sgbeachbum: 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

noble volute @ terumbu semakau

Came across this silent predator looking for food with its detecting siphon out and waving about. It moves about very slowly as can be seen from the clip.

Read more about this amazing animal here :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/gastropoda/volutidae/nobilis.htm

http://www.pulauhantu.org/hot-on-a-snail-trail/

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

ghost crabs @ tanah merah

Ghost crabs are probably the fastest running crabs on our shores (which is why they are called 'ghost' crabs as they are hard to observe due to their speed). However, these crabs also can stay very still or 'frozen'. The clip shows 2 crabs which decided to keep still. One of them had recently caught a prawn and was in the process of consuming it.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

cuttlefish @ tanah merah

Here is an interesting yellow cuttlefish caught in a tidal pool during a low tide. It did not exhibit the characteristic flamboyant pigmentation display commonly seen in other cuttlefish and squid.
Note the jet propulsion system...the effects can be seen when water is pushed out of the siphon and it hits the sand below.

Monday, December 26, 2011

eagle clip 1 - nest landg w food @ Paris Ris - 26Dec2011

The eagle has landed...in a rather large nest made of sticks ... in a rather tall sturdy tree (probably Albizia).
It was carrying something in its talons which it seems to have deposited in the nest. It did not seem to eat whatever it was it had carried in but instead busied itself with looking around for about 3 minutes before flying off. Taking off was easy with the strong wind rushing past. A quick hop and a few flaps of its almost 2m wings allowed it to coast away with the wind.

There is probably a young chick deep in the nest which needed the food brought in by the adult birds.
Both adult birds seem (i can't tell which is which) to take turns with bringing food at least once every hour. Somtimes however, the adult may just fly past with the food without bringing it to the nest. It will roost elsewhere nearby and occasionally fly past still holding on to the food. Perhaps it is waiting to see if the resident chick is in need of more food.(?)

Update : 02Jan2012 - having observed the nest for a longer period, there does NOT seem to be a chick in the nest. The adults bringing food back to the nest could just be a 'habit' of bringing food home perhaps to share with its mate.

White-Bellied Sea Eagle
time observed : about 11.45am
location : Pasir Ris

Sunday, December 25, 2011

suicidal bugs v champion bee-eater @ Pasir Ris Mangroves

Did not notice that the bee-eater managed to catch a bug in flight but it certainly did!

Only noticed the successful catch when i slowed down the videoclip.

It's amazing how the bird is able to follow and track the flight of the bugs in realtime. It is obvious that the bird is able to guess where an approaching bug will be in order to catch it.

The clip shows a bee-eater being apparently dive-bombed by some bugs. It follows the bugs even to the extent of twisting its neck backwards. Finally, it sees a bug approaching and with a timely hop off its perch, and despite the strong wind swaying the tree which provides the perch, it grabs the bug in its beak with finesse and flies away. (Look at the 25% and 12.5% slo-mo segments).
Simply amazing!

Location : Pasir Ris Mangroves
Time : at about 1.30pm

Read more about the blue-tailed beeeater here :http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Merops_philippinus.htm

http://www.besgroup.org/category/bee-eaters/
http://singaporebirds.net/npassers_01/blue-throated_bee-eater.html

Saturday, December 24, 2011

crab's eyeview of waves @ Labrador Dec2011

Imagine sitting on the shore with the waves crashing on it and about you.

What would it be like?

not much happens in the clip ... just watch and listen to the waves.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Project Driftnet Singapore - Ubin 18Dec2011

Here's a short clip showing some parts of the morning's Project Driftnet effort.

Care-less fishing practices, unsatisfactory fish-farming protocols and a lack of adequate regulatory supervision cause long-term problems for biodiversity on the shores where the illegal dumping of non-biodegradeable fish nets persist.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

paradise tree snake @ SBWR

This beautiful snake caught everyone at Platform 2 by surprise. The adults had missed the prescence of the snake as it sunbathed at one corner of the wooden platform at the edge of the mangrove mudflat. It was a young girl who pointed it out with a whisper, being careful not to spook it with a yell or a scream.

