Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs

2 Jun (Sat): FREE Pasir Ris Mangrove boardwalk tour with the Naked Hermit Crabs

2012-05-29T22:59:00.001+08:00

Specially for kids and the family! Come explore the Pasir Ris mangrove boardwalk this weekend with us! There's lots to see: cute crabs, naughty mudskippers, huge herons and slithery snakes!

Liam (12 and a half) and Skylar (9 and a half) shared this lovely drawing of what we did and saw during our walk on 17 Mar.

We are offering this FREE walk on: 2 June (Sat) as well as on 30 June (Sat).

We welcome small family and friend groups. And we love kids!

This walk is FREE!

We are offering this walk on these dates
2 June (Sat)
30 June (Sat)

Please register your interest in this online form. We will send you a confirmation note when we receive your registration.

Time: 5pm. We should end at around 6.30pm, just before sunset.
Meeting point: Pasir Ris Park, Carpark C, meet near the first toilets nearest the entrance to the carpark. The meeting point is a short stroll from the Pasir Ris MRT station. Pasir Ris is a very long park with many carparks from A to E. Do look at the map to be sure you are heading for the correct carpark, Carpark C.

What can we see at Pasir Ris? And more FAQs and other details about our walk.

The Crabs at the Festival of Biodiversity (26-27 May)

2012-05-28T19:22:00.000+08:00

The Naked Hermit Crabs were busy at the Marine Exhibition during the Festival of Biodiversity last weekend.

We are fortunate to have Pei Yan to share about our marine life with the President, who graced the event.

Pei Yan manned the station of live sea stars and other marine critters for two straight days! It was a very popular stop especially for the kids! A great opportunity to tell everyone to come see the shores for themselves. Join our walks or the many other seashore activities in Singapore!

The littlest visitors are the cutest. This little one is taking photos with her toy phone!

Sankar was another marathoner, sharing about our seagrasses with everyone including the President. With a tank of live seagrasses and marine creatures collected a few days earlier from Chek Jawa and Cyrene Reef.

Chay Hoon shared with the President these bits of dead animals that ordinary people can find on a shore can tell us so much. The station is called Seashore CSI: What died? Who killed it?

Photo by Debby Ng.

Chay Hoon also did an awesome marine colouring sheet which was a big hit! The kids not only learn more about our marine life, but also some of the threats to it. Shao Wei is pointing out how some of the pictures don't belong in the sea. Like the plastic bag that looks like a jellyfish and is often mistakenly eaten by sea turtles who may then get sick and die.

Ivan was also at the Festival, here sharing at the Hantu Bloggers' intriguing food chain puzzle. He also gave a very successful talk about the gruesome Monday Morgue.

Marcus tells fascinating stories! And enthralls the kids at the Seashore CSI booth.

As you can tell, many of the Crabs are also volunteers with other marine groups. Indeed, the Marine Exhibition was manned by volunteers from these marine groups! Together, we do lots of walks and other activities to explore, document and protect our shores. Check them out!
Blue Water Volunteers
Hantu Bloggers
International Coastal Cleanup Singapore
Mangrove Action Squad
Mega Marine Survey
Naked Hermit Crabs
TeamSeagrass
The Leaf Monkey Workshop
wildsingapore

To end this post, here's Pei Yan (right) with Mama Hermit Crab Ley Kun (middle) and Siti who leads TeamSeagrass. Our happy fuzzy marine mascots add to the festive spirit!

Pei Yan also blogged about the Festival!

More about the Marine Exhibition and the volunteers behind the effort on the wild shores of singapore blog.

26-27 May - Festival of Biodiversity

2012-05-22T19:16:00.001+08:00

The Crabs are really excited to be participating in the Festival of Biodiversity this coming Saturday and Sunday. There is a host of activities to suit all ages at the Festival. If you have time this weekend, pop over to the Singapore Botanic Gardens with your buddies and loved ones, and come find out more about the diversity of plants and animals that can be found in our natural areas. We just want to CELEBRATE!

Dates: 26 May (Sat) and 27 May (Sun)
Time: 9am - 6pm
Venue: Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens
Website: http://festivalofbiodiversitysingapore.wordpress.com/

More blog posts about the Festival:

1. Full list of activities at the Festival:
- http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2012/05/26-27-may-celebrate-singapores-marine.html
- http://iyb2010singapore.blogspot.com/2012/04/26-27-may-sat-sun-festival-of.html

2. Participate in the Symposium - http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2012/05/26-may-sat-conserving-our-biodiversity.html

3. Lots of activities for the kids:
- Awesome marine colouring sheet for the kids - http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2012/05/awesome-marine-colouring-sheet-get-it.html
- see the collection of hand-made soft-toys of marine animals, Ms Soctupus and Friends - http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2012/05/meet-ms-soctopus-and-friends-at.html

4. Attend Ivan's talk, titled "Bodies of evidence: A morbid celebration of biodiversity" - http://lazy-lizard-tales.blogspot.com/2012/05/shameless-self-promotion.html

There are so many more activities happening over the 2 days. See you there!

June evenings at the Pasir Ris Mangrove boardwalk with the Naked Hermit Crabs

2012-05-14T09:41:00.000+08:00

Join us in June to explore the fascinating mangroves at Pasir Ris Park! The boardwalk allows a closer look at the mangroves and it's open even at night!

Kids have lots of fun spotting and learning about mangrove
creatures from the boardwalk!

Liam (12 and a half) and Skylar (9 and a half) shared this lovely drawing of what we did and saw during our walk on 17 Mar.

We are offering this FREE walk on: 2 June (Sat) and 30 June (Sat). What can we see at Pasir Ris? And more details about our walk!

There's a look-out point at Sungei Tampines, where we can spot jellyfishes and all kinds of fishes in the water, monitor lizards up a tree, and fascinating herons nesting in the trees by the waterside.

Pasir Ris is one of the few places where we can easily observe nesting herons. At sunset, these birds are often back at the nest, getting ready for the night and can be quite lively.

Patient parents tending to their young in the nest!

And as the sun sets, we might spot some nocturnal animals like watersnakes. They are well camouflaged as they lie in wait to catch small fishes.

Can you find all three snakes in these photos?

Among the highlights would be a sighting of the elusive Mangrove pitta! According to the Bird Ecology Study Group blog, "The Mangrove Pitta (Pitta megarhyncha) is the only resident pitta species in Singapore. It is listed as critically endangered nationally and considered globally near-threatened. An elusive bird, it is normally confined to the offshore islands of Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong. This species is very rarely sighted on main land Singapore."

Kids spotted this rare bird during the Naked Hermit Crabs'
first Pasir Ris walk!

Other special creatures that we might see include the Atlas moth, considered among the world's largest moths!

This moth had just emerged from its cocoon!

If we are very lucky, we might even spot an otter or two! Here's a great clip of an otter seen at Pasir Ris in Dec 2011 shared by Azeoprop.We just missed seeing a group of otters during one of our April walks!

As usual, after the end of our walk, we invite everyone to share their thoughts in the Naked Hermit Crab guestbook. The kids have fun drawing and highlighting their day on the boardwalk!

More about what we have seen during our walks and about wildlife and marine life at Pasir Ris.

So come join the Naked Hermit Crabs explore Pasir Ris mangroves!

We welcome small family and friend groups. And we love kids!

This walk is FREE!

We are offering this walk on these dates
2 June (Sat)
30 June (Sat)

Please register your interest in this online form. We will send you a confirmation note when we receive your registration.

Time: 5pm. We should end at around 6.30pm, just before sunset.
Meeting point: Pasir Ris Park, Carpark C, meet near the first toilets nearest the entrance to the carpark. The meeting point is a short stroll from the Pasir Ris MRT station. Pasir Ris is a very long park with many carparks from A to E. Do look at the map to be sure you are heading for the correct carpark, Carpark C.

FAQS

Q: Suitable attire?
A: Comfortable outdoors clothes and normal walking shoes. There may be mosquitoes in the mangroves, so you might want to wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt or bring repellent.

Q: What should I bring?
A: Rain gear, camera. If you want to continue to explore the mangroves on your own after our walk, you might want to bring a small torch.

Q: Age restriction?
A: None as long as the participants are able to walk well and be responsible for their own well-being during the walk.

Q: Is the boardwalk accessible to prams?
A: Yes, it's a smooth ride throughout, on boardwalks or hard paths.

Q: What if I am late?
A: Just catch up with us on the boardwalk! We will start from the entrance closest to Carpark C (with red star on the image below) and take the first right turn towards the Mangrove Jetty on Sungei Tampines. We will end the walk near the pond.

Click on image for larger view

Q: What if it rains?
A: This is a rain-or-shine event. The Crabs will be there at regardless of the weather. Usually we are able to resume the walk once the rain stops. Please come prepared with rainwear. You make your own decision whether to come or not in the event of bad weather.

Do email us if you have any other questions nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com

Breakfast with Wild Boar and Sunshine on the Shores

2012-05-12T20:00:00.000+08:00

It was a really hot and sunny morning. But that didn't deter many people, who made it for our guided walk out on the Chek Jawa boardwalk. Today, we had a big group from Temasek Polytechnic, here to gain some insight into the possible impact of tourism on the environment, as well as several families and other groups who had signed up for this tour.

