Awesome day out with visitors at Chek Jawa

We had a fabulous day out at Chek Jawa Boardwalk with 70 visitors on Saturday. It's the December school holidays, and families took the opportunity to come and see what the hype of Chek Jawa is about. As always, we saw lots of interesting living things. The walk is fun, and the kids are keen to learn. The 'outdoor classroom' is simply one of the best ways to teach the kids about our own natural heritage, and for the adults to re-connect with nature.

The walk started in quite an exciting way when a boy, Aiden, spotting a small snake on the ground near the English Cottage. The guides were thrilled to see that it is a Keel-bellied Whip Snake. It's a lifer for most of the guides.

Keel-bellied whip snake

It's rare to see this snake because it is an arboreal snake, meaning it is usually found high up on trees, and there are few chances to see this snake on the ground. The guides decided to put it back into the forest. Just before we released it back on a tree, Ivan and Jonathan took the opportunity to show the children this beautiful snake and to explain about the ecology of how it survives in the forest.

A close-up look at the Keel-bellied whip snake

We also reminded the visitors that we must not handle snakes if we are not trained to do so. There are venomous snakes in Singapore, some more venomous than others, and so for the safety of ourselves as well as for the snakes, we should not handle snakes on our own. We hope that we have left a beautiful message of conservation, love and respect for all snakes. If you're interested to learn more about snakes (and other reptiles and amphibians), do check out the blog from the Herpetology Society of Singapore.

Shortly after this, Jonathan gently released the whip snake back onto a tree. What a great experience for everyone!

After the excitement, we split the visitors into 4 groups, and everyone set off for the boardwalk, with a spring in our steps. To explore Chek Jawa!

12 Dec (Sat) morning: Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

Hi friends! The year 2015 is coming to a close, and we have one final Chek Jawa walk to complete before the Naked Hermit Crabs take a short break!

We are happy to announce that our free nature outing on 12 Dec, 2015, is now open for registration. Do join us to discover the wonderful biodiversity in the mangroves and coastal area of Chek Jawa. The walk is conducted on the boardwalk, and so there is no need to get your shoes wet. For a better idea of what to expect from a typical Naked Hermit Crabs walk at Chek Jawa, read a couple of our posts:
- November 2015
- August 2015

Our walks are run entirely by volunteers who want to share their love for Chek Jawa with you.

Click here for the online registration form.

Date: 12 Dec (Sat) 
Meeting time: 9.30am 
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin 
Duration of walk: Around 2 hours 
Cost: Free (donations are accepted)

5 Dec (Sat) evening: Free guided walk at the Pasir Ris mangroves

As we have getting many requests for a Pasir Ris mangrove walk, we have decided to do one in the month of December. And what better time is there to do the walk, then during the school holidays? Specially for kids and families, explore Pasir Ris mangroves with volunteer nature guides from the Naked Hermit Crabs on this FREE guided tour of the boardwalk! Sign up now on our online registration form! Don't miss the opportunity to see some wildlife in action!

Pasir Ris mangroves is conveniently located 10 minutes away from Pasir Ris MRT station. Bring your children down to enjoy nature during the weekend! There are many creatures look out for in the mangroves, such as mudskippers, tree-climbing crabs, herons and monitor lizards. Sometimes, you may even spot kingfishers and water snakes! It will certainly be an unforgettable experience with your friends and family!

An eager participant jotting down notes!

Not only kids learn on our walks! Adults learn a lot too.

Jellyfish and Otters at Chek Jawa on 21 Nov 2015

We had a wonderful outing at Chek Jawa Boardwalk on 21 Nov! It is the year-end school holidays, and we tried our best to accommodate as many visitors as we could. We had a huge turnout of 74 visitors. FANTASTIC!

We split the visitors into 7 groups led by a guide each, and off we went exploring the mangrove and coastal segments of Chek Jawa. The visitors were excited to see so many animals - jellyfish, otters, monitor lizards, carpet anemone, crabs and more!

Read on to find out more.

21 Nov (Sat) morning: Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

Hi!

We are happy to announce that the free nature outing to Chek Jawa Boardwalk on 21 Nov (Sat) is now open for registration. Come and join the Naked Hermit Crabs to check out the wildlife residing in the mangroves and coastal area of Chek Jawa. The nature walk is a leisurely stroll conducted on the boardwalk, and there is no need to get your shoes wet. Let the volunteer guides show you the amazing biodiversity that is in our own "backyard".

