First visit down Kranji Mangrove

Finally went to the much hyped about Kranji mangrove with RY, PY and J.

It looks pretty nice and even better, not as muddy as I expected.

Sonneratia ovata an uncommon tree is in considerable abundance here.

Of course, the recent discovery of the critically endangered Buguiera hainesii. Here are the dropped calyx~

And the trunk and buttress roots.

On same of the lower lying leaves of the tree were many shiny mangrove shield bugs.

The find of the day was when RY found this young Aegiceras corniculatum.

And another one! Do watch out RY’s tiderchaser blog for more discoveries and updates about this plant~

Some other findings include this mangrove sap sucking slug.

I was also surprised to find a yellow flame (Peltophorum pterocarpum) in the mangrove!

I was particularly interested in this climber of which I have no idea about the ID. Guess have to wait for some help~

I don’t mind getting down and dirty during field trips, or even mosquitoes. But I thing that I can’t stand are spiders and spider webs… How gross is this?!

Kranji Trail and Sungei Buloh Walk

Nearly couldnt wakeup today as I was so tired! Thanx to Juan for inviting me to join the trip and CH for organising. Tidechaser, Mantamola, July was also here. Also finally had the chance meet JT, thanks for the drive to Buloh and back :)

We first walked into the Kranji trail. My chosen attire of 3/4 and sandals proved to be a big mistake. Ended up getting bitten all over by red ants...

Basically, today is a day of macro shootings:

A spiny spider, possibly Gasteracactha hasseltii.

A beautiful butterfly with 5 eyes. Waiting for July, the butterfly enthusiast to ID :)

There were many tiny snails and slugs crawling among the leaf blades.

I was mesmerized by this mangrove big-jawed spider! Look at its colorful back...

and front!

Candid shot of the ramblers

We were puzzling what species of lizard this is. But probably a changeable lizard looking at previous photos.

Before ending the trail, a robber fly perching motionlessly for a great shot. Robber flies feed on other flies and insects by injecting digestive enzymes into their victims and sucking up their juices.

And on the Sungei Buloh boardwalk:

An altas moth (Attacus atlas) just sitting next to the board walk! I kinda like moths over butterflies as they are easier to photograph ^^ and they have their wings spread when at rest. They also have super nice and bizzare wings patterns! For the altas moths, they are so named as their wings resembled maps. And they also have the largest wing area among all moths!

Isn't this adorable? A spider carrying its egg sac. Possibly a huntsman spider (family Sparassidae) as suggested by my friend.

This is perhaps the one that generate the most excitement. Jumping spiders (family Salticidae) is the largest family of spiders with over 500 genera and 5000 species. They are active hunters that doesn't spin a web and of cos the most distinguishing feature is that they jump! They also have excellent vision, even able to see UV light! In fact Dr Li Daiqin, the spider expert in NUS had published quite a few papers on the purpose of UV light on these jumping fellows.

This was the first time I seen such a big jumping spider. This was about twice the size of what I seen commonly. Anyway, we were all trying to take pictures of it but it kept jumping on each other's cameras, think only manta's camera din kena. Later after we finished, I din noticed that it had hitched a ride on my back till someone saw it on the next shelter. And all were happily snapping away on my back after that after telling me to freeze there! poor me...

A ton of waders on the mudflats in the abandoned prawn pond.

This was also an interesting sight. A monitor lizard den, or tunnel (not v visible here). Tidechaser and manta had just seen another monitor slipped into before this too.

Pretty pink eggs of the apple snail deposited on the water hyacinth.

Its been quite awhile since I been out on a leisure walk. Nice day out in the sun and basking with nature. =)