After we had boarded the taxi, the driver stopped in front of the temple in Ubin town to pick up a box of huat kueh (prosperity cake). When we arrived at Chek Jawa, the driver tapped his horn a couple of times and the resident family of wild boar came trotting out of the forest, expecting food.

Breakfast is served!

There's the big sow (who probably needs a name), two juveniles from her previous litter, and the newest batch of striped piglets! Last month, we counted seven piglets, but there were only five today.

It's nice that everyone has the chance to see the wild boar, but we hope people remember that these are wild animals, and refrain from getting too close. Also, apart from the occasional snack from the residents on Ubin, the wild boar already get plenty of food from the forest. This page has plenty of information on why it's not a good idea to feed the monkeys that we see in our parks, and much of the information also applies to wild boar.

Another iconic animal of Chek Jawa is also raising a family. A pair of Oriental pied hornbill use the nest box along the trail on quite a regular basis, and although it was still occupied during last month's walk, the seal of mud had been broken and the box appeared to be empty today, which suggests that the chicks have already fledged. Some of us heard the hornbills, although we didn't manage to get a close look.

Pei Yan's group were able to get a glimpse of the hornbills in a tree, although the view was obstructed by the vegetation.

The tide is out, which means that we get to see lots of marine life that is normally submerged. The visitors had fun trying to spot creatures such as elbow crabs, some small fishes, noble volutes, and carpet anemones right along the
boardwalk.

(Photo from a previous walk)

My group managed to see tracks left by animals in the sand and mud. There were 2 sets of tracks made by birds, probably herons, as well as the characteristic prints left by a monitor lizard as it searched for food. Further up, we saw wild boar tracks. I also mentioned how we sometimes see otters on the shore, and they leave prints on the shore too!

(Otter prints on Chek Jawa, seen in July 2011)

Pei Yan's group managed to see this Malayan water monitor.

There were also guided walks taking place on the shore itself, conducted out by NParks volunteers. This is a good time for us to explain why there is a need for a boardwalk, so as to minimise trampling by visitors. We want to make sure that people can admire and appreciate Chek Jawa without killing it!

Also, due to upgrading works on the floating pontoon, NParks has cancelled its guided walks from July to December 2011. However, visitors can still take a stroll on the boardwalk, whether on their own or with the Naked Hermit Crabs. Or they can join Team Seagrass and help to monitor how well the seagrasses are growing. Chek Jawa is just one of several places that Team Seagrass visits on a regular basis.

(Photos from a previous walk)
The mudskippers and fiddler crabs were very active, and we also saw a big fat worm that was trying to burrow into the mud.

A group of visitors watches the antics of the fiddler crab army below them.

Grey heron in the seagrass lagoon
(Photo from previous walk)

We saw a number of birds like the grey heron, great-billed heron, and a black-naped tern that flew right past us. It's World Migratory Bird Day, and while most of the waders and shorebirds that visit Chek Jawa have already departed for their nesting grounds further north, they will return later in the year. Those who visited Sungei Buloh today were certainly in for a treat, with all the activities lined up to commemorate this day. I can't wait to learn more from those who were there!

Some of the nipah palms are flowering! We always love to tell the visitors about the many uses of the nipah palm, especially the fact that this is where the attap-chee in our ice kachang comes from.

The view from the Jejawi Tower is always spectacular.

A group of visitors is all smiles after climbing all the way to the top of Jejawi Tower.

Our walks always end with a short activity for our visitors, who draw or write about their experience after a session with the guides. Whether it's by showing some of the animals, plants, or landscapes we saw, or through expressing their appreciation for these wild places, it's always interesting to see what they have to say.

Here are some of our guestbook entries from today:

Big thanks go out to our guides Pei Yan (who also wrote about today's walk at her blog), Ivan, and Sankar, as well as to all the visitors who made it today. Our next walk on Chek Jawa will be on the 16th of June. We'll also be guiding at Pasir Ris mangroves on 2nd and 30th June. Hope to see you on the shores!

In the meantime, do consider joining us at the Festival of Biodiversity on 26th and 27th June, where we'll be involved in the Singapore Marine Biodiversity exhibition!

(Photos by Ivan and Pei Yan)

Announcement - Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip on 12th May (and a belated blog post)

2012-05-05T00:08:00.000+08:00

We're ready to accept signups for our next Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip on 12th May. Click here to access our online registration site. We will follow-up with an email to confirm the booking.

Update on 8 May: Registration for the trip on 12th May is closed. Please sign up for the trips in June and July instead.

More about our Chek Jawa Boardwalk trips:
Our outings are always entertaining and educational. They are suitable for kids and grown-ups alike. The Crabs just want to share our knowledge of mangroves and natural shorelines with you as part of ongoing efforts to create public awareness of inter-tidal biodiversity. Even though we are not going down to the shore at this outing, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, shore birds, spiders, rare plants, wild boars, mudskippers and lots of fruit trees. If we are lucky, we might even spot the Oriental Pied Hornbill and White-bellied Sea Eagle.

Dates: 12th May 2012 (Saturday)
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Duration: about 2 hours
Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Cost: The Crabs do not charge for the trip but you will have to pay for the bumboat and taxi rides to get to Chek Jawa.

If you have questions, write to us at nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com

Read this article for more information of how to get to Chek Jawa and what to bring for the trip.

***********************

And this is a belated post about our Chek Jawa outing last month (April) ....

The trip in April happened on a relatively low tide day. The tide was about 0.6m during the time when we were there. This is one of the best tide conditions to be visiting Chek Jawa. There is an abundance of wildlife and action that can be observed from the safety and comfort of the boardwalk. As we had more than enough guides that day, I had the pleasure of enjoying the walk together with PY, and we took tons of pictures, especially the birds that were feeding on the mudflat and sandbar out on the shore.

I'm happy to share the pictures with you.... what a happy day!

We saw 3 Great-billed Herons on the sandbar on 14th April.

and lots of Grey Herons on the seagrass lagoon area

Grey Heron

and smaller shore birds on the northern sandbar

On the near shore, we saw countless numbers of little fiddler crabs. Some of these crabs have rather colourful shells. The kids were excited to see them at close range, so it was a good experience for them.

Besides the fiddler crabs, there was this swimming crab (dead or a molt?) under the boardwalk. This is a common crab found on our shores. Many of us are familiar with this crab because it is one of those species of crabs that we eat in Singapore.

And there is this picture of tape seagrasses that I took too. I am happy to report that the seagrass patch is growing nicely.

We also saw the tracks left behind by a monitor lizard. See how there are 2 pairs of claw marks and a line in the sand made by the heavy tail of the monitor lizard. I was initially confused by the prints, and thanks to Ria, she recognized it immediately that they belonged to a monitor lizard. :)

Back on the terrestrial segment of the trail, we stopped to look at the nesting box of the hornbills. This is already the third month that we see the box in use. Through our camera lenses, we were able to see movement inside the box. Mama hornbill (Oriental Pied Hornbill) and her chicks are in there. We expect them to fledge anytime soon, if it has not already happened since this is a belated post! (any update from anyone who's been to CJ in the past week? Drop us a comment please.)

At the end of our trip, we spotted the wild boars around the trees at Punai Hut. The pigs are quite used to human presence. In this picture, the wild boar was sitting on the ground, and kind of posing for us. We happily clicked away.

Thanks to all our visitors who came on the 14th of April. A big "shout-out" to you all! And of course, we must not forget our volunteer guides for the gift of their time - Thanks Ivan, Daniel, Pei Yan, Ria and Ley Kun!

Kids out at the Pasir Ris mangrove boardwalk!

2012-04-29T11:34:00.000+08:00

Another great evening out at Pasir Ris mangrove boardwalk with lots of sharp-eyed kids!

We missed seeing the otters! But we saw lots of other great wildlife!

Even before we began our trip, there's lots to see. Ley Kun has found a pod of the kapok tree! This tree produces fluffy 'wings' to disperse its seeds. The fluff was used in the past to stuff our pillows!

What a surprise to see the sunbird nest back at the same spot at the public toilet. We first saw it on our March trip, but when we came back last week it was missing. Pei Yan solved the mysterious case of how the nest came back.

Then it's time to get introduced to the most popular creature in Pasir Ris mangroves! The Tree-climbing crabs always leave a big impression on the kids!

As usual, there are lots of Giant mudskippers! These fishes dig out burrows in the mud using just their mouth. Deep in the ground, the mud is whitish. So the fish becomes rather white too.

The mangrove forest was ringing with the song of male cicadas calling out to the lady cicadas. It's easier to find them if you close your eyes and use your ears to find them!

Brandon uses his camera to show the kids animals which are hard to spot. Once everyone gets a 'search image' they have no trouble spotting more on their own.

Even the youngest ones have fun spotting wildlife despite the humid weather.

Brandon explains to the kids why it's important not to pluck leaves in the mangroves. Not only because this harms the trees, but it can also harm us! He shows how the Buta-buta tree, also known as Blind-your-eye, produces a white sap that can indeed blind your eyes!

The kids spot a dead Malayan water monitor lizard! It's covered with flies which are busy laying eggs in the carcass. Soon the baby flies (maggots!) will eat up the lizard. Other animals may eat the maggots and flies, and thus nature recycles everything and nothing goes to waste.