Click here for the online registration form.

Date: 21 Nov (Sat)

Meeting time: 9.30am

Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin

Duration of walk: Around 2 hours

Cost: Free (donations are accepted)

Click on here to get more information about getting to Chek Jawa, what to bring, what to prepare for the outing.

Browse through the photos below to give you an idea what you will experience during one of our walks. Feel free to read our blog posts of past walks.

Great day at Chek Jawa on a somewhat hazy day

46 visitors had a wonderful day out at Chek Jawa Wetlands with the Crabs last Saturday (October 10). There was a small window of relatively low-haze conditions, and so we all decided to carry on with the outdoor activity. We had to cancel the September walk due to bad haze conditions. Just for the record, the 3-hour PSI reading from NEA on October 10 was 93 at 11 am, while the hourly AQI reading for PM2.5 was an amber 139.

Families with young children in tow came. Everyone was determined to have a great day spent outdoors amidst the natural surroundings of Chek Jawa on Pulau Ubin.

10 October (Sat) morning: Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

Hello! We are happy to announce that the free nature outing to Chek Jawa Boardwalk on October 10, Saturday, is now open for registration. Come and join the Naked Hermit Crabs to check out the wildlife residing in the mangroves and coastal area of Chek Jawa. The nature walk is a leisurely stroll conducted on the boardwalk, and there is no need to get your shoes wet. Let the volunteer guides show you the amazing biodiversity that is in our own 'backyard'.

Click here for the online registration form.

Date: 10 October (Saturday)
Meeting time: 9:30 am
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Duration of walk: Around 2 hours
Cost: Free (donations are accepted)

Click on this post to get more information about getting to Chek Jawa, what to bring, what to prepare for the outing.

More photos below to give you an idea what you will experience during one of our walks. You may also read our blog posts of past walks.

At the coastal boardwalk

Fiddler crabs are commonly seen near the outer mangroves

Eagles flying over Chek Jawa

Jelly fishes in the sea next to the boardwalk

A climb to the top of Jejawi Tower

Cotton-stainer bugs

Drawings done by our visitors

Cancelled - Chek Jawa Boardwalk nature trip on 12 Sep, 2015

For those who signed up with us for the Chek Jawa Boardwalk tomorrow (12 Sep), an email has gone out to inform you that the walk is cancelled. Please read the email if you wish to contact us directly. A mobile number is given in the email.

"Dear participants,

It is with regret that we are announcing our nature trip to Chek Jawa tomorrow morning is cancelled due the continuing haze situation.

While the haze may not affect most healthy adults, we do not wish to see young children exposed to the smoke haze in an outdoor setting. Several parents have written in to say that their families are beginning to feel unwell, most likely due to the smoke haze.

In any case, at least 2 of us (volunteers) will make their way to Chek Jawa to meet and greet any group that may have missed this email. If you intend to be there regardless of the weather, please look out for us".

photo of Ubin shrouded in haze in 2013

School's out! with the Naked Hermit Crabs

Despite the haze and a light drizzle, we had a record-breaking 108 participants at our Pasir Ris mangrove walk today! As usual, the mangroves did not disappoint and it was a great walk as the participants got to see many creatures such as the Buffy Fish owl, jellyfishes, monitor lizards, dog-faced water snakes and weaver ants at work.

Eager participants registering for the walk!

One of our guides, Becky, introducing herself to the group.

Next, we had Pei Yan telling her group about the Naked Hermit Crabs!

After splitting our participants into 7 groups, our guides gave a brief background on the history of the Naked Hermit Crabs and why we aim to protect our shores in danger. Soon after, the groups got to see weaver ants in action. This ants have an unique nest building behaviour where workers build nests by weaving leaves together using silk from the ant larvae.

Weaver ants working together to build a nest.

So much to see at Chek Jawa Wetlands!

Our outing to Chek Jawa on 22 August was a fun and eventful one! We saw so many animals and had an encounter with a venomous sea snake. Lots of photos to share with everyone.

