An Otterly Awesome Day Out at Pasir Ris Mangroves

Video of the otter we spotted by Ria Tan

As with all of our other walks, we had a wonderful time exploring the mangroves in Pasir Ris Park with our participants!

Over 80 participants turned up despite gloomy weather

We had close to 90 participants despite the slight drizzle and grey skies at the start of our walk.

Instead of dampening our spirits, the light drizzle helped to cool the environment in the park and that made the walk more enjoyable.

Here's our guide, Ley Kun (pictured in a white hat), giving an introduction before the walk.

Our participants were made up of groups of eager families and friends, who were excited to learn more about the residents of our local mangroves.

Encouraging the curiosity of our young participants

Kids are the best spotters of wildlife and often ask the best questions!

With the help of our curious, young participants, we got to spot many crabs and interesting insects, such as the mangrove shield bug and a red-coloured assassin bug!

Photo of these gorgeous creatures by Ria Tan

Mangrove shield bugs are often found in clusters under leaves in the mangrove. To find out more about these beautiful bugs, you can read about them here on Wildsingapore's fact sheets.

A cotton stainer bug nymph, spotted by another young participant

This young individual of the cotton stainer was found near the sea hibiscus plant, which the adults and young often congregate around. You can read more about them here.

A young mangrove pit viper, spotted by a sharp-eyed visitor

Mangrove pit vipers are a key part of our walk as our visitors are always excited to see them.

As with all other snakes and wild animals, they will not attack unless threatened or provoked.

We really enjoy having families join us for our walks as visitors help us to spot wildlife and ask a lot of great questions about our local flora and fauna.

Comments and drawings from our participants

At the end of our walk, we usually let our participants draw or write about what they saw.

Hard at work 

A quick drawing session in the mangroves

Here's some artworks and the young artists who drew them.

While the kids were drawing, we saw a smooth-coated otter fishing and a group of egrets resting in a tree.

We also had a grey heron and hornbills fly by when we ended our walk at the jetty!

We would also like to thank our participants for the encouraging comments on Facebook by our participants, Veronica Ong and Ahha Lim.

Veronica Ong Thank you for sharing with us this lovely place! Kevin (Evan) was awesome and so patient!

Veronica Ong We saw mudskippers, a purple snake, a dead horseshoe crab shell, otters, fish, snails etx

2

Ahha Lim Thank you very much for organizing this special event. I am looking for more outings with you.

1

 

Why you should join us at our next walk

Our walks are:

• For everyone (from families to individuals)
• Free-of-charge
• Fun!

We hope to see you at our next walk on 15 December 2019.

Follow our Facebook page for updates on the next walk.

Thank you to all our participants who joined us and our guides, Evan, Jonathan, Ley Kun, Ria and Sumita for the wonderful time!

23 Nov (Sat) - Free guided walk at Pasir Ris Mangroves

This March, the Naked Hermit Crabs are specially organising a very special nature walk at Pasir Ris Mangroves this Saturday, 23 November. This is a FREE nature walk on the mangrove boardwalk at Pasir Ris Park.

Sign up now on Eventbrite! 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. We only do Pasir Ris Mangroves two to three times a year, so don't miss this opportunity!

Ria explains to her participants that the best way
to find owls is to look out for their puke pellets
that usually contains undigested matter,
such as bones, feathers or plant matter
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

This puke pellet contains a shrew's skeleton
(a type of rodent)
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

One of the spotted wood owls
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

They aren't always easy to spot so guides usually point
them out. With a bit of patience and sharp eyesight,
the visitor finally spots the owls.
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

Kapok! The kapok tree produces pods that burst
to expose a cottony interior.
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

A grey heron heading back to the roost sight.
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

Taking in the sights and sounds at the shore
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

Everyone was intrigued by the crab moults
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

There are many creatures look out for in the mangroves, such as mudskippers, tree-climbing crabs, snails, herons and monitor lizards. The best part of the nature walk is at the end when we get to the small jetty over the river. There is a lot of animal activity in the evenings. We have seen young monitor lizards crawling into their nests as they settle in before nightfall. Sometimes, you may even spot kingfishers, jellyfishes and water snakes! It really is quite exciting for the children to be able to see these animals in the wild.