We also saw several living water monitors. Some were foraging in the mangrove forest. And one was hiding in a tree hole!

Hurray, Pei Yan found the Dog faced water snake! There's lots of interesting animals in the mud, and the kids are great at spotting them.

There are all kinds of clams and snails on the mud. The ones that look like ice-cream cones are Telescopium snails.

Pei Yan points out all the interesting birds that can be seen from the jetty at Sungei Tampines. It's our favourite place! In the water, there were lots of Halfbeaks and even some small Archerfishes!

Brandon sets up an impromptu scope so the kids can have a real close look at the herons nesting at the trees along the Sungei. A queue forms up so everyone can have a peek.

We spot a mama White-breasted water hen with a fluffy black chick! The black colour does indeed help to camouflage the chick, so much so that I have to circle it in this photo.

As usual, there's a monitor lizard resting on the dead tree across Sungei Tampines. On the horizon is the busy street near Downtown East. Yet, this tranquil little patch of mangroves is full of amazing wildlife, within easy reach of anyone at any time and any tide!

The kids are melting in the heat and humidity! But this doesn't stop them from sharing some wonderful drawings of what they saw!

It's wonderful to know that we see ourselves in the amazing marine life that live at Pasir Ris mangroves!

Dad does an awesome sketch of the herons nesting by the Sungei.

Safiya is only 3 years old and has come up with a gorgeous drawing! With a little help from mum.

Here's all the lovely drawings shared after our walk! It was great to share Pasir Ris with 40 people. Thanks to the mums, dads and kids for coming. And special thanks to the volunteer guides for the day: Ley Kun, Pei Yan and Brandon.

After the visitors left, we had a chat with Mr Anwar who told us he saw four otters swimming in the Sungei before we arrived.

Wow! This only means that we need to come back again to Pasir Ris!

The Naked Hermit Crabs hope to resume this free evening Pasir Ris boardwalk tours during the June school holidays. We will update the blog when we finalise the dates.

Our next event is the free boardwalk tour at Chek Jawa on 12 May (Sat). Come join us there!

You can also catch up with the Crabs and our nature friends at the awesome Festival of Biodiversity on 26-27 May (Sat-Sun), jam packed with talks, film screening, games, exhibitions. We will be at the marine exhibit with lots of special activities for kids! Hope to see you there!

Posts by others on this trip

Pei Yan has lots more stories and photos including the mystery of the sunbird nest.

Earth Day with kids at Pasir Ris mangroves!

2012-04-22T10:49:00.000+08:00

Crab! Fish! Snake! And other exciting encounters by kids on the Pasir Ris mangrove boardwalk!

What a great way to celebrate Earth Day!

The mysterious mounds made by mudlobsters are 'condos' riddled with crab holes and full of Tree-climbing crabs!

Dad has found a little caterpillar hanging on a piece of silk! Amazing!

One of the sharp-eyed young ladies found a tiny red bug! This is the juvenile of the Cotton-stainer bugs usually found on Sea hibiscus.

One of young gentlemen has a found a bagworm. It's a little caterpillar that has created a little bag around itself for protection!

As usual, there are lots of Giant mudskippers everywhere! There are two in this photo, can you spot them?

Ivan shares more about the fascinating Nipah palms.

Sankar did an awesome job for his first guiding session with the Naked Hermit Crabs! Thankfully, Kelvin blogged about Sankar's group in this awesome post about the Cheekiemonkies!

Photo by Kelvin Ang

Our favourite spot is at the jetty on Sungei Tampines!

Here, we can see nesting herons, spot all kinds of fishes and more!

The kids spot a pair of Collared kingfishers. Later, we saw a Night heron settling down for the evening hunting shift, while the large herons were settling in for the night in their nests.

In the water, we saw a Red-eared slider, a turtle that is not native to Singapore. This turtle comes with the pet trade and often end up in our waters as irresponsible owners release them when they are no longer wanted. These introduced alien species can disturb our native wildlife and affect our natural ecosystems. This is why we should NOT release our unwanted pets into our nature places.

The visitors are great at spotting stuff! Like this Malayan water monitor lizard swimming in the water. Alas, it ducked into a burrow before we could show it to the rest.

A strange long fish is seen swimming in the murky water. Ivan suggests it is an arowana, another non-native fish that was probably released into our waters. We also saw Halfbeaks and Archerfishes!

I missed the 'flying dragon' a little gliding lizard that Sankar saw, but Kelvin shared it on his blog. I also missed the Dog-faced watersnake that all the kids saw near the jetty. But on the way back after the trip, Ivan spots this Dog-faced water snake in a burrow!

Sadly, we didn't see the sunbird nest at the toilet that we saw on our last rainy trip.

After the walk, we have great fun drawing what we saw. Pei Yan gets all the kids sorted out for the drawing session.

Kids really focus on the important things. One of the most important things in mangroves is MUD. Lots and lots of it.

These young artists are so enthusiastic about the drawing session that they brought their own colouring pencils!

Sng Jay Kai shares a dramatic drawing of some key finds of the day!

I'm always stunned by how much the kids notice on our trips. Here Fion, aged 8, has a wonderful labelled drawing of her favourite finds.

Jared's favourite spot is obviously Sungei Tampines, its banks crowded with all kinds of interesting stuff!

Thanks also to Liza and Yenata for this great entry to the Naked Hermit Crab guestbook.

Here's all the lovely drawings shared after our walk.

Thanks to the 40 mums, dads and kids and friends who came for our walk! And special thanks to Pei Yan, Sankar and Ivan for guiding.

Come join us for our next evening walk at Pasir Ris mangroves on 28 Apr (Sat) at 5pm. More details!

Posts by others about this trip

Amazing dad Kelvin Ang shares what the Cheekiemonkies saw. See also the family's other mad adventures.

21 Apr (Sat): Earth Day at Pasir Ris mangroves with the Naked Hermit Crabs

2012-04-16T10:35:00.001+08:00

Celebrate Earth Day at the fascinating mangroves at Pasir Ris Park! The boardwalk allows a closer look at the mangroves and it's open even at night!

Kids have lots of fun spotting and learning about mangrove
creatures from the boardwalk!

Liam (12 and a half) and Skylar (9 and a half) shared this lovely drawing of what we did and saw during our walk on 17 Mar.

We are offering this FREE walk on 21 Apr (Sat) and 28 Apr (Sat). We welcome small family and friend groups. And we love kids! Here's more details about the walk ...

More about what we have seen during our walks and about wildlife and marine life at Pasir Ris.

This walk is FREE!

We are offering this walk on these dates
21 Apr (Sat)
28 Apr (Sat)

Please register your interest in this online form. We will send you a confirmation note when we receive your registration.

Time: 5pm. We should end at around 6.30pm, just before sunset.
Meeting point: Pasir Ris Park, Carpark C, meet near the first toilets nearest the entrance to the carpark. The meeting point is a short stroll from the Pasir Ris MRT station. See this map and also in the FAQs below.

FAQS

Click on image for larger view

What can we see at Pasir Ris in the rain?

2012-03-24T22:48:00.017+08:00

It was thundery and lightning filled start to our walk this evening. But after a long wait for safer weather, a small group headed out to check out the mangroves at Pasir Ris.

What special creatures can we find in such wet weather?

Sadly, before we could start the walk, lightning started firing off very close to us. We hurried to take shelter in the public toilet. Fortunately, while we waited out the weather, we could do a mini-nature tour even at the public toilet!

A pair of little sunbirds had built a nest right infront of the ladies toilet! Pei Yan spotted it!

Here's a closer look at the well built nest, with a little 'roof' over the opening. One of the parents was in the nest! Probably incubating eggs laid there. We tried not to disturb it too much and it seems quite calm.

A fluff of kapok wafted by, and Chay Hoon and Ley Kun showed us how it is different from regular cotton wool. Kapok comes from the kapok tree and is the fluffy part helps to disperse the seeds by wind.

Chay Hoon also had some butterfly cocoons which had already hatched.

The kids are fascinated by them. Alas, the weather failed to improve and many of the families could not wait as they had other activities scheduled for the evening.

A few visitors continued to wait with the Crabs for the lightning to ease up. It started to rain heavily! But only for a short while.

When the rain became less heavy and lightning stopped, the remaining brave visitors headed out to the boardwalk, armed with umbrellas that Ley Kun magicked out of her car.

There are lots and lots of Tree-climbing crabs out on the mudlobster mounds! Can you spot them in this photo? Many of the crabs had already started climbing trees. There were also many Giant mudskippers out and about.

It was lovely walking in the cool light rain among the tall mangrove trees after the humid weather.

Sankar takes a closer look at some bugs on a mangrove tree. We're still not quite sure what they are exactly.

We are so lucky to have Peter with us today. He is very familiar with Pasir Ris and shared how he had seen Barn owls, Bronzeback snakes and other awesome creatures here. Here he is sharing more about the herons that nest at Pasir Ris.

At the jetty, a young bridal couple were bravely taking photos in the wet weather. I hope we didn't disturb them too much.

It seems the young birds in the nearby heron's nest have fledged and flown off. But new nests are being built across the stream.