The snake distracted attention away from the white-bellied fish eagle perched on the faraway tree. This was nature up close and literally at arm's length. It happily soaked up the warmth of the sun not being bothered by the vibrations caused by human footsteps on the wooden platform.
(the background cricket song had been dubbed in to replace quite a bit of human 'noise')
The snake however did eventually decide to move on and when it really did want to move, it moved fast. This is a very agile snake and being arboreal in nature, it is capable of feats of gymnastics fit for an active life in the trees.

Known for their ability to glide from trees, you can make out the triangularly shaped body. It's sides appear very much flattened and this ability to flatten its body thereby increasing its surface area would certainly assist the snake when gliding from a higher tree to a lower one similar to how a parachutist relies on the opened chute.

Here's a video clip from Labrador Park in early 2011 :

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2011/01/paradise-tree-snakes-labrador-park.html

Read more about this fascinating snake :

http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/paradise_tree-snake.htm

http://www.wildsingapore.per.sg/discovery/factsheet/snakeparadise.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysopelea

http://www.flyingsnake.org/

http://www.naturemalaysia.com/paradise-tree-snake.htm

Monday, December 5, 2011

white-bellied fish eagle @ SBWR

(long clip 16:58mins)

This juvenile white-bellied fish eagle settled on a dead tree at the edge of Pulau Buloh. It had just caught a fish and quickly started on its breakfast. It gripped the fish with its right leg talons whist the left leg secured the bird onto the tree. The bird pecked at the fish and discarded what must be bits of scale and bones. Small chunks can be seen being dropped by the bird. The entire meal took about 20 minutes before the eagle flew off.
The video clip shows the better part of about 17 minutes. The last few minutes were not recorded as a Paradise Tree Snake had made its appearance on the same platform and this certainly diverted attention away from the eagle which did not seem to be doing anything different from the preceding quarter of an hour.

(There is some distortion throughout the clip as there was a lot of movement by other visitors on the wooden platform and this vibration was transmitted through the tripod to the camera. If you find the audio distracting, please turn off the volume. There was too much distracting human audio input which needed to be replaced.)

Location : SBWR Platform 2
Time : about 10am, Sunday 04Dec2011

Read more about this magnificent bird :
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Haliaeetus_leucogaster.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-bellied_Sea_Eagle
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_579_2005-01-05.html
http://singaporebirds.net/npassers_04/white-bellied_sea_eagle.html
http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/106003359/0
http://www.nss.org.sg/report/f494524f-1SingaporeRaptorReportJan11.pdf
http://www.besgroup.org/2010/01/09/white-bellied-sea-eagles-catch-sea-snakes/
http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/05/white-bellied-fish-eagle-fishing-rat.html
http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/09/white-bellied-sea-eagle-not-just.html
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/birds/raptors.htm

Thursday, December 1, 2011

a secretive pit viper @ SBWR

Shore Pit Vipers are occasionally seen in the mangrove areas such as SBWR and in the Lim Chu Kang mangroves - coastal forest in the North-Western corner of Singapore. They have also been seen on Singapore's Pulau Semakau and at places like the Changi boardwalk. These locations pretty much spot this snake all around coastal Singapore. This is a highly venemous snake species and are rather unpredictable as they stay very still despite any movement nearby and may only strike out when their comfort zone is breached. During the day, they commonly rest on plants between about two to about five feet off the ground. This spells trouble for anyone walking through the mangroves who unwittingly brushes against the wrong bush or bunch of leaves.

This particular specimen frequently habits the bushes to the right of the main bridge at SBWR near Hide 1A. It was resting along a small branch and it's middle was rather thick as if it had recently eaten something. In the clip, which was a combination of shorter clips shot over about 5 hours one morning, the snake hardly moved at all. However, at the 1.21 mark, it starts to exercise its jaws and at about 2.20 it gives a good yawn where you can just about make out its left fang (covered with its protective soft tissue). For a small snake, it sure does have long fangs!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

plantain squirrel breakfast @ SBWR

Plantain Squirrels can be commonly found all over the SBWR (and indeed in most of Singapore's forested as well as in urban areas with lots of tree cover). They are surprisingly very much at home amongst the mangrove trees. This particular squirrel was foraging for food on the mangrove mud amongst the stilt roots of the mangrove trees. It managed to find what seems to be a morsel of discarded pineapple or some other similar fruit which it then made a quick breakfast of.

croc undercover @ SBWR

How difficult is it to spot a predator which is truly in its element under water?