Truly, we say it again and again - Chek Jawa is ALIVE! If you have not visited Chek Jawa, come visit this gem of a nature place with the Naked Hermit Crabs. We run a monthly nature tour on the boardwalk as part of our educational outreach to fellow Singaporeans and residents, and the next one is on 12 September.

We hold our walks on the boardwalk. At Chek Jawa, there are 2 segments of the boardwalk - the mangrove boardwalk and the coastal boardwalk.

This is the outer mangrove segment where we always stop to watch the cute fiddler crabs.

Mangrove boardwalk

When the tide is low, it is wonderful to be on the coastal boardwalk because you can see so much up close. Well, next best thing to being on the mudflat itself.

Coastal boardwalk

Hey! What's that green animal? It's the Haddon's carpet anemone. This is a beautiful animal, roughly 60 to 70 cm in diameter. The green colour is due to microscopic algae growing in the anemone. The carpet anemone has a large oral disk on which are lots of tentacles that can sting and trap small animals that swim past it. We used to have a lot more carpet anemones at Chek Jawa, but the encouraging news is that we are slowly seeing more of them these days.

Haddon's carpet anemone

5 Sep (Sat) evening: Free guided walk at the Pasir Ris mangroves

As we have getting many requests for a Pasir Ris mangrove walk, we have decided to do one in the month of September. And what better time is there to do the walk, then during the school holidays? Specially for kids and families, explore Pasir Ris mangroves with volunteer nature guides from the Naked Hermit Crabs on this FREE guided tour of the boardwalk! Sign up now on our online registration form! Don't miss the opportunity to see some wildlife in action!

Pasir Ris mangroves is conveniently located 10 minutes away from Pasir Ris MRT station. Bring your children down to enjoy nature during the weekend! There are many creatures look out for in the mangroves, such as mudskippers, tree-climbing crabs, herons and monitor lizards. Sometimes, you may even spot kingfishers and water snakes! It will certainly be an unforgettable experience with your friends and family!

An eager participant jotting down notes!

Not only kids learn on our walks! Adults learn a lot too.

22 August (Sat) morning: Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

Hello! Registration for the free nature outing to Chek Jawa Boardwalk on 22nd August is now open. Join the Naked Hermit Crabs to check out the wildlife residing in the mangroves. Limited places are still available.

Click here for the online registration form.

We have been doing FREE nature trips to Chek Jawa Boardwalk for close to 8 years now. Each month, we bring small groups of visitors out on to introduce them to the plants and animals found in the mangroves and intertidal areas of Chek Jawa. All from the safety and convenience of the boardwalk. There is always plenty to see on these trips, such as wild boars, insects, lots and lots of crabs, spiders, snakes, fishes, perhaps a jellyfish or two in the sea, and not forgetting the birds in the forests and flying high above us. Who says there is no nature in Singapore! Come explore Chek Jawa with the Crabs!

Date: 22 August (Saturday)
Meeting time: 9:30 am
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Duration of walk: Around 2 hours
Cost: Free (donations are accepted)

Click on this post to get more information about getting to Chek Jawa, what to bring, what to prepare for the outing.

Fantastic day out at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

60 visitors - lots of families, kids, moms and pops, groups of friends - came out to explore Chek Jawa with the Crabs during our July walk. As always, we saw lots of interesting stuff and had a great time!

The tide was low enough for us to see the fiddler crabs on the sandy patch below the boardwalk. The kids love to see the male fiddler crabs wave their large claws. We told the kids that the female crabs are there too. Harder to spot, for sure! Some of the kids saw them and were able to describe the female crabs have equal sized claws and sandy colouring. Not bad, kids!

Fiddler crabs (Photo credit: Ian)

This is the location where you can see the fiddler crabs at the edge of the mangroves.

Way out on the sand bar, there were 2 Great-billed herons. The guides had their binoculars and shared them with the visitors. These are magnificent birds standing as tall as 1.1m. What are these birds doing out there on the sand bar? Hunting for fish in the incoming tide! Such resourceful creatures! We have seen these Great-billed herons many times.

Great-billed herons

11 July (Sat) morning: Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

** Update 5-Jul-15: We have closed registration for this walk due to an overwhelming response from the public. Apologies! Please join us another time. **

Registration for the nature walk on 11 July is now open! Join us to discover the wildlife that reside in the mangroves of Chek Jawa!