Oh OH! There's a hornbill up there! Pei Yan points it out to all of us. I've never seen an Oriental pied hornbill at Pasir Ris before. Ley Kun has great photos of it and some of the other animals we saw. She'll add them to this post soon.

Peter spotted a Malayan water monitor lizard resting on a dead tree. Pei Yan tells us more about it.

Peter also spots a Dog-faced watersnake in the water! Hurray!

On the way back, it got dark very quickly as we ended much later than expected. Chay Hoon spotted a huge gecko on the boardwalk. There were also strange spiders lurking here.

It's amazing what we can see at Pasir Ris regardless of the weather. We're so sorry though, that we had to disappoint the families who turned up but had to leave. We hope they can join us another day?

We'll be having this walk again on 21 Apr (Sat) and 28 Apr (Sat). Here's more details. Hope to see you at Pasir Ris!
----------------------------------------------------
More photos captured by Ley Kun:

Grey Heron

The young herons have fledged. There are no chicks in the nests now.

Grey Herons

We could see the herons building more nests on the opposite bank. They have not finished building them, so it is still work-in-progress for the busy-busy herons.

Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris)

We heard the loud calls from the Oriental Pied Hornbill. Not quite expecting to see it in Pasir Ris, we did not pay attention to its loud calls initially until Pei Yen alerted all of us that there is a male Oriental Pied Hornbill among the trees. It is always a joy to observe the fantastic and magnificent Oriental Pied Hornbill in the wild.

Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) - critically endangered

Malayan water monitor lizard (Varanus salvator)

At every one of our evening walks, we would see a Malayan water monitor lying on a tree branch over the water. We do believe this is the way monitor lizards roost for the night. It looks like a mighty fine place to roost - out of reach to predators.

Dog-faced water snake (Cerberus rynchops)

As we ended our walk really late, we spotted the Dog-faced water snake. These snakes are usually observed during evening time.

(Thanks go out to Ria, LK, CH and PY for guiding yesterday)

MORE photos!

Sankar shared more photos on facebook.

Announcement: Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip on 14th Apr (Sat)

2012-03-22T17:52:00.007+08:00

Registration for our Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip in April is open!

For those of you who have heard of our trips, our outings are always entertaining and educational. The aim is to share our knowledge of mangroves and natural shorelines with you as part of voluntary efforts to create public awareness of inter-tidal biodiversity. Even though we are not going down to the shore at this outing, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, spiders, rare plants, wild boars, mudskippers and lots of fruit trees. If we are lucky, we might even spot the Oriental Pied Hornbill, White-bellied Sea Eagle and the giant Atlas Moth.

Dates: 14th April 2012 (Saturday)
Time: 9:30 am
Duration: about 2 hours
Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Cost: The Crabs do not charge for the trip but you will have to pay for the bumboat and taxi rides to get to Chek Jawa.

Registration

We welcome small family and friend groups. You may sign up using our online form. We will send you an email to confirm the places for your group.

If you have questions for us, write in to nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com

More Information

Read more about Chek Jawa and Pulau Ubin, and how to get there and what to see and do on the wildsingapore website.

FAQ

Q: Suitable attire?
A: Comfortable outdoors clothes and walking shoes

Q: What should I bring?
A: Drinking water (important), rain gear. Optional: hat/baseball cap, change of attire, camera, snacks.

Q: Age restriction?
A: None as long as the participants are prepared to walk 2 km, climb a 6-storey high tower, able to tolerate the hot sun or wet weather, and be responsible for their own well-being during the walk.

Q: How do I recognise the organisers?
A: We will be the ones doing a roll-call at Chek Jawa Information Kiosk. So, as long as you make it to Chek Jawa, you will definitely see us.

Q: What if it rains?
A: This is a rain-or-shine event. The Crabs will be there at Chek Jawa regardless of the weather. Usually we are able to resume the walk once the rain stops. Please come prepared with rainwear. You make your own decision whether to come or not in the event of bad weather.

Families enjoying day out on Chek Jawa Boardwalk

2012-03-18T16:28:00.003+08:00

The Crabs went out to Chek Jawa Boardwalk on 10th March 2012 with about 26 visitors. We had a wonderful time exploring the mangroves and coastal area with the families. Our visitors are ever so enthusiastic with all that they saw. In fact, I am quite impressed by the moms and dads in this group as they appear to be adventurous and their kids had loads of fun. Kudos to the Lee, Tan, Heng and Tay families for being a real sport!

When we arrive at Chek Jawa, we were able to show the kids how rubber tapping works. Rubber used to be an important cash crop in the past (until natural rubber was replaced by synthetic rubber), and there were a number of rubber estates in Pulau Ubin. The rubber estates are no longer in operation, but the rubber trees are left to grow wild all over the island, gradually turning into secondary forests. LK explained to the kids how the rubber tree is "tapped" and the sticky sap collected from the trees is called latex which coagulates on exposure to air. The kids were able to stretch the ribbons of latex.

Ria's group of visitors saw the male Oriental Pied Hornbill feeding on fruits. They were so excited with the sighting as can be expected because the hornbill is indeed a magnificent beauty of our forests. The kids and adults made the tedious climb to the top of Jejawi Tower and were rewarded with yet another wonderful sighting, this time of a White-Bellied Sea-Eagle, soaring above their heads. Yup! This is a typical day out to Chek Jawa, a treasure trove of biodiversity in Singapore!

And here's a photo shot of Chay Hoon's group, comprising the Tay family and a group of friends led by Joyce, on top of the Jejawi Tower.

And the view looking down on the boardwalk from the tower.

The sightings for the day captured on photographs:

Telecopium snails (also called 'Rodong' in Malay)

Telecopium snails (Telecopium telescopium) are commonly found in our mangroves. These snails feed on algae and detritus. If you want to see these snails, do drop by at the Pasir Ris Mangroves where you could easily observe them from the boardwalk. The Malay name for these snails is 'Rodong'. These snails are edible, although we do not see them on sale in our markets any more.

Red eyed fiddler crab

There are plenty of crabs found in the Chek Jawa mangroves too. We spotted lots of small little ones scuttling about. As I brought my tele-lenses, I managed to capture this little fellow with red stalk-eyes feeding on the mud. It was no no larger than 2 cm long. This is possibly the red eyed fiddler crab, commonly found in the back mangroves.

It sure was teeming with people on the boardwalk today. Singaporeans continue to flock to Chek Jawa to view its natural beauty. And if you're lucky enough to have a nature guide accompany your group, you will find the trip educational.

Blue-spotted mudskipper

Our visitors got to see at least 2 species of mudskippers. At the back mangroves area (further inland), they could see the Blue-Spotted Mudskipper (Boleophthalmus boddarti). Some visitors may mistake mudskippers for amphibians. Well, they are not amphibians; they are fishes! Yes, fishes that live halfway between land and water. Look closely at their unusual bulging eyes, large gill pouches and fins that almost function like flipper-legs.

Gold-spotted mudskipper

At the outer mangroves area (nearer to the sea), we could find the Gold-Spotted Mudskippers (Periophthalmus chrysospilos). True to written accounts, these fishes were observed to move around in groups. They are delightful to observe because they move incessantly, and occasionally you could see one or two mudskippers flare its dorsal fin.

It sure was busy on the boardwalk today!

We stopped at the coastal shelter and the kids had a short rest, including a feeding time! Thse kids are adorable!

Sadly, some parts of Chek Jawa, especially the hard-to-reach areas near the coastal forest, show signs of marine litter. This is the area where the jungle fowl are often seen foraging at. In fact, Ria's group was fortunate enough to sight the male jungle fowl at the edge of the coastal forest. One of the papas in the group managed to capture a photo and had posted it on his blog.

Common Sandpiper

As we turned round the curve of the coastal boardwalk, one of the boys, Denver, spotted a bird on a rock. This is the Common Sandpiper, a migratory bird from the far northern reaches of the Eurasian continent. It is a common winter visitor to this part of the world.

When we ended the tour at the English Cottage, we let the kids (and grownups too) express whatever they want about the trip.

Drawing by Phoebe, one of the mums in the group

Joyce and friends left some encouraging words too!

When we ended the walk at Punai Hut, we had Mama Wild Boar and her 2 piglets drop by to say "Hi!". Needless to say, all the city folks were thrilled and began to whip out their cameras to capture photographs of them. (Note from the Crabs: Do always remember these wild boars are wild animals, so their behaviour can be unpredictable. Keep a safe distance from them. And ..... do not feed them!)

Finally, here's the photo of the papa Oriental Pied Hornbill that I promised to put up for the visitors.

Thanks go out to Chay Hoon, Ria and Ley Kun for guiding.

And here are the links of blog posts made of this trip:

- Ria's wildshores blog
- The Heng Family Travel Blog, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
- Andy's Sengkangbabies blog
- more photos from SengkangBabies fb album
- more photos from Phoebe's fb album

IF you want to join us on our monthly outing to Chek Jawa Boardwalk, check this blog post. We run this free tour every second Saturday of the month, and we welcome family and friend groups.

Kids out at the Pasir Ris mangrove boardwalk!

2012-03-17T23:21:00.000+08:00

It's the last days of the school holidays and lots of families joined the Crabs for another exciting walk at the Pasir Ris mangrove boardwalk! About 80 mums, dads, kids and nature lovers! Hurray!

