Monday, March 15, 2010

Another Great Trip at Sungei Buloh (14 Mar 2010)

This has to be one of my best trips to Sungei Buloh so far, with quite a number of new sightings!

 Kalak Kambing (Finlaysonia obovata)
On top of the list will be this Kalak Kambing (Finlaysonia obovata). I spotted this climber, while Peiting spotted the fruits! I had found at least 6 other Kalak Kambing in the reserve so far, but none had been fruiting or flowering. So finally, here's one with the fruits!

Berembang (Sonneratia caseolaris)
And the good luck did not just end there. I spotted this naturally occuring Berembang (Sonneratia caseolaris)! It was a rather mature tree. I would say it's at least 10 metres tall, if not taller. And it's flowering and fruiting too! I certainly must come back again earlier to get some nice shots of the flowers, as they usually wither around 8 plus in the morning.

Gedabu (Sonneratia ovata)
And even more surprising, I noticed a few shorter trees near the Berembang, and I realised that they were Gedabu (Sonneratia ovata) trees! Like it's relative the Berembang, this was also a rather rare mangrove plant in Singapore!

Tumu Putih (sexangula) Flower
Yet another rare plant found in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve was this Tumu Putih (Bruguiera sexangula), and it was flowering too!

Tumu Putih (sexangula) Fruit
I also found a small little propagule developing. Again, I certainly must revisit it again in a few weeks time to check if it has matured.

Barat-barat (Cassine viburnifolia)
Another rare mangrove plant, the Barat-barat (Cassine viburnifolia) was flowering and fruiting too!

Jeruju putih (Acanthus ilicifolius)
A number of other plants were also flowering, and while they may not be as rare as the previous ones, they were still rather pretty. The above is a Jeruju putih (Acanthus ilicifolius), which has lilac flowers.

Jeruju hitam (Acanthus ebracteatus)
Looking rather similar to the Jeruju putih is the Jeruju hitam (Acanthus ebracteatus). This plant has white flowers instead. They are often called Sea Holly due to their spiky leaves, which resembe those of the Christmas holly.

Jeruju (Acanthus volubilis)
The Jeruju (Acanthus volubilis), on the other hand, does not have spikes, though the flowers are white in colour too. It is often seen in its climbing form, climbing up other mangrove plants.

Ant House Plant (Dischidia major)
The Ant House Plant (Dischidia major) was not flowering or fruiting, but it looked so nice under the sun, that I decided to take a photo of it anyway. This climber has pitcher-leaves inhabited by ants. In return for the shelter provided by the plant, the ants bring organic debris into their "house" to be used by the plant as nutrients.

Nyireh Batu (Xylocarpus moluccensis)
Yet another rare plant we saw flowering was this Nyireh Batu (Xylocarpus moluccensis). Looking forward to see it fruiting soon.

Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas) Cocoon
We also saw a few Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas) cocoons on the tree too!

Green Crested Lizard (Bronchocela cristatella)
We saw a Green Crested Lizard (Bronchocela cristatella) near the boardwalk! This was only the third time I saw this lizard at Sungei Buloh!

Droppings of palm civet
These looked like the droppings of a palm civet to me.

Dogs
There were a pack of dogs in one of the ponds. Really hope the authorities can find ways to remove them soon. These dogs were certainly threatening the wildlife in the reserve.

Smooth Otters (Lutrogale perspicillata)
Such as these Smooth Otters (Lutrogale perspicillata). We saw three of them today. In fact, I saw them yesterday while conducting a guided walk too. But I guess I'll never be tired of seeing these cute mammals!

Malayan Water Monitor (Varanus salvator)
I have also seen the dogs disturbing Malayan Water Monitors (Varanus salvator). These lizards are the biggest lizards you can find in Singapore.

Common Flying Dragon (Draco sumatranus)
We also saw a smaller relative of the monitor lizard, a male Common Flying Dragon (Draco sumatranus). This lizard can glide from tree to tree! It appeared be performing some courtship behaviour, extending its large yellow throat flap.

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
We saw lots of birds in the reserve, most of them are the migratory birds. There were a few resident birds too, such as the Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) above.

Yellow-Barred Flutterer (Rhyothemis phyllis)
We had a hard time taking photos of this Yellow-Barred Flutterer (Rhyothemis phyllis), a rather common dragonfly. It was flying around so quickly, and I had problem focusing my camera on it.

Shield-backed Bugs (Calliphara nobilis)
I found quite a number of Shield-backed Bugs (Calliphara nobilis, Scutelleridae). These bugs are sometimes called Jewel Bugs too, due to their bright and shiny colours. They belong to the Superfamily Pentatomoidea, which includes the stink bugs (Pentatomidae) and shield bugs (Acanthosomatidae).

Cotton Stainer Bugs (Dysdercus decussatus)
The Cotton Stainer Bugs (Dysdercus decussatus) were another species we saw that gather in huge numbers. These bugs feed on the seeds of the Sea Hibiscus (Talipariti tiliaceum).

Batik Golden Web Spiders (Nephila antipodiana)
The were a few Batik Golden Web Spiders (Nephila antipodiana) among the trees. These spiders build one of the biggest and strongest spider webs.

We did not see the crocodile today, though I saw it last Monday. Didn't blog about it so thought I'll include the photos here as well.

Estuarine Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)
Here's the Estuarine Crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) that I saw last Monday.

Dog-faced Water Snake (Cerberus rhynchops)
We saw a Dog-faced Water Snake (Cerberus rhynchops) when we were sheltering from the rain in one of the shelters too.

Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
And last Monday, we also saw a Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus).

In any case, I have been to Sungei Buloh so many times, and yet I was finding new stuff every now and then! That's something that really keep me visiting the reserve again and again!

3 comments:

PurpleMangrove said...

You are so lucky!

yg said...

wow! so many things seen in one day!
the white lettering on a blue background doesn't make easy reading for a senior citizen like me. had to strain to read the words.

darwinianleft said...

Wah, I just realised this post has so many nice photos. Like!