Going Solo at Changi

4 December 2009 - Decided to check out Changi while the rest were out exploring some other shores. It's been quite some time since my last visit and I was pretty excited to visit this rich shore again. But alas, the weather's not very cooperative today - it rained the whole afternoon!

Not surprisingly, the shore today is not as "populated" with creatures as my last visit in June. This is most probably because the animals were hiding to protect themselves from the influx of fresh water. Here are some of the creatures I saw:

Thorny Sea Cucumber. Saw quite a few of them. Can't miss them. They just stand out against the dark green of the seagrasses.

Purple Sea Cucumber.

and here's another, with its tube feet extended...

Orange Sea Cucumber.

and another, with a shell stuck on it...

Peacock Anemones can be found in a variety of colours. In brown...

white... other colours include orange, yellow, green and purple.

Flowery Sea Pen. First time seeing one with its polyps extended.

here's another one. Don't you think it's pretty?

Many Fan Clams can be found on the shore too. Their sharp edges can give unwary shore visitors a nasty cut.

and what's a trip to Changi without seeing sea stars? This is a Biscuit Sea Star.

and another...

and yet another... the shore is peppered with these stars!

Also spotted was this teeny weeny sea star (about 1cm). Probably a juvenile biscuit sea star?

Saw a number of these orange Cake Sea Stars too. Very striking