The kids, as usual, are super spotters and thanks to them, we see all kinds of awesome mangrove life!

Among our favourites are enormous Giant mudskippers, which are everywhere.

The kids also spotted tiny mudskippers, tiny colourful fiddler crabs, spiders, butterflies and more. And it was a little hard to spot, but there was one well hidden Dog-faced watersnake in the murky water.

Alyce pointed out to us a nearly invisible cicada on a tree trunk. My photo of it is so bad, I have to circle it. The kids also spotted a pair of tailorbirds, and we heard the kingfishers throughout out walk.

At the jetty, we had a look at the nesting herons, various fishes in the water and ....

Mei Lin pointed out a Malayan water monitor resting on a tree on the opposite of Sungei Tampines!

It was so busy and frantic with so many people, I didn't really take many photos of our finds! Fortunately, Kok Sheng took some great photos which he shared on his blog! And, at the end of the walk, the kids drew what they saw, so here's our walk through their eyes!

The tree climbing crabs are a big hit with the young ones.

I can't decide which are cuter, the drawings or the artists!

Liam (12 and a half) and Skylar (9 and a half) shared how we took photos from the boardwalk: of birds, butterflies, snails, and lots of crabs in 'volcano condos' and mudskippers too!

Here's the artist at work.

Lim Zheng Yang (8 years old) shares another lovely view of the boardwalk, where the trees have stilt roots and there are lots of weird crabs living in strange mounds.

The masterpiece being created.

Emmanuel Sze (9 years old) shares a detailed look at the mangrove life. With streams winding among trees on stilts with all kinds of little creatures on the mud and mounds, and leaves everywhere.

Here's the artist at work.

Deandra (9 years plus) shares this awesome view of the mangroves. Besides weird roots, there are birds nesting in the trees, and alas, yes, she notices litter among the trees. This is why we need to put litter into the litter bin. She also shared a lovely poem about mangroves in a separate sheet.

Here she is at work.

Josh saw really cool stuff, like a Rhino beetle even before we began our walk. As well as a beehive! And a St. Andrew's cross spider. There are also strange seedlings on the mangrove trees!

Here he is at work.

Happy crabs leaping! With happy folks on the boardwalk. Goh Si Qi (10 years) also notices pencil roots!

The artist and her masterpiece.

But I am most impressed by Goh Kai Seng (7 years) who shared wonderful detailed and colourful drawings of the highlights of our trip, with labels too!

He had drawn these earlier in his field notebook! Bravo!

Here's the rest of the wonderful thoughts shared by the kids. These precious drawings show that Pasir Ris mangroves are truly special in the hearts of many ordinary people. Easily accessible, full of life and so fascinating for everyone to enjoy!

Here's a photo of the intrepid team of kids led by Alyce. Thanks also to Kok Sheng, Ivan and Pei Yan for guiding, and Mei Lin for helping out.

A special treat for the Crabs: to finally meet Vito and his family. Vito is creating an iPad app for a Pasir Ris walk! We are helping with this app. It will be available for free download soon! Here's Mei Lin having a look at it.

Don't worry if you missed this walk. We'll be having this walk again on 24 Mar (Sat), 21 Apr (Sat) and 28 Apr (Sat). Here's more details. Hope to see you at Pasir Ris!

Others who posted about our trip: Thank you!

Kok Sheng's blog post with lots of great photos of some of our encounters!
Joy Bea Lee shared on facebook what her family saw and did.
Mei Lin shared more about our walk on her blog.

Announcement: CJ Boardwalk trip on 10th Mar (Sat)

2012-03-04T16:06:00.002+08:00

We still have a few places available for our March outing to observe the wildlife at Chek Jawa Boardwalk. Do write in to nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com to register.

For those of you who have heard of our trips, our outings are always entertaining and educational. The aim is to share our knowledge of mangroves and natural shorelines with you as part of voluntary efforts to create public awareness of inter-tidal biodiversity. Even though we are not going down to the shore at this outing, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, spiders, rare plants, wild boars, mudskippers and lots of fruit trees. If we are lucky, we might even spot the Oriental Pied Hornbill, White-bellied Sea Eagle and the giant Atlas Moth.

Dates: 10th March 2012 (Saturday)
Time: 9:30 am
Duration: about 2 hours
Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Cost: The Crabs do not charge for the trip but you will have to pay for the bumboat and taxi rides to get to Chek Jawa.

More Information

Read more about Chek Jawa and Pulau Ubin, and how to get there and what to see and do on the wildsingapore website.

FAQ

Q: Suitable attire?
A: Comfortable outdoors clothes and walking shoes

Q: What should I bring?
A: Drinking water (important), rain gear. Optional: hat/baseball cap, change of attire, camera, snacks.

Q: Age restriction?
A: None as long as the participants are prepared to walk 2 km, climb a 6-storey high tower, able to tolerate the hot sun or wet weather, and be responsible for their own well-being during the walk.

Q: How do I recognise the organisers?
A: We will be the ones doing a roll-call at Chek Jawa Information Kiosk. So, as long as you make it to Chek Jawa, you will definitely see us.

Q: What if it rains?
A: This is a rain-or-shine event. The Crabs will be there at Chek Jawa regardless of the weather. Usually we are able to resume the walk once the rain stops. Please come prepared with rainwear. You make your own decision whether to come or not in the event of bad weather.

Mangrove Pitta in Pasir Ris!

2012-03-02T23:48:00.002+08:00

We had our very first public walk at Pasir Ris Mangroves last Saturday (25th Feb) and you won't believe what we saw! The elusive Mangrove Pitta in the mangroves! Thanks to one of the kids who spotted it first. For the past few weeks, the Internet was abuzz with news among nature lovers and birders that the Mangrove Pitta has been sighted at Pasir Ris Mangroves. So it is quite a special treat for us to see it with our own eyes. The Mangrove Pitta (Pitta megarhyncha) is a nationally endangered bird species due to widespread loss of its habitat. There are few mangroves left on mainland Singapore, so let's hope this rare and much-loved species of bird thrives in the natural habitat of Pasir Ris Mangroves.

To learn more about the Mangrove Pitta, read the 31 Jan 2012 post on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog.

Mangrove Pitta sighted at Pasir Ris Mangroves on 25 Feb 2012

Alright, let us rewind to the start of our outing on 25 Feb. At 5 pm, we met our visitors (15 of them) at Pasir Ris Park, Car Park C. From there, we strolled to the starting point of the mangrove boardwalk to begin our evening walk. By the way, Car Park C is just a 5-minute walk from Pasir Ris MRT Station.

Start of boardwalk

Right from the start, the kids were excited when they spotted lots of tree-climbing crabs on top of the mud mounds. The kids whipped out their point-and-shoot cameras and started shooting away.

A little ahead, we met a nature photographer with his DSLR camera, super-duper lens and tripod setup on the boardwalk. We knew he was there to shoot photos of the Mangrove Pitta and so we asked him if he has seen it. He was so kind to show us the photos.

Through the lenses of a nature photographer

Lo and behold! He had several fantastic shots of the Mangrove Pitta. We could tell from his smiles that he was delighted with what he had shot that day! Little did we expect that just further ahead, we would be seeing the Mangrove Pitta for ourselves.

A most beautiful bird!

What else did we see at Pasir Ris Mangroves? We saw lots of the Giant Mudskippers (Periophthalmodon schlosseri) in the back mangroves. And they are as big as a man's foot! Many of the giant mudskippers were guarding their own burrows that look like little 'swimming pools'. At some of the burrows, we could see pellets of mud spat out by the mudskippers.

Giant mudskipper

Besides mudskippers, we also saw lots of tree-climbing crabs. This particular little creature climbed really high up on the tree trunk. We wondered what made it climb so high!

Crabs that climb trees

Mommy and sons sharing a quiet moment

As we passed lots of mangrove trees next to the boardwalk, we soon came to the nipah palms. These are the trees that give us 'attap chee', an important ingredient of our favourite local dessert called 'ice kachang'.

Lookout point is at the end of the boardwalk trail

A little further up from the nipah palms, we soon came to a lookout point overlooking Sungei Tampines. This is the spot to linger where you should be able to spot lots of the wonderful wild life of Pasir Ris Mangroves.

Lookout point at Sungei Tampines

We came prepared with our binoculars! And sure enough, the Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea) could be seen in their big nests high up on the trees. The young birds were standing up in the nests and they looked large! We think these young birds are more or less ready to fledge! Despite the noise from the Downtown East amusement park on the opposite bank of the river, these herons have made their home among the mangroves trees. As if to compete with the noise from Downtown East, the herons made loud honking noises on their own. From time to time, the birds would give us a visual treat by taking off and soaring above our heads. We could hear a few 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from the parents and kids in the group.

A crowded nest!

The next sighting was an adult Malayan Water Monitor Lizard (Varanus Salvator) resting on a tree branch hanging over the river. We could not see its head as it was turned away from us, but its belly looked nice and round, probably with a meal inside. We believe the lizards sometimes climb trees to find resting places for the night. Right across the river, we saw another lizard of the same species crawling on a branch too.

