Back to Cyrene

Today, I finally got to visit Cyrene Reef with Team Seagrass again!

But this time round, our transportation there was a little different. Previously, we took a boat that went all the way to the reef. But today, the boat brought us to some where near the reef, and we then had to transfer to a smaller boat to get nearer to the shore, which made the landing easier.



This was the first time we tried this method, and here were the brave ones (Ria, Andy, Robin and Jo) on the first boat.



And YES! They made a successful landing!



Here goes the second batch - Siti, Marcus, Wei Ling and Wei Lian. I went with Chay Hoon, Kok Sheng and Gaytri on the third batch.



When we reached the reef, we noticed that the tape seagrasses were flowering! The small whitish bits (that look that styrofoam) floating around are the male flower, while the bigger one in the middle is the female flower.

Marcus was my buddy for the seagrass transect, and we managed to complete it in about 45 minutes.

And after that, we got to explore the reef to see the rich marine life!



There were lots of knobbly sea stars among the seagrasses, and they came in different shades of brown, red and orange.



There were lots and lots of sand-sifting sea stars on the sand bar too!



Also on the sand bar were the sand dollars.



We also saw a diadema sea urchin trapped in a tidal pool, and a salmacis sea urchin hidden among the seagrasses.



There were several sandfish sea cucumberss as well, and lots of synaptid sea cucumber. Do you know that sea cucumbers breathe through their anuses?



Cyrene Reef also has lots of corals, such as the soft corals on above-top, and the hard corals on above-bottom.



Several Denison's nudibranchs were also spotted among the seagrasses, and one of them just next to Chay Hoon and Gaytri's transect line at 23m!



But the highlight of the day must be this! I had initially thought that it's a nudibranch, but after examining my photos carefully, I realised that its two rhinophores in front were kind of cylindrical in shape, typical of a side-gilled slug. And of course, I also couldn't find any gills on its back nor any opening for the gills. Checking at the Sea Slug Forum under Pleurobranchidae, I found that it resembles the darker variation of Pleurobranchus forskalii. This side-gilled slug can be differentiated from other similar species by the white rings or semi-rings on its back. Will send it to Sea Slug Forum later to seek some advice on the exact ID.

Too bad I didn't have the time to properly take some better photos as tide was rising and we had to leave soon.



Here's the first boat making for our bigger boat further away from the shore.

Really, can't wait to come back to this fabulous shore again!

A Walk from Bukit Timah to MacRitchie

Last Saturday, a few of us Semakau guides decided to go terrestrial for a change :)

And our target - to walk from Bukit Timah to MacRitchie.

I've often heard people telling me there's nothing much to see in our nature reserves - it's just trees, and trees, and more trees...

But really, if you can stop a while to observe the surrounding, the wonders unfold...

And here are just some of the beautiful sights and interesting things we saw along the way...



Sometimes, you just have to look up to see postcard perfect silhouettes.

And have you ever stopped to take a closer look at the leaves along the trail?



The intricate patterns on the fern leaves...



The dew on the big yam leaves...



And leaves don't just come in green...



Every now and then, there were surprises among the leaves, and in this case, adding a pastel hue to the refreshing green.



And among the trees were splashes of orange, contributed by our native wild ixora.



And little yellow flowers dotted the grass patches.



There were lots of interesting fungi with weird shapes here and there.



And many of them were brilliantly coloured too!

But wait, enough about the flora, but do we have any interesting fauna?



Forest ants were a common sight, and they can be every where - on the ground, tree trunks, flowers...



Many cute little crickets were also spotted squatting on leaves.



The white-handed fly looks like it's wearing a pair of white gloves.



There were several pretty damselflies.



And lots of dragonflies!



This water stick insect looks like it's skating on the water, but actually it's swimming in it!



And in the water, we saw fishes too, including this snakehead.



Along the way, several monkeys were also spotted. This one is biting on a little fig. That just shows that monkeys can find food on their own. You don't have to feed them, or eventually they may just lose the ability to find food on their own!



And what a pleasant surprise! A snake! Was looking through my reptiles book and some of the snake forums, but couldn't find one that looks like the above, which has a green belly and reddish brown back.



It started raining again, and we had to put on our ponchos. But still, it felt great to be walking among the greenery.



Finally, we reached MacRitchie Reservoir, which is part of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

This was not the first time I've done this, but going with fellow nature guides made the experience a whole new one! Along the way, we shared the bits and pieces of information we knew about the flora and fauna we saw, and I've certainly learnt quite a number of new things, and at the same time, enjoy the beauty that nature offers!

There has been a lot of talks on how to increase environmental awareness. Perhaps apart from the various campaigns and policies, another effective (or perhaps, more effective) solution will be to educate the masses on how to enjoy what the environment can offer them?

Perhaps when people can better appreciate their interaction with the environment, they will learn to protect it?

And that's why I'm really glad that there are more nature groups in Singapore these days conducting guided trips to our various nature spots :)

This entry was written in support of Blog Action Day.