Would you be able to spot a croc if you were not expecting it to be there?

undercover croc @ SBWR from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

This one had just finished its solar soak and moved to the shade of some overhanging trees to better moderate its temperature. Near Hide 1B at SBWR.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

solar croc @ SBWR

This croc was on the sandbank at the SBWR Hide 1B in the late morning soaking up the sun's warmth for more than an hour. It provided the many morning visitors a great spectacle as they gawked at its full body prescence out of water.

Crocodiles are cold-blooded and therefore need to warm up quite a bit before they get active. This croc was moderating the heat by switching positions and panting with its mouth open.

Monday, November 28, 2011

many-lined sun skink @ SBWR

Sun skinks are very common in garden and forested areas all around Singapore. This one was at the SBWR garden in the midst of the visitor centre. It was searching amongst the leaf litter probably looking for food such as insects, spiders and worms.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

flied giant mudskipper @ SBWR

Flies are generally irritating. A single fly is bad enough. We've all been buzzed by that single bee which took a fancy to us despite our best efforts to get away from it. What more a cloud of flies? And flies which bite are much worse. It's not only humans who are disturbed by them but also the other fauna that inhabit whichever particular ecosystems the flies present themselves at. Mangroves are no exception to many types of flies ... especially biting ones.

The clip shows a giant mudskipper being swamped by what seems to be a horde of tiny mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are frequently seen settling on mudskippers but rarely in such a horde.

The mudskipper tries to get rid of them by swatting at them using its pectoral fins or quickly rolling over in a shallow muddle. Occasionally, it would wallow in the mud coating it's outer skin with mud. The mud coat seems to give it a temporary reprieve from the attacking horde. A combination of all these actions seems to work to some degree ensuring that no mozzie settles for more than a few seconds at a time. However, there are times when the mudskipper rests on the mud for quite some time without bothering much about the mozzies continuing with its daily burrow maintenance by spitting out mouthfuls of mud occasionally blinking away some of the annoying mozzies.

Read more about giant mudskippers here : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/gobiidae/schlosseri.htm
More video clips about mozzies and giant mudskippers : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/gobiidae/schlosseri1v.htm

Location Info : viewed from the main hide at SBWR(www.sbwr.org.sg)

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

a mudskipper's short story

Stars Mr E Skipper and friends.
shot on location at the fabulous Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve -Singapore. (sbwr.org.sg)

Sfx rain provided by the seasonal monsoon.

No dolphins were harmed in the production of this short.
www.saddestdolphins.com

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

oriental pied-hornbills @ SBWR

It was about 5pm when an oriental pied-hornbill flew to a tree near the SBWR main bridge with something in its mouth. The snack looked like a small tree climbing crab. The bird flew across to a perch on a dead tree at the far side of the main bridge where it seemed to be looking into a hollow in the tree as if it wanted to store the crab in the hollow. The hornbill was soon joined by another smaller hornbill. This one had a reddish spot on both sides of the lower corner of its bill closer to its mouth and the front of its horn was noticeably darker than that of the larger bird. The smaller bird immediately took the crab from the bill of the larger bird and eyed it for a microsecond before giving it back to the larger bird which re-positioned the crab in its bill before passing it back to the smaller bird. However, the smaller bird did not want it and returned it to the larger bird which seemed to finally swallow the crab.

The two birds then hacked way at the wood on the dead tree chipping up bits off and swallowing some of it. The birds flew off after a while but came back to different but adjacent trees. The smaller bird continued to chip way at the dead tree eating bits of the decaying wood. Perhaps the wood helps digestion by absorbing harmful substances in their guts to be passed out later.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

shorebirds @ sungei buloh

A short clip of shorebirds at sungei buloh.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

grey-headed lapwing @ sg buloh - Nov2011

5th Nov saw a buzz amongst birders when sharp eyes spotted a rare avian visitor the Grey-Headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus), to Singapore at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. Word soon got around and quite a number of birding enthusiasts soon made their way down to Hide 1C. Apparently, it had been some years before this species of lapwing had been seen in Singapore.

Identifying the bird was difficult for a novice with little clue what to look for as all the birds looked...brown. The others birders already there quickly pointed out what to look for and where to look for it.

