the uncommon common kingfisher @ lorong halus Jan2012

Managed to catch a glimpse of this now somewhat more common but previously thought uncommon (in Singapore) Common Kingfisher. Perhaps it is more commonly seen during the migratory season each year.

It flew in to perch just a little above the water and occasionally bobbed its head and looked around. It flew off shortly thereafter.

Read more about the common kingfisher here :

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

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

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Common_Kingfisher

http://singaporebirds.net/npassers_01/common_kingfisher.html

http://www.birdguides.com/species/species.asp?sp=84011

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/common-kingfisher-alcedo-atthis

halus wetlands lechate fishing @ Jan2012

Was at the new Halus Wetlands (it opened less than a year ago in March 2011) and joined quite a few people appreciating the ambience of the wetlands. PUB has done a wonderful job creating the wetlands.

“The Lorong Halus Wetland will provide a new space for members of the public to enjoy not just the tranquility and greenery of the wetland, but also the new habitat that this wetland has created for birds, butterflies, dragonflies and other wildlife,” said Mr Tan Nguan Sen, PUB’s Director of Catchment and Waterways. “We hope that through this site, the public will understand the functions of the wetland, be drawn closer to water and in their own way help to keep the water clean.”

However, there were quite a few people fishing there. In the words of a fisherman, "there are no signs what!".  Well, there were no signs at the pond itself but there was a prohibitory sign at the far corner of the wetlands which did not see many visitors. Some things are beyond everyday comprehension!

There were also people with full loaves of bread...also fishing....i.e. feeding the fish with bread.

Note that the flour in white bread is often bleached using potassium bromate or chlorine dioxide gas. I suppose if it is safe enough for human consumption, then it should be ok for fish...maybe. The fish were certainly enjoying it. And besides, there are no signs restricting the feeding what!

Fish living in treated lechate water could not possibly complain about stuffing themselves with bleached white bread.

Everyone thought that one of the fishermen who was using a bigass artificial lure had finally caught the  whopper he deserved in the treated lechate water pond....only to realise that he had got his line caught on the lotus plants lining the pond. It took some considerable effort but in the end, he managed to yank the line free. Of course there was some collateral damage to the plants ... but well, ... there are no signs what!

(Alas, even if there were signs ...who would stop them?)

I wonder what PUB's position is on fishing at the treated lechate water pond.

Is it allowed? Is it safe? Are the fish OK to eat?

If the fish are not safe to eat, then perhaps PUB should quickly put up signs to alert visitors 

not to fish at the treated lechate water pond.  

P.s. a No-Smoking restriction would also be a good idea as there were already a lot of ciggarette butts lining the pond edge.

You might ask...what is lechate?

Have a look here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leachate

Now that you know what lechate is about, would you want to eat any fish from a treated lechate water pond?

Some links about the Halus Wetlands :

http://www.ura.gov.sg/pr/text/2011/pr11-25.html

http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2011/03/lorong-halus-wetland-nature-lovers-get.html

http://wondercreation.blogspot.com/2011/05/first-look-at-lorong-halus-wetland.html

http://waterqualityinsingapore.blogspot.com/2011/04/latest-wetland-craze-lorong-halus.html

caterpillar v ant horde @ rifle range trail - Jan2012

This may be a bit gruesome for some people...you have been warned.

It was a tussle of life and death between the caterpillar and the ant horde. The caterpillar must have been in the canopy overhead and dropped onto the trail where the ants quickly came across it. The frenzy was amazing and the caterpillar's writhing was painful to watch. Such is life in the undergrowth! 

Quotes about ants :
"The foreign policy aim of ants can be summed up as follows: restless aggression, territorial conquest, and genocidal annihilation of neighboring colonies whenever possible. If ants had nuclear weapons, they would probably end the world in a week." - Journey to the Ants - Bert Holldobler & Edward O. Wilson

"... human societies send their young men to war, weaver-ant societies send their old ladies." Bert Holldobler & Edward O. Wilson

"At high tide the fish eat ants; at low tide the ants eat fish." --Thai Proverb

"Ants never sleep." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Don't step on ants... they're people too." - a quote from the ANTZ movie

"The constant creeping of ants will wear away the stone." --unknown

... "Like me with the anthill in my backyard. I spent days watching the ants, trying to figure out which ones were good, and which ones were bad, but they all just looked like ants, so I started smiting all of them." "Well that's not --" "I was smiting them with the garden hose, and with lighter fluid, and with the lawnmower, and to be perfectly honest, I think I went a little crazy with the shovel. Those ants could have been praying to me all day, I wouldn't have heard them." "There was nothing they could do about it." "But, I don't think --" "Really, it's the same with us. There's nothing we can do about anything either, so why worry about it? Hey, this is making me feel better." "Well, that's good, but --" "I guess all we can do is live our lives with as much kindness and decency as possible, and try not to dwell on God standing over us with a giant shovel." ... - Dewey and Teacher in 'Day Care' episode from Malcolm in the Middle

two little grebes @ Jan2012

I was told that the Little Grebe is an uncommon bird species in Singapore. It is not normally resident in Singapore but there have been some pairs and young seen over the years in a few select spots. I had no idea that the lil' grebe was a water bird resembling a small duck. I initially mistook an ashy tailorbird in a bush for it but was soon corrected by a puzzled more experienced birder when i described the little grebe I was looking at as 'in the bush'.