We have been doing FREE nature trips to Chek Jawa Boardwalk for close to 8 years now. Each month, we bring small groups of visitors out on to introduce them to the plant and animals found in the mangroves and intertidal areas of Chek Jawa. All from the safety and convenience of the boardwalk. There is always plenty to see on these trips, such as wild boars, insects, lots and lots of crabs, spiders, snakes, fishes, perhaps a jellyfish or two in the sea, and not forgetting the birds in the forests and flying high above us. Who says there is no nature in Singapore! Come explore Chek Jawa with the Crabs!

To sign up for the walk, click here!

Sign up at the Online Registration Form, and we will confirm your attendance via email in a few days! 

Date: 11 July (Saturday)

Meeting time: 9:30 am

Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin

Duration of walk: Around 2 hours

Cost: Free (donations are accepted)

Read on for more photos and details about the walk.

Wild boars and giant mudskippers at Chek Jawa!

The Crabs had a special evening walk last Saturday, 13 Jun (Sat), shared with 73 visitors!

13 June (Sat) evening: Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

Update: 
We are full! Registration is suspended for the moment until we can get more volunteer guides. Thank you for your understanding. 

Registration for the nature walk on 13th June (Saturday) is now open! Join us as we uncover a different side of Chek Jawa during this upcoming Special Ubin Day Walk.

As our guided walks for Chek Jawa are usually in the morning, this coming walk will be a special one as visitors will get a chance to see the evening side of Chek Jawa! Who knows what we will discover and encounter!

We have been doing FREE nature trips to Chek Jawa Boardwalk for close to 8 years now. Each month, we bring small groups of visitors out on to introduce them to the plant and animals found in the mangroves and intertidal areas of Chek Jawa. All from the safety and convenience of the boardwalk. There is always plenty to see on these trips, such as wild boars, insects, lots and lots of crabs, spiders, snakes, fishes, perhaps a jellyfish or two in the sea, and not forgetting the birds in the forests and flying high above us. Who says there is no nature in Singapore! Come explore Chek Jawa with the Crabs!

To sign up for the walk, click here!

Sign up at the Online Registration Form, and we will confirm your attendance via email in a few days! 

Date: 13 June (Saturday)

Meeting time: 4:30pm 

Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin

Duration of walk: Around 2 hours

Cost: Free (donations are accepted)

Read on for more photos and details about the walk.

Otters and Low Tide at Chek Jawa!

We had an awesome day at Chek Jawa yesterday, shared with 35 visitors! This is our monthly free walk. There were lots of sightings including otters, horseshoe crabs and lots of fiddler crabs on the shore.

It was low tide in the morning. And Ria's group who set off first saw 3 otters running on the mudflats! The visitors were thrilled!

Photo credit: wildshores

This is certainly not the first time we see otters in Chek Jawa. The most recent otter sighting was in October 2013, and before that, twice in June 2012. We've seen them in the area around the coastal boardwalk as well as coming out from the coastal forest. Some of the guides remember seeing otters in the northern sandbars of Chek Jawa.

9 May (Sat) morning: Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

Registration for the nature walk on 9th May is now open! Join us to discover the wildlife that reside in the mangroves of Chek Jawa!

We have been doing FREE nature trips to Chek Jawa Boardwalk for close to 8 years now. Each month, we bring small groups of visitors out on to introduce them to the plant and animals found in the mangroves and intertidal areas of Chek Jawa. All from the safety and convenience of the boardwalk. There is always plenty to see on these trips, such as wild boars, insects, lots and lots of crabs, spiders, snakes, fishes, perhaps a jellyfish or two in the sea, and not forgetting the birds in the forests and flying high above us. Who says there is no nature in Singapore! Come explore Chek Jawa with the Crabs!

To sign up for the walk, click here!

Sign up at the Online Registration Form, and we will confirm your attendance via email in a few days! 

Date: 9 May (Saturday)

Meeting time: 9:30 am

Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin

Duration of walk: Around 2 hours

Cost: Free (donations are accepted)

Read on for more photos and details about the walk.

'Dragon' at Chek Jawa!

A glorious Saturday morning with enthusiastic visitors to Chek Jawa on the Naked Hermit Crabs' free monthly guided tour of the boardwalk.

As usual, the kids spot the most amazing animals!