The bird was resting in an area surrounded by many other shorebirds, plovers, etc. although it was a little edgy occasionally looking up at the sky, probably to keep an eye out for raptors. It made its way towards a log a little way from the shore before taking a bath and then getting back on another nearby log to dry off.

Friday, November 4, 2011

the pulai tree @ chek jawa - Oct2011

This is reputed to be the tallest tree on Ubin and it is a Heritage Tree.

It was about 35m tall and had a girth of 6.4m in 2010.

(pictures taken in Oct 2011 from a vantage point at Pulau Sekudu)

(click on images for bigger picture)

The calls of the white-bellied sea eagles can often be heard coming from high up this tree. There is probably a nest somewhere on the tree but the tree is so tall that the nest, if any, is difficult to spot through all the foliage from the base of the tree.

This is what the NParks Guide to the Pulau Ubin Tree Trail has to say about this tree :

Common Pulai (Alstonia angustiloba)

The Common Pulai is a very tall tree (up to 40m tall)

found in this region. It is easily recognisable from

its pagoda-shaped branching pattern and simple

leaves that are arranged in whorls. This tree belongs

to the family of Apocynaceae, which are identified

by the presence of white latex in the stems.

This Heritage Tree (35m height, 6.4m girth) is hard

to miss as you walk along the trail. It stands out

among the canopy and can be seen from

a distance

There is a mention of this tree at this WildSingapore page on Pulau Ubin:

http://www.wildsingapore.com/ubin/places/north.htm

And also at Joe Lai's eart-h website :

http://www.eart-h.com/text/alstan1.htm

Read more about this tree and also about Ubin's other majestic trees here :

http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/04/trees-of-pulau-ubin-talk-by-ali-ibrahim.html

Thursday, November 3, 2011

haddon's carpet anemone @ sekudu - Oct2011

This Haddon's carpet anemone seems to react to the UV black light in that the tentacles became more active when under the black light. Or perhaps it was reacting to some other stimulus? The colour difference of the tentacles when lit with white light contrasted to when they are lit with black light is amazing.

Read more about the Haddon's Carpet Anemone here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/actiniaria/haddoni.htm

zoanthids @ sekudu - Oct2011

Yet another in the series on fluorescing animals ...

At first glance, the casual shore walker does not really notice tiny zoanthids which are rather prevalent on most of Singapore's shores. They are oftentimes too small to pay attention to although if one did stop to have a closer look at them, a whole new world of designs and colours beckons. The luminousity of black light highlights (pun intended) zoanthids in another dimension. The central mouth area of these zoanthids look ... almost radioactive. Indeed, some zoanthids contain palytoxin which is the most toxic marine toxin on the planet.

Read about :
zoanthids - http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/others/zoanthid/zoanthid.htm

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

beachflea amphipods @ sekudu - Oct2011

There was a superbloom of amphipods on the sea lettuce algae which was itself blooming all over the island's shore. Looks like the season for amphipods. They were a little fluorescent when illuminated with blacklight. Perhaps their partially transclucent exoskeletons was able to diffract or reflect some part of the blacklight.

Read about :
amphipods - http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/othercrust/amphipoda/amphipoda.htm
ribbon sea lettuce - http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/plants/seaweed/chlorophyta/reticulata.htm

Read about fluorescence here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescence
and also about bioluminescence here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioluminescence

Read also about Sekudu's other treasures :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2011/10/sekudu-with-harlequin-and-other.html
http://sgn090608.blogspot.com/2011/11/111030-sekudu.html
http://wondercreation.blogspot.com/2011/10/slugs-galore-at-pulau-sekudu.html

orange fan worm @ sekudu - Oct2011

Here is a clip of an orange fan worm. The orange fanworm does not exhibit fluorescence like the white spiral fan worm in the preceding post.

The clip goes mostly dark when the black light is switched on showing that the orange fan worm's arms do not exhibit fluorescence.

