressive masters of flight, brahminy kites have a cat-like call and one would be easily misled into thinking that there is a meowing cat somewhere in the sky above.

The clip repeats a section run at 10% showing the fluidity of the brahminy kite's flight. 

brahminy kite flying @ changi - July 2014 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Read more about this locally resident and beautiful bird of prey :

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

http://nusavifauna.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/brahminy-kite/

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

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

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_687_2005-01-04.html

http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Haliastur-indus

http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-brahminy-kite.html

http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Haliastur-indus

pied triller, breakfast @ Changi - July 2014

Changi still does have some quiet corners where the birds aren't that afraid of people. I was standing below a huge Flame-of-the-Forest tree when a bird flitting from branch to branch caught my eye.

It was moving actively through the canopy. I soon saw why it was so active. It was looking for its breakfast. It managed to catch and eat quite a number of green caterpillars during the 5 minutes that i was observing it. It was rather quiet but for a few pips from time to time.

pied triller, breakfast @ changi - July 2014 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

This bird is relatively common in Singapore but it is rarely seen as it loves to stay in the canopy layer.

This was my first time observing this bird. The bird looked like it was a female with its grey wing colouration. The males have a 'black n white' colour whereas the females are 'grey n white'.

Read more about these wonderful birds :-

http://nusavifauna.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/pied-triller/

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=5951

http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Lalage-nigra

http://www.besgroup.org/2011/07/18/call-of-the-adult-female-pied-triller/

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/pied-triller-lalage-nigra

No flash, No bait, No risk. Just natural photography goodness. :)

crab-eating snake & dinner @ pasir ris mangrove - June 2014

Came across what seemed to be a neat spiral lump of turd on the sandy mangrove floor.  It was about 6.30pm and getting dark. It looked suspiciously like someone had an emergency and 'had to go'. Only this little lump began to move slowly. It was alive. 

At first i thought this was a mangrove pit viper. It's colour was a deep dark brown close to black. However, the shape of the head was not as triangular as the pit vipers i had come across earlier. And it was on the ground. I had never seen a pit viper on sandy ground. All my mangrove pit viper sightings have been of the snake wrapped around the branches of a tree. This one, I was prepared to assume, had fallen from an overhanging tree branch. 

It was eating something as it moved its head swallowing the item. My guess was that the snake was eating a crab. It soon finished swallowing the 'crab' and straightened itself out. It was about 45cm long and had a pale patch below the head on its underside. The bulge of the prey item in the snake's throat was clearly noticeable as it would slowly move further down the snake's digestive tract. It flicked out its tongue as it moved towards a sandy mound and into a hole in the mound before totally disappearing into it.

The crab-eating snake is mildly venomous but is of little risk to humans (like most snakes which prefer to shy away from people). It is rarely seen as it is a nocturnal hunter and it more commonly encountered as the light fades and after dark.

crab-eating snake & dinner @ Pasir Ris Mangrove - June 2014 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Read more about the Crab-Eating snake here : 

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/snakes/fordonia.htm