Monday, August 20, 2018

Otterly fun time at Chek Jawa!

 We were delighted to have 45 visitors join us for the walk at Chek Jawa. It was a beautiful day, with large clouds drifting above us in the sky and a cool breeze tickling our faces. We also saw really amazing creatures today!
Photo by Ria Tan
Before we started the walk, we saw three wild boars and monkeys at the shelter! They were most likely attracted by the fruiting rambutan trees.

Photo by Ley Kun


The visitors were very excited to see them!
Photo by Ria Tan


There was also a Common flying dragon (Draco sumatranus) on the tree nearby.

Photo by Jonathan Tan
Jonathan was explaining to the visitors how they have flaps on the side of the skin which they can extend to glide from tree to tree!
Photo by Ria Tan
With a great start to the walk, all of us proceeded down towards the mangroves. The climb up the Jejawi tower was tiring, but the view was worth it!

Photo by Liz Lim
We were also treated to a display by the Oriental Pied Hornbills, who flew in to the durian trees a distance away from the tower. Participants were extremely happy to see these huge birds in their full glory!

After coming back down from the tower, our sharp-eyed participants managed to spot many tree climbing crabs and mudskippers in the mangroves.
Photo by Ria Tan
One of the visitor favourites is the Giant mudskipper, which can grow to be about as big as your foot!
Photo by Dayna Cheah

Some visitors were very excited, and wanted to take a closer look at the critters in our mud!
Photo by Ria Tan
One group was lucky to see a Paradise Tree Snake! This aboreal snake can flatten its body out to glide between trees.

Photo by Jonathan Tan
As we admired the Bakau trees, visitors were entertained by the Fiddler crabs who were out in full force!

Photo by Dayna Cheah

With a cool sea breeze, we enjoyed a slow stroll along the coastal boardwalk. 

Photo by Liz Lim

Photo by Liz Lim
Because it was low tide, we could see the pillars underneath the boardwalk with interesting animals living on it. We saw barnacles, oysters and ascidians!

Photo by Liz Lim
Further out to sea, we spotted a Great-billed Heron fishing in the distance. It is the largest heron we have in Singapore!
Photo by Dayna Cheah
We also saw a few Water monitor lizards, and one group saw one digging for crabs in the mudflat!
Photo by Jonathan Tan

One group was very lucky to have been able to see a lone Smooth-coated otter!

Photo by Dayna Cheah

Otters are usually quite shy, but this otter swam right up to the boardwalk, dipping in between the waves.


We ended off this amazing walk at House No. 1, where the children drew amazing drawings of the animals they had seen or would liked to have seen!

Photo by Ria Tan
After the walk, the guides and their friends decided to stop by Ah Ma's drink store for some cold drinks and fresh rambutans from Ubin!

Photo by Ria Tan

Here's a precious group photo of the guides and their friends with Ah Ma and Ivy!
Photo by Ria Tan
As we were slowly munching on our rambutans, we saw a fresh delivery of rambutans come in! Yum yum!
Photo by Ria Tan
Right beside the drink store is a rich mangrove, with many birds, fishes and rare mangrove species! We took a little walk there to see what we could find.
Photo by Ria Tan
Thank you to the guides Ria, Ley Kun, Sumita, Jonathan, Liz, Xiang Tian, Alyce and Dayna for making this walk possible! Big thanks to Ria, Jonathan, Liz, Ley Kun and Dayna for their photos as well.

Look out for our next walk in September and please do join us for a day of fun!










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