The little grebe made occasional pips when communicating with its partner who was at another corner of the pond. This bird was capable of quite a bit of underwater swimming as I lost track of it when it dived in and reappeared some distance away from the dive-in spot. An amazing dive and great escape tactic!
Clip 1 : swimming and diving :-

Clip 2 : Here is a clip of two little grebes going about their daily routine : -

I noticed that the birds seemed to take turns tending to a floating nest in the middle of the pool although the male bird seemed to do more preparing the nest whilst the female occasionally inspected it and sat on it later.

Clip 3 : courtship preliminaries :-

The male bird dives in near the nest and comes up with a bill full of muddy decaying vegetative matter (@0:11) and plonks it down on the nest edge whilst the female is sitting on it. Presumably, this would dry out eventually in the sun forming a better base to nest on. After he plonks down the material on the nest edge, the female bows her head (@0:24) and the male moves towards her rear. He seems to be getting slightly excited...building up courage. He slowly edges himself against the nest (@0:39) whilst the female keeps her head pointing low into the water as if she was targeting some fish in the water.  However, (@1:00) the female decides to get up and re-position herself whilst the male gets noticeably more excited. The male, interrupted, drifts away though not far from the nest.

Clip 4 : copulation :-

After drifting away, the male bird lingers close by until the female again bows her head (@0:59). The male then moves to her rear and against the nest but decides that the moment is not quite right and moves away. At 2:22, the female yawns and begins preening herself. The male follows likewise at 2:39. At about 2:46, both rub the back of their heads against their respective bodies. The female continues preening herself whilst the male floats for a while before yawning again and then rubbing the back of his head again. The female continues with her vigorous preening and plucks out a feather tuft at 3:31. The male floats back at about 4:00. Once he gets close, the female adopts her bowed head position and the male moves towards her rear yet again. At 4:21, the male begins to get excited again.

(!)

At 4:44, the male cannot contain his excitement any longer and jumps up and onto the female. He lowers his rear onto her rear and rubs his rear on her. Meanwhile, the female rhythmically turns her head from side to side. At 5:03, the male extricates himself slowly before quickly jumping off the female. Both then stand looking around for a few seconds before both take to the water in separate directions looking for food and grooming themselves occasionally keeping in touch with singular pips.

Find out more about the Little Grebe here :

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

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/l/littlegrebe/index.aspx

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3628

http://www.besgroup.org/?s=little+grebe&x=0&y=0

http://www.besgroup.org/2010/04/24/courtship-ritual-of-the-little-grebe/

http://www.besgroup.org/2011/07/04/little-grebe-feeding-on-fish/

http://www.besgroup.org/2010/12/23/little-grebe-struggling-with-a-large-fish/

http://www.besgroup.org/2011/01/08/little-grebe-at-the-singapore-quarry/

http://www.besgroup.org/2008/09/28/little-grebe-piggybacking-chicks/

http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/03/little-grebe-going-out-with-fight.html

golden orb web spider @ bukit brown - Jan2012

I had come across golden orb spider webs at many locations around Singapore before and I had always wondered why these spiders had been called so. I had never noticed anything 'golden' about the previously sighted webs.

I had just visited what was supposed to be the largest graves at the Bukit Brown Cemetary (distinctly visible on Google maps) and was on my way out when someone else in the group spotted a large orb web close to the path.

Click on the map pic above for a larger view. The grave is below the 'X'. Compare the size of the grave to the houses lining Lornie Road. It's gianourmous!

The orb web had 3 layers parallel to each other with one large female orb web spider on the central layer with a smaller red male towards the top of the same layer which the female was on.

The clip was shot at about 11 am and the sunlight hit it from almost directly overhead. The golden appearance of the web was clearly visible. It was then the name of this group of spiders made sense. An 'A-Ha' moment for sure.

A while later, i came across another golden orb spider. This one seemed to be bothered by tiny flies which were harassing it. This one also had a noticeable golden tinge to the web.

Find out more about Golden-Orb web spiders here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_silk_orb-weaver
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/inverts/nephila.htm
http://lazy-lizard-tales.blogspot.com/2010/07/raffles-museum-treasures-golden-orb-web.html
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/spiders/text/Nephila_maculata.htm
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/tag/golden-orb-spider/
http://jeb.biologists.org/content/207/15/2631.full

stinkhorn fungus @ bukit brown Jan2012

Came across this unusual fungus first at about 10.30 am and then later at about 2.30pm when i went back to the same fungus specimen to see how it had wilted.

Would not have paid it much attention to it and would have passed by without paying more attention to it but was lucky to have Angie Ng around to explain what it was and that piqued my interest enough to get my nose down close to it to smell it. There were numerous tiny flies and a rather large housefly settled on the fungus. One had to get really close to the fungus to be able to get a whiff of the mild stale scent which was attracting the flies.

The fungus is actually below ground and the umbrella-net surrounding a central stalk which is seen is actually the 'flower'. The stale scent attracts the flies and they help to carry the fungal spores away.

When i went back at about 2.30 pm, the central stalk and umbrella net had wilted considerably.

Read more about this amazing fungus here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phallaceae
http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/july99.html