Biggest turnout ever at our Pasir Ris Mangroves tour

100 visitors. What a fantastic turnout of families and friends to our evening walk at Pasir Ris mangroves walk on 25 May, 2019! We had to take 2 wefies - thanks to our enthusiastic guide, Che Cheng.

Wefie #1 by Che Cheng

Wefie #2 by Che Cheng

Captured the wefie moment - by Ria

Highlights of the walk include two sightings of the shore pit viper. In fact, the first pit viper, spotted by a visitor in Sumita's group, is a cute tiny one, not more than 10 cm long. Its triangular head is so distinctive even though it is just a baby snake. What a special treat! The other shore pit viper was spotted on the mangrove mud, slithering away in a hole in the ground. Please know that the shore pit viper is a highly venomous snake, so do stay far away from it if you spot one.

25 May (Sat) - Free guided walk at Pasir Ris Mangroves

This March, the Naked Hermit Crabs are specially organising a very special nature walk at Pasir Ris Mangroves on 25 May, Saturday. This is a FREE nature walk on the mangrove boardwalk at Pasir Ris Park.

Sign up now on Eventbrite! 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. We only do Pasir Ris Mangroves two to three times a year, so don't miss this opportunity!

Ria explains to her participants that the best way
to find owls is to look out for their puke pellets
that usually contains undigested matter,
such as bones, feathers or plant matter
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

This puke pellet contains a shrew's skeleton
(a type of rodent)
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

One of the spotted wood owls
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

They aren't always easy to spot so guides usually point
them out. With a bit of patience and sharp eyesight,
the visitor finally spots the owls.
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

Kapok! The kapok tree produces pods that burst
to expose a cottony interior.
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

A grey heron heading back to the roost sight.
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

Taking in the sights and sounds at the shore
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

Everyone was intrigued by the crab moults
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

There are many creatures look out for in the mangroves, such as mudskippers, tree-climbing crabs, snails, herons and monitor lizards. The best part of the nature walk is at the end when we get to the small jetty over the river. There is a lot of animal activity in the evenings. We have seen young monitor lizards crawling into their nests as they settle in before nightfall. Sometimes, you may even spot kingfishers, jellyfishes and water snakes! It really is quite exciting for the children to be able to see these animals in the wild.

Happy World Wetlands Day!

Last Saturday's walk gave participants close wild encounters to several animal superstars in Pasir Ris Park and Mangroves. To prepare for our special World Wetlands Day walk (2 February), the guides decided to meet early to plan our route. While doing our recce, we were alerted by some bird photographers to the presence of the family of Spotted Wood Owls who frequent the park. We later shared this magical experience with the participants. Kids and adults alike were enthralled to see the family of owls and puke pellets which often contains rodent bones.

Spotted Wood Owl
(Photo by Jimmy Ng)

In the mangroves, we were lucky to encounter many different types of birds and some mangrove pit vipers! Under the supervision of one of our guides, our participants got to get close to one of the adult pit vipers in the mangrove who was resting on the boardwalk. This was a good opportunity for us to educate the importance of respecting nature from a distance and this allowed our participants to understand that snakes do not attack unless it is under self-defense. Mangrove pit vipers are highly venomous. However, no snake or person was harmed as co-existence just means that you respect each other's space, even if children are present. With the right guidance, we can all co-exist with our wild neighbours, regardless of whether they are scaly or furry.

Our scaly superstar, the mangrove pit viper who was
resting on the boardwalk all day and went unnoticed
our friend notified us of their presence. Participants got to go
close to the pit viper but nothing happened as there was
no touchingof the reptile by participants or guides.
(Photo by Peter Chua)

Another young mangrove pit viper
(Photo by Peter Chua)

A third mangrove pit viper who went unnoticed by
everyone except one guide
(Photo by Sumita)

To end the walk, a famous family of otters swam past the jetty and came onto land. This delighted our participants and other park-goers who were all capturing the scene with their phones and cameras. This was truly a perfect end to an unforgettable walk.

