Dr Dan and students checking out the Southern Shores map.
The groups eagerly chatting.
Trying on a bootie
Two Brahminy kites soaring in the morning sky
Appreciating Singapore's port facilities...
At Semakau Landfill, it was time for the rest to put on their booties.
The Dos and Don'ts sign and Map.
Everyone applying insect repellant before tacking the mozzie gauntlet
There was an interesting clump of berry-like fruits hanging from a tall tree or vine along the path. Anyone know what this is called?
All smiles ... before the mozzie were woken up.
more smiles...
Time to brush off the mozzies...
SJ starts with the oysters
These little snails were everywhere!
There were lots of interesting things to see...
What in the world?!!
(It's a worm cast from a burrowing worm.)
The huge expanse of seagrass...a perfect refuge for young marine creatures.
Sponges galore!
Can you spot the hairy crab on this sponge? It's camouflage is so good!
Wading through the path to reach the outside flats...using the same path reduces trampling damage to the rest of the habitat.
Drs Dan and Stan spot something ...
It's a swimming crab! And a large one too!
There were a fair collection of snail shells...
As we moved further out, we came across various types of corals...
The NHC marker flag...now where did that fish go to?
Sea grapes! (it's a kid of seaweed actually!)
A feather duster fan worm!
Hey! shark! No ... maybe. It was a rather big fish which was chasing other smaller prey fish. We kept a lookout for the 'shark'...everyone excited...and some a bit worried....I guess JAWS still has some impact on the minds. Note that Semakau does have resident black tip reef sharks.
A flock of herons coming in to feed on the sand flats
A knobby sea-star! Not many did get a chance to see this iconic inhabitant of the inter-tidal zone.
Jelly? no, this is the egg collar produced by a moon snail. It is made of compacted snails eggs and sand.
The tides waited for no one and we were soon to be swamped by the incoming tide...The next segment for the day was the Landfill tour....which ended up at the spanky new visitor centre where everyone took some time off to chat and replenish their energy stores..
As usual, guests shared their thoughts on their trip...
Some pondered with words...
others with skilled sketches
and some (Dr Dan) with skills to leave us in stitches :) (just kidding)
This one says it all....everyone was happy for the experience.
More blog posts about the trip
wildfilms blog
nature scouters blog
leafmonkey blog
More about visiting Pulau Semakau on the wildsingapore website
bian says those vines are called Sea Grapes! :)
ReplyDeletewow! it looks like there are at least 3 kinds of coastal/marine plants which are called Sea Grapes.:-
ReplyDelete1. the seaweed variety
2. the one pictured above at Semakau
3. another tree which produces a bunch of grape-like fruit and which is commonly found in our parks.
Thanks Bian!