Malayan water monitor lizard

More wildlife to view from the lookout point? The grown-ups were excited to see a Little Heron perched on on a bare branch. It was trying to break twigs at several places. Cameras pointed at the bird, capturing its antics high up on the tree.

We saw it stretched its long neck to reach the twigs. It entertained us for several minutes before it finally gave up and flew to a low branch on the opposite bank.

Little Heron

We always end our walks with a short drawing session to allow people to express their feelings of what they have seen and share their experience of being in a natural place.

No photo of the jelly-fishes; a nice drawing is even better!

Little Heron drawn by a young visitor

We want to thank our volunteer guides - Alyce, Pei Yan, Ley Kun and Ria - for the gift of their time on a Saturday evening. A nice shout-out to all the visitors who came to our first public walk at Pasir Ris. We will be holding more walks at this lovely mangrove patch in the months of March and April.

To end this post, here's a lovely photograph of a Grey Heron perched on a high branch overlooking Sungei Tampines.

With feathers on its head
blown back by the evening breeze.
The Grey Heron stands elegant
and surveys its views.

March and April: Evening at the Pasir Ris Mangrove boardwalk with the Naked Hermit Crabs

2012-03-02T12:04:00.000+08:00

Join us in March and April to explore the fascinating mangroves at Pasir Ris Park! The boardwalk allows a closer look at the mangroves and it's open even at night!

Kids have lots of fun spotting and learning about mangrove
creatures from the boardwalk!

Liam (12 and a half) and Skylar (9 and a half) shared this lovely drawing of what we did and saw during our walk on 17 Mar.

We are offering this FREE walk on: 17 Mar (Sat) (school holidays!), 24 Mar (Sat), 21 Apr (Sat), 28 Apr (Sat). What can we see at Pasir Ris? And more details about our walk!

There's a look-out point at Sungei Tampines, where we can spot jellyfishes and all kinds of fishes in the water, monitor lizards up a tree, and fascinating herons nesting in the trees by the waterside.

Pasir Ris is one of the few places where we can easily observe nesting herons. At sunset, these birds are often back at the nest, getting ready for the night and can be quite lively.

Patient parents tending to their young in the nest!

And as the sun sets, we might spot some nocturnal animals like watersnakes. They are well camouflaged as they lie in wait to catch small fishes.

Can you find all three snakes in these photos?

Kids spotted this rare bird during the Naked Hermit Crabs'
first Pasir Ris walk!

Other special creatures that we might see include the Atlas moth, considered among the world's largest moths!

This moth had just emerged from its cocoon!

If we are very lucky, we might even spot an otter or two! Here's a great clip of an otter seen at Pasir Ris in Dec 2011 shared by Azeoprop.

As usual, after the end of our walk, we invite everyone to share their thoughts in the Naked Hermit Crab guestbook. The kids have fun drawing and highlighting their day on the boardwalk!

More about what we have seen during our walks and about wildlife and marine life at Pasir Ris.

So come join the Naked Hermit Crabs explore Pasir Ris mangroves!

We welcome small family and friend groups. And we love kids!

This walk is FREE!

We are offering this walk on these dates
17 Mar (Sat) (school holidays!)
24 Mar (Sat)
21 Apr (Sat)
28 Apr (Sat)

Please register your interest in this online form. We will send you a confirmation note when we receive your registration.

Time: 5pm. We should end at around 6.30pm, just before sunset.
Meeting point: Pasir Ris Park, Carpark C, meet near the first toilets nearest the entrance to the carpark. The meeting point is a short stroll from the Pasir Ris MRT station. See map in the FAQs below.

FAQS

Click on image for larger view

25 Feb (Sat): Evening at the Pasir Ris Mangrove boardwalk with the Naked Hermit Crabs

2012-02-18T21:58:00.001+08:00

There are fascinating mangroves at Pasir Ris Park! A boardwalk allows us to explore it easily and it's open even at night! Join the Naked Hermit Crabs for an evening stroll through this interesting but often overlooked mangrove.

The boardwalk takes us through tall mangrove trees
and allows to see all kinds of curious creatures.

Here, we are sure to see lots of crazy tree climbing crabs and delightful giant mudskippers. We may even see the archerfish living up to its name, spitting down bugs with an accurate 'arrow' of water.

A giant mudskipper AND a tree climbing crab
that seem to share one burrow.

Pasir Ris is also one of the few places where we can easily observe nesting herons. There are also all kinds of other interesting birds in these mangroves.

Patient parents tending to their young in the nest!

And as the sun sets, we might spot some nocturnal animals like watersnakes. They are well camouflaged as they lie in wait to catch small fishes.

Can you find all three snakes in these photos?

Other special creatures that we might see include the Atlas moth, considered among the world's largest moths!

This moth had just emerged from its cocoon!

If we are very lucky, we might even spot an otter or two! Here's a great clip of an otter seen at Pasir Ris in Dec 2011 shared by Azeoprop.

More about Pasir Ris mangroves and what was seen there recently.

So come join us to explore Pasir Ris mangroves!

We welcome small family and friend groups. And we love kids!

This walk is FREE!

Please register your interest in this online form. We will send you a confirmation note when we receive your registration.

Time: 5pm. We should end at around 6.30pm, just before sunset.
Meeting point: Pasir Ris Park, Carpark C, meet near the first toilets nearest the entrance to the carpark. The meeting point is a short stroll from the Pasir Ris MRT station. See map

FAQS

Q: Suitable attire?
A: Comfortable outdoors clothes and walking shoes. There may be mosquitoes in the mangroves, so you might want to wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt or bring repellent.

Q: What should I bring?
A: Rain gear, camera. If you want to continue to explore the mangroves on your own after our walk, you might want to bring a small torch.

Q: Age restriction?
A: None as long as the participants are able to walk well and be responsible for their own well-being during the walk.

Q: What if I am late?
A: Just catch up with us on the boardwalk! We will start from the entrance closest to Carpark C (with red star on the image below) and take the first right turn towards the Mangrove Jetty on Sungei Tampines. We will end the walk near the pond.

Click on image for larger view

Chek Jawa, a trove of treasures

2012-02-14T20:53:00.001+08:00

We had our first public walk of 2012 at Chek Jawa Boardwalk on 11th February. There were 15 visitors , and they certainly had a wonderful time exploring the Chek Jawa in a smaller group!

We had 4 students from NUS, 3 from NTU (Earthlink), 2 groups of friends, and a family with young children. The NUS students said they are learning about biodiversity in an inter-disciplinary course and decided to make special trip to Chek Jawa to learn more. When they saw the different habitats found in Chek Jawa, the lessons finally sank in that ecosystems and biodiversity have such a tight relationship, that one cannot exist without the other. In their words, they say Chek Jawa made their university lessons come "alive"!

Here's what they wrote:

"Chek Jawa is a trove of treasures, containing the natural heritage of Singapore. Away from the mainland, it is the last recluse from the concrete jungle. Chek Jawa is not to be missed!"

"After coming to Chek Jawa for several times, I still find Chek Jawa beautiful. The flora and fauna I have encountered certainly educate me. Please keep Chek Jawa as it is, so that the next generation can enjoy the beautiful part of Singapore. Thank you for not building HDB flats, resorts, etc."

The NTU students had a slightly different focus. They were keen to learn how to guide in a nature place as they wanted to contribute in this area. So we shared some ideas with them. We hope the Naked Hermit Crabs have given them a glimpse of how they can get started. Nature guiding is not all that difficult; you just need to have the passion for sharing the message that is in your heart, and to be able to find a team of like-minded nature-loving individuals.

From the other 2 groups, here are their drawings:

Y and MG wrote, "Sunny day with fresh air out from urban city. Nice and relax area. Experience of how our forefathers live." That's so right! Chek Jawa is really special to Singaporeans. It is wonderful that the authorities have so far preserved the wild and unkempt that is Chek Jawa and Pulau Ubin.

D wrote, "Deb is grateful for Ubin! *keeps me sane...", while G wrote, "Celebrating Nature, Friendship. Keep this place for our future generations."

Talking about future generations, I've got to show you the drawing by our new friend, HY.

HY was clearly excited by all that he saw during the 2-hour outing. He took lots of pictures, saying he'll post on his blog. He asked endless questions with lots of "what is this" and "why like that". He is well-read, knowledgeable, yet thirsting for more information, and he has passion when he speaks. We tried to answer every question that he had, and he too has a message for us. You see, HY is from the future; he is 8 years old and he wants us to keep Chek Jawa and all its natural habitats undeveloped so that he can continue to enjoy them when he grows up!

To end this blog post, I leave you with the photos that we took of Chek Jawa on 11th February 2012.

Ria showing us the Jambu Ayer tree and its splendid pink blooms.

A group shot taken from the Jejawi Tower.

The Blue-spotted mudskipper found in Chek Jawa mangroves.

Nipah palms next to the mangrove boardwalk. Do you know that 'attap chee' (sweet chewy seeds found in a local dessert called 'ice kachang') are from the nipah palm?

Found this next to the boardwalk. Red weaver ants forming a new nest. Observe how the ants pick only the fresh green leaves.

Visitors taking notes! The Outdoor Classroom of Chek Jawa.

We met a group of young people who were sitting on the boardwalk and observing the fiddler crabs for quite a long time.