Find out more about :
- fan worms : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/worm/polychaeta/sabellidae.htm
- orange fan worms : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/worm/polychaeta/saborange.htm
- white spiral fan worms : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/worm/polychaeta/sabwhite.htm

Read about fluorescence here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescence
and also about bioluminescence here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioluminescence

Read also about Sekudu's other treasures :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2011/10/sekudu-with-harlequin-and-other.html
http://sgn090608.blogspot.com/2011/11/111030-sekudu.html
http://wondercreation.blogspot.com/2011/10/slugs-galore-at-pulau-sekudu.html

Monday, October 31, 2011

flourescing white spiral fan worm @ sekudu - Oct2011

There were quite a few of these white spiral fan worms on the Sekudu shore. The spiral arms are in themselves a wonder to behold as they unfurl from their protective tube. The magic comes when the unfurled arms are lit with black light (from a low powered UV LED torch). The arms take on an eerie bluish glow.

(clipfocus is on background until spiral arms unfurl)

in white light...

in black light...

Surprisingly, other non-white fan worms do not exhibit similar fluorescence. What function does it serve? If at all any function at all? Or is it so that white colours simply reflect the UV light back out (much like white paper does)?

Find out more about :
- fan worms : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/worm/polychaeta/sabellidae.htm
- white spiral fan worms : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/worm/polychaeta/sabwhite.htm

Read about fluorescence here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescence
and also about bioluminescence here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioluminescence

Read also about Sekudu's other treasures :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2011/10/sekudu-with-harlequin-and-other.html
http://sgn090608.blogspot.com/2011/11/111030-sekudu.html
http://wondercreation.blogspot.com/2011/10/slugs-galore-at-pulau-sekudu.html

Sunday, October 30, 2011

shoreboars @ chek jawa - Oct 2011

A short clip showing that the wildboars at Ubin do enjoy the Chek Jawa shore just as much as its resident and visiting shorebirds. The first part shows a lone large male boar merrily digging deep for food at the northern shore and the second part shows some females with juveniles foraging at the central shore to the right of the House #1 pier.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

fishhooked boar @ chek Jawa 16Oct2011

She was fine in the early morning but by the late morning, there was a metal fish hook and line stuck just inside her mouth on the left side.

Pity this had to happen to one of the tamest wild boars at Chek Jawa. This particular boar would greet visitors at the Chek Jawa visitor centre all throughout the day.

Apparently there had been some fishermen at fishing illegally at CJ South overnight and perhaps they had carelessly left some bait on a discarded hook and line. Or the hook and line may have been left some time ago by other fishermen.

She was foraging for food in the bush and near the bicycle park where some visitors had thrown human food items (like yoghurt drinks) at the macaques and the boar. Some of the monkeys had come down from the trees and taken water bottles from the parked bicycle baskets. The sound of plastic being crunched by sharp teeth higher up in the trees seemed to be a standard sound shortly after new visitors rode in and parked their bikes with partially consumed food and drink items left in the bicycle baskets. I hope these monkeys do not get accustomed to a high refined sugar diet.

The hooked boar occasionally stepped on the trailing line and this caused her some discomfort because that would exert a sudden pull on the hook attached to her mouth. I hope the wound does not get infected over time especially given that boars usually forage with their snouts in the topsoil to find food.

Attempts to get close to the boar proved futile as she moved away each time her comfort zone was breached. Hope she receives aid soon enough.

UPDATE 17thOctober2011 : one of the resident Ubin Taxi 'uncles' had managed to remove the hook on the afternoon of the 17th. Apparently, feeding the boar chewy bread did magic as the hook dislodged itself during the chewing. Great job! And thanks to NParks and ACRES for getting ready to assist in the interim. Good to know help was available.

Monday, October 10, 2011

siamese peninsula pit viper @ langkawi

Came across this snake at about 9am on the grassy road shoulder at about 600m (near the roadside waterfall) up Gunung Raya on Langkawi Island. It seemed to be trying to get some sun to warm up as the clouds had moved in earlier.

I had been distracted by the many pieces of flourescent green grass cutter plastic which had been thrown away along the roadside (and at many other locations all around the island where grass cutting is done) and was about to take a few steps forward when the distinctive coils of a green snake jumped out from the grassy verge and I stopped immediately. It was the same colour of the grass around it. A quick look at the triangular head of the snake showed it to be that typical of a pit viper. It did not move much at all and did not seem at all bothered with the attention it got after I motioned for the rest of the group to walk over from their birding stop.