Otters making a special guest experience at the end of our walk!

(Video by E Lim)

We would like to thank all of our guides (Ria, Ley Kun, Xiang Tian, Becky, Liz and Sumita) for guiding our participants. To all our participants, we hope you had a wonderful day with your loved ones and we hope to see you at our next walk in February! Remember to follow our Facebook Page for updates on registration for our next walk at Chek Jawa.

A truly joyous occasion to commemorate World Wetlands Day!
(Photo by Ria Tan)

24 March (Sat) - Free guided walk at Pasir Ris Mangroves

This March, the Naked Hermit Crabs are specially organising a very special nature walk at Pasir Ris Mangroves for young families on 24 March, Saturday. This is a FREE nature walk on the mangrove boardwalk at Pasir Ris Park.

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. We only do Pasir Ris Mangroves a couple of times in a year, so don't miss this opportunity!

There are many creatures look out for in the mangroves, such as mudskippers, tree-climbing crabs, snails, herons and monitor lizards. The best part of the nature walk is at the end when we get to the small jetty over the river. There is a lot of animal activity in the evenings. We have seen young monitor lizards crawling into their nests as they settle in before nightfall. Sometimes, you may even spot kingfishers, jellyfishes and water snakes! It really is quite exciting for the children to be able to see these animals in the wild.

11 Feb (Sun) - Free guided walk at Pasir Ris Mangroves

This February, the Naked Hermit Crabs are specially organising a very special nature walk at Pasir Ris Mangroves for young families on 11 February, Sunday. This is a FREE nature walk on the mangrove boardwalk at Pasir Ris Park.

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. We only do Pasir Ris Mangroves a couple of times in a year, so don't miss this opportunity!

There are many creatures look out for in the mangroves, such as mudskippers, tree-climbing crabs, snails, herons and monitor lizards. The best part of the nature walk is at the end when we get to the small jetty over the river. There is a lot of animal activity in the evenings. We have seen young monitor lizards crawling into their nests as they settle in before nightfall.  Sometimes, you may even spot kingfishers, jellyfishes and water snakes! It really is quite exciting for the children to be able to see these animals in the wild.

Date: 11 February 2018 (Sunday)
Time: 5 pm (We should end around 6.30pm, just before sunset.)
Meeting point: Pasir Ris Park, Carpark C.

Sign up here.

Meet near the first toilets nearest the entrance to Carpark C. The meeting point is a short stroll from the Pasir Ris MRT station. Pasir Ris Park is a very long park with many carparks (from A to D). Do look at the map to be sure you are heading for the correct carpark.

Do read on for more information about our FAQs and what you can expect to see!

3 Sep (Sun) - Free guided walk at Pasir Ris Mangroves

The one-week school break in September is coming up, and the Naked Hermit Crabs are specially organising a very special nature walk at Pasir Ris Mangroves for young families on 3 September, Sunday. This is a FREE nature walk on the mangrove boardwalk at Pasir Ris Park.

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. We only do Pasir Ris Mangroves a couple of times in a year, so don't miss this opportunity!

There are many creatures look out for in the mangroves, such as mudskippers, tree-climbing crabs, snails, herons and monitor lizards. The best part of the nature walk is at the end when we get to the small jetty over the river. There is a lot of animal activity in the evenings. We have seen young monitor lizards crawling into their nests as they settle in before nightfall.  Sometimes, you may even spot kingfishers, jellyfishes and water snakes! It really is quite exciting for the children to be able to see these animals in the wild.

Date: 3 September, 2017 (Sunday)
Time: 5 pm (We should end around 6.30pm, just before sunset.)
Meeting point: Pasir Ris Park, Carpark C.

Sign up here.

Meet near the first toilets nearest the entrance to Carpark C. The meeting point is a short stroll from the Pasir Ris MRT station. Pasir Ris Park is a very long park with many carparks (from A to D). Do look at the map to be sure you are heading for the correct carpark.

Do read on for more information about our FAQs and what you can expect to see!