The kids asked why there are wave patterns on the sand. How observant!

At the water edge, we knew we could find plenty of mudskippers. And we did!

The tide was quite high (at about 2.5m) and there were lots of fishes

The coastal forest of Chek Jawa.

Another view of the coastal forest, including the rear beacon of Chek Jawa

View of the southern side of Chek Jawa and the coastal forest.

Hornbill breeding box.

Wild boars are commonly seen in Chek Jawa and Pulau Ubin. For the past few months, we see a sow and her 3 piglets at every one of our public walks.

Read wildshores blog by Ria for an account of the same trip - click here.

Our next walk will be on 10th March (Saturday).

Thanks go out to Ria and Ley Kun, our volunteer guides for February.

Coming up ... first Chek Jawa Boardwalk outing in 2012

2012-02-05T23:14:00.001+08:00

CNY 2012 is finally over! Time to work on the New Year resolutions .... visit more nature places in Singapore, gain a better understanding of biodiversity conservation issues, get out to places where the air is cleaner, do some bird-watching, and to walk off the excesses of CNY feasting! Seriously... Pulau Ubin is a wonderful retreat away from the urban environment, and Chek Jawa, located in the eastern tip of Pulau Ubin, is a real gem of a wild and natural shore line where you could pause to observe nature and be enchanted by it.

The Naked Hermit Crabs would like to introduce you to Chek Jawa without getting your feet wet. Even though we are not going on to the shore, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, spiders, rare plants, wild boars, mudskippers and lots of fruit trees. If we are lucky, we might even spot the Oriental Pied Hornbill, White-bellied Sea Eagle and the giant Atlas Moth.

Dates: 11th February 2012 (Saturday)
Time: 9:30 am
Duration: about 2 hours
Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Cost: The Crabs do not charge for the trip but you will have to pay for the bumboat and taxi rides to get to Chek Jawa.

Write to nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com to register. We welcome small family and friend groups.

More Information

Read more about Chek Jawa and Pulau Ubin, and how to get there and what to see and do on the wildsingapore website.

FAQ

Q: Suitable attire?
A: Comfortable outdoors clothes and walking shoes

Q: What should I bring?
A: Drinking water (important), rain gear. Optional: hat/baseball cap, change of attire, camera, snacks.

Q: Age restriction?
A: None as long as the participants are prepared to walk 2 km, climb a 6-storey high tower, able to tolerate the hot sun or wet weather, and be responsible for their own well-being during the walk.

Q: How do I recognise the organisers?
A: We will be the ones doing a roll-call at Chek Jawa Information Kiosk. So, as long as you make it to Chek Jawa, you will definitely see us.

Q: What if it rains?
A: This is a rain-or-shine event. The Crabs will be there at Chek Jawa regardless of the weather. Usually we are able to resume the walk once the rain stops. Please come prepared with rainwear. You make your own decision whether to come or not in the event of bad weather.

2012 - Free Chek Jawa Boardwalk trips on the 2nd Saturday of each month

2012-01-09T22:55:00.002+08:00

We concluded our Y2011 Chek Jawa Boardwalk trips on a high note in December with a record number of more than 80 visitors. What a wonderful time we all had, and for a good cause too! The visitors enjoyed visiting one of Singapore's natural shores with a trained guide, while we, on our part, are happy to play a part in raising awareness of the ecosystems found in Chek Jawa.

Visitors at our Dec 2011 walk (Photo credit: Kok Sheng)

The Crabs are pleased to commit another year to run these free monthly walks for the public. Yay!!! We have done these free Chek Jawa Boardwalk trips for about four and a half years now. Time flies! Our very first Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip took place on September 8, 2007, and we have probably taken about nearly 2000 people out on our trips.

For 2012, we will hold our monthly walks on the 2nd Saturday of each month with the exception of January and June. These are the dates:

January - No walk. The Crabs take a break!
11 Feb (Sat)
10 Mar (Sat, school holidays)
14 Apr (Sat)
12 May (Sat)
16 Jun (Sat, school holidays) - we switch to the 3rd Saturday just for this month.
14 Jul (Sat)
11 Aug (Sat)
8 Sep (Sat, school holidays)
13 Oct (Sat)
11 Nov (Sat)
8 Dec (Sat, school holidays)

Meeting Time: 9:30 am
Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Duration of walk: Approximately 2 hours
Cost: No charge still
Pre-registration is required.

Use our online form to register for the walks.

If you have questions for us, write to us at nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com.

We welcome small family and friend groups. If you are organising a corporate or community project, we recommend that you engage the professional nature guides.

Additional information for first-time visitors, please read on:

How to get to Chek Jawa?

1) Take the bumboat to the island of Pulau Ubin from Changi Village.

2) Once you arrive at Ubin, you can find a lot of island taxis (vans) near the jetty. Tell the taxi driver to take you to Chek Jawa.

Give yourself 45 minutes to travel from Changi Village to Chek Jawa.

Useful Information:

More about Chek Jawa and Pulau Ubin and how to get there and what to see and do on the wildsingapore website.

To get a better idea of what a typical trip is like:
Read this post by KS for the trip in November 2011.

And enjoy the rest of the photos taken during our trips....

Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk

Encounter with wild boars

Jejawi Tower

On the mangrove boardwalk

Male and female flowers of the attap palm

A giant mudskipper found in the mangroves

Thousands of fiddler crabs can be found on the inter-tidal mud

Grey herons seen feeding on the mudflats at low tide

Visitors on the coastal boardwalk

Visitors signing (and drawing) on our guest book at the end of the trip

Friends visiting Chek Jawa

Young families visiting Chek Jawa

Chek Jawa Boardwalk during high tide

2011-11-23T22:44:00.004+08:00

We're back at Chek Jawa for our November guided walk! And this time during a high spring tide!

One of the best ways to orientate yourself at Chek Jawa will be to climb up the Jejawi Tower to have a bird's eye view of the whole surrounding. And of course it is the perfect spot to have a group photo! :)

We were fortunate to spot a couple of the white bellied sea eagles perching on the branches. This was soon followed an excellent view of them soaring in the sky. We were awe-struck!

At the back mangroves, we witnessed how the water slowly seeped in as the tide continues to turn higher. Nevertheless, we still managed to spot some of these colourful tiny fiddler crabs before the water came in.

During the high tide, many of the Gold spotted mudskippers can be found "anchored" on the surface of the mangrove roots. Both of them were raising their colourful dorsal fins at the same time in this photo!

The kids totally enjoyed spotting the mudskippers in all sorts of positions and places, such as this pair that looks like they are queuing up for something haha.

Here is another pair found high and dry up on the surface of a rock boulder.

How apt it is to spot several hermit crabs during the Naked Hermit Crabs walk. Thankfully, they are not exactly naked as they each have a shell as their home and are clinging onto the mangrove roots as well.

As we were walking along the mangrove boardwalk towards the coastal boardwalk, we had another look at the eagle.

Here is a closer look! :-)

What's there to see during high tide at Chek Jawa Boardwalk?

With the high tide, we had more opportunities to spot fishes swimming happily in the water such as this huge garfish that thrilled our group when we saw it!

And of course many other schools of fishes swimming together in security.

And woohoo, we had a special find discovered by one of our sharp-eye visitor!

This long and slender snake is the Oriental whip snake (Ahaetulla prasina). Don't you think it is such a beauty?

The oriental whi is mildly venomous but shy and will prefer to slide away into the undergrowth. If you want to take a closer look at it, avoid disturbing it.

Another lovely surprise would be the family of wild boars that greeted us when we arrived at Chek Jawa!

The mum was actually sniffing the young ones, probably to check on them. It was many of our first time witnessing this special act of love. :)

On this trip, we also had four student councillors from Dunman High School with us as part of their environmental exposure programme. Please feel free to read their reflections and more about what this programme is about on the EXCEL Exposure blog.

Special thanks to Ley Kun, Ria, Daniel, Pei Yan and Kok Sheng for guiding on this trip. We look forward to seeing you all during our December trip!

Read Ria's Wildshores blog post on this trip: http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2011/11/chek-jawa-with-naked-hermit-crabs.html

Fun walk in Chek Jawa during the school holidays

2011-10-26T23:06:00.000+08:00

We have lined up 2 fabulous fun walks in Chek Jawa (Boardwalk) for the next two months, November and December. Registration is now open for both walks. In particular, we welcome families to join us to discover what kind of plants and animals can be found in one of the natural shores of Singapore. With trained guides leading the groups on the boardwalk, we should be able to point out lots of animals such as fiddler crabs, mud crabs, mudskippers, fishes, snails and many kinds of bugs to you. And as I always tell my visitors, if we are very lucky, we will get to see hornbills, eagles, jungle fowl, wild boars and beautiful forest birds too.

It is our firm belief that kids (and adults!) need to learn about the natural world so that they can begin to understand about conservation of animal and plant species. Knowledge first, then love for and protection of the animals will come naturally. Parents, help plant that seed of love for nature in your child.

Dates: 12th November and 10th December (Saturday)
Time: 9:30 am
Duration: about 2 hours
Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Cost: The Crabs do not charge for the trip but you will have to pay for the bumboat and taxi rides to get to Chek Jawa.