It was indeed surprising to see this viper on the grass verge away from any vegetation as one would normally expect pit vipers to seek refuge on shrubs.The mountain top had been covered in mist and the cool moist air must have caused the viper to seek warmth from the morning sun which occasionally peeked through the cloud mist.

Estimated length : between 40 to 50 cm.

read more about this snake here :
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/siamese-peninsula-pit-viper.htm

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Biodiversity of Singapore Symposium III - 24Sept2011

The Biodiversity of Singapore Symposium III is co-organised by the National Parks Board and the National University of Singapore. The Symposium was held on 24th September 2011 and featured 21 speakers addressing topics covering terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems.

NUS LT 27 Faculty of Science

Speech by BG (NS) Tan Chuan-Jin, Minister of State for National Development and Manpower :

NUSCast Youtube Video : Part 1 of 4

NUSCast Youtube Video : Part 2 of 4

NUSCast Youtube Video : Part 3 of 4

NUSCast Youtube Video : Part 4 of 4

Associated links :
http://biodiversitysingapore.wordpress.com/
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2011/09/explosion-of-inspiration-biodiversity.html
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2011/09/posters-galore-at-biodiversity-of.html

http://otterman.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/how-did-people-find-their-way-to-the-biodiversity-of-singapore-symposium-iii-webpage/
http://greentrek.wordpress.com/2011/09/24/boss-iii/

Saturday, September 17, 2011

1887kgs of trash cleared @ Lim Chu Kang East Coastal CleanUp ~17Sep2011

Early on a Saturday morning, 125 students, staff and alumni from the National University of Singapore found themselves at Lim Chu Kang Lane 9 being briefed on what was going to occupy them for the next 2 hours...mud, sweat and a lot of trash! LCK Lane 9 hides entry to an adjacent mangrove which has seen better times. The onslaught of trash and illegal dumping of unwanted urban waste has taken its toll on the surrounding mangrove so much so that the entire pocket was totally covered with all manner of trash, mainly plastic and wood. Where the wood would cover up intermittent patches of ground, the plastic filled up every other nook and cranny so much so that vegatation was totally absent from the central portion of the mangrove pocket.

The variety of trash was amazing!. There were tyres, a TV set... and even a car bumper amongst others...

... an office chair ...

... 2 sinks ... (and also a toilet bowl)

Alas, one of the volunteers found a syringe with needle attached in the midst of the many other volunteers. This was safely put away in plastic bottle salvaged from the mangrove floor and then carefully disposed of.

standing precariously on a bed of wood and plastic.

some of the wood had nails on them and looking before you step was something all the volunteers had to do to avoid getting stung by a rusty nail.

one of the volunteers recycled plastic bags to protect her shoes from the mangrove mud

one of the many blue chemical drums commonly used by the fish-farming community just offshore from the mangrove

at some adjacent areas, scrawny prickly bush had managed to grow over the trash making retrieval diffficult

This long tube of styrofoam is also used by the local fish-farming community. Styrofoam like this will disintergrate into tiny pieces which can potentially cover up much more of the mangrove than the original item. There were many many more chunks or parts of styrofoam boxes seen all over in the mangrove.

there were quite a few large metal drums too. Hopefully, these do not have any residual chemicals which may leak out into the mangrove... and the volunteers!

picking up the many plastic pieces is a laborious process, especially the omnipresent styrofoam pieces

naturally, getting muddied up is all part of the tedious cleaning

there was a whole bunch of ciggarette lighters ... probably dumped

these pails look like they were dumped from the adjacent access path.

local dumping continues to be a cause of litter.

heaving the trash all the way out of the mangrove ...

plastics bits and styrofoam floating on the water once the larger pieces had been removed

here's a look at part of the collected trash

the hauling continued as more and more trash was removed from the mangrove

the efforts undertaken by the volunteers to bring out the trash

thanks to the NUS volunteers, 1887 kilograms of trash was removed from the mangrove. Most of this was packed into 181 bags but there were also many bulky items which could not be weighed.

the mangrove is now is in a slightly better shape with a lot of the obvious first layer of trash removed.

There is still a lot of trash stuck beneath a lot of wood. Although the wood will decompose over time, too much wood concentrated in a small space which is affected by the tidal influences moving them constantly may prevent the growth of mangrove saplings which would get destroyed by the moving wood.

Some 'after' pictures...