Write to nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com to register. We welcome small family and friend groups.

How to get to Chek Jawa

1) Take the bumboat to the island of Pulau Ubin from Changi Village (more precisely, it is "Changi Point Ferry Terminal" at Lorong Bekukong).
2) Once you arrive at Ubin, you can find many island taxis (vans) near the jetty. Tell the taxi driver to take you to Chek Jawa.

Give yourself 45 minutes to travel from Changi Village to Chek Jawa at a leisurely pace.

More Information

Read more about Chek Jawa and Pulau Ubin, and how to get there and what to see and do on the wildsingapore website.

FAQ

Q: Suitable attire?
A: Comfortable outdoors clothes and walking shoes

Q: What should I bring?
A: Drinking water (important), rain gear. Optional: hat/baseball cap, change of attire, camera, snacks.

Q: Age restriction?
A: None as long as the participants are prepared to walk 2 km, climb a 6-storey high tower, able to tolerate the hot sun or wet weather, and be responsible for their own well-being during the walk.

Q: How do I recognise the organisers?
A: We will be the ones doing a roll-call at Chek Jawa Information Kiosk. So, as long as you make it to Chek Jawa, you will definitely see us.

Q: What if it rains?
A: This is a rain-or-shine event. The Crabs will be there at Chek Jawa regardless of the weather. Usually we are able to resume the walk once the rain stops. Please come prepared with rainwear. You make your own decision whether to come or not in the event of bad weather.

Meeting place: Information Kiosk at Chek Jawa

An encounter with nature

Fiddler crabs on the inter-tidal area

Stingray and hornbills

2011-10-17T22:23:00.001+08:00

We had a small turnout of visitors for the 8th October walk but that didn't dampen the mood of the group. Jael brought her family and friends, 7 in total, while KP brought his friend's son who has just finished his PSLE exams and needed some nature therapy!

The wild boars (Sus scrofa) were there at the Information Kiosk to welcome us. It was a sow with her 4 piglets. They seem rather tame and were lingering around the information kiosk apparently hoping to get food handouts from us. We did not feed them since we knew that it is better for the wild boars to forage for food in the forests than to receive sugar and starch-rich food from us. But they were really cute, and all the visitors were happily snapping pictures of them.

Wild boar at the Information Kiosk of Chek Jawa

As we enter the mangrove boardwalk, we heard the loud and penetrating calls of the Oriental Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris). The hornbills are back! I missed seeing them for a few months, so as can be expected, I am totally delighted to report this sighting. We saw one perched on a tall palm, but heard the calls of hornbills from two other directions. So there could be three birds present that day. Of course, later in the trip, I was able to show the visitors the artificial nesting box and tell the story of hornbills nesting habits. Do read more about the Singapore Hornbill Project on how conservation efforts have grown the population of Oriental Pied Hornbills in our country. It is a cool read!

Down on the mangrove boardwalk, we spotted the animals that we see on every trip - Giant Mudskipper, vinegar crabs, fiddler crabs, mud crabs, weaver ants and cotton-stainer bugs. The mangrove ecosystem in Chek Jawa is well and alive.

Nest formed by weaver ants

The tide was quite high (2.3m) on that day and so we were not able to see the fiddler crabs. But there were lots of fishes everywhere. Natural shores like Chek Jawa, with their complex and interlinked ecosystems of mangroves, sand bars and seagrass meadows, offer refuge to lots of marine animals. This is one reason why conservationists all over the world continue to lobby for the preservation of natural shorelines. Marine biodiversity is impacted when Man converts natural coastal areas into prawn farms or commercial beach-front properties. This is indeed food for thought for everyone.

Small fishes swimming in between mangrove roots

We were totally delighted to spot a stingray (Family Dasyatidae) swimming so gracefully near the boardwalk. It has a body disc of about 40 cm and has a long tail. I could not id what species it is. It could be the Blue-spotted Stingray. We were mesmerised by its graceful swimming strokes.

(photo contributed by Jael)

The walk ended after 2 hours. It was a fruitful trip, and, I believe, the visitors had a super time (well, they wrote to say they did!)

We look forward to the next 2 trips during the school holidays. Write in early to book your places. The dates are 12 November and 10 December (Saturday). See you!

8 October - Chek Jawa Boardwalk outing

2011-10-02T22:21:00.001+08:00

PSLE is over? What about giving your special kid a special treat this Saturday? Come on down to join us as the Crabs explore Chek Jawa Boardwalk with families and friends. We run this nature trip every month so as to introduce Singaporeans to the amazing shore and mangrove wildlife in our own backyard. Marine biodiversity is often under-appreciated in our very urbanised society, and it is time to get everyone excited about nature and its preservation!

We have tailored our trips for the true blue urbanised fellow citizens. There is plenty of native flora and fauna to observe from the safety of the Chek Jawa Boardwalk. No need to get your feet wet. We should be able to observe interesting creatures like mudskippers, tree-climbing crabs, fiddler crabs, weaver ants, kingfishers, tailorbirds, etc. Sometimes when we are REALLY lucky, we get to see spectacular aerial displays by the White-bellied Fish Eagles.

If the tide is low, we might also observe the shore birds feeding away on the mudflats. We are entering the season when the migratory birds from the far north are starting to fly south, and Chek Jawa is a vital stopover for some of these migratory birds.

So, start planning your trip! If you're interested to join us, write in to nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com

Date: 8 October, 2011 (Saturday)
Time: 9:30 am
Duration: about 2 hours
Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Cost: The Crabs do not charge for the trip but you will have to pay for the bumboat and taxi rides to get to Chek Jawa.

How to get to Chek Jawa

1) Take the bumboat to the island of Pulau Ubin from Changi Village.
2) Once you arrive at Ubin, you can find a lot of island taxis (vans) near the jetty. Tell the taxi driver to take you to Chek Jawa.

Give yourself 45 minutes to travel from Changi Village to Chek Jawa at a leisurely pace.

More Information

Read more about Chek Jawa and Pulau Ubin, and how to get there and what to see and do on the wildsingapore website.

FAQ

Q: Suitable attire?
A: Comfortable outdoors clothes and walking shoes

Q: What should I bring?
A: Drinking water (important), rain gear. Optional: cap, change of attire, camera, snacks.

Q: Age restriction?
A: None as long as the participants are prepared to walk 2 km, climb a 6-storey high tower. able to stand the hot sun or wet weather, and be responsible for their own well-being during the walk.

Q: How do I recognise the organisers?
A: We will be the ones doing a roll-call at Chek Jawa Information Kiosk. So, as long as you make it to Chek Jawa, you will definitely see us.

Q: What if it rains?
A: This is a rain-or-shine event. The Crabs will be there at Chek Jawa regardless of the weather. Usually we are able to resume the walk once the rain stops. Please come prepared with rainwear. You make your own decision whether to come or not in the event of bad weather.

10th Sep - Free Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip

2011-08-31T07:05:00.000+08:00

Chek Jawa remains one of the few unspoilt natural shores in Singapore. You might have heard lots about the place and the abundant biodiversity that still exists there. Come on down and join the Crabs as they do their monthly visit to Chek Jawa.

On a typical trip on the boardwalk, we would expect to see mudskippers, tree-climbing crabs, fiddler crabs, monitor lizards, jungle fowl, molluscs and fishes in the mangroves as well as on the shoreline. And if you are interested in birds, then you won't be disappointed too. The more spectacular species seen at Chek Jawa are the Oriental Pied Hornbills, Grey Herons and White-Bellied Sea Eagles. But the smaller birds are equally interesting too. We have seen (and heard) tailorbirds, sunbirds, woodpeckers, kingfishers and bulbuls.

Write to us at nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com and tell us how many people are coming along. We welcome small family and friend groups.

Date: 10 September, 2011 (Saturday)
Time: 9:30 am
Duration: about 2 hours
Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Cost: The Crabs do not charge for the trip but you will have to pay for the bumboat and taxi rides to get to Chek Jawa.

How to get to Chek Jawa?

1) Take the bumboat to the island of Pulau Ubin from Changi Village.
2) Once you arrive at Ubin, you can find a lot of island taxis (vans) near the jetty. Tell the taxi driver to take you to Chek Jawa.

Give yourself 45 minutes to travel from Changi Village to Chek Jawa at a leisurely pace.

More Information

Read more about Chek Jawa and Pulau Ubin, and how to get there and what to see and do on the wildsingapore website.

FAQ

Q: Suitable attire?
A: Comfortable outdoors clothes and walking shoes

Q: What should I bring?
A: Drinking water (important), rain gear. Optional: cap, change of attire, camera, snacks.

Q: Age restriction?
A: None as long as the participants are prepared to walk 2 km, climb a 6-storey high tower. able to stand the hot sun or wet weather, and be responsible for their own well-being during the walk.

Q: How do I recognise the organisers?
A: We will be the ones doing a roll-call at Chek Jawa Information Kiosk. So, as long as you make it to Chek Jawa, you will definitely see us.

Q: What if it rains?
A: This is a rain-or-shine event. The Crabs will be there at Chek Jawa regardless of the weather. Usually we are able to resume the walk once the rain stops. Please come prepared with rainwear. You make your own decision whether to come or not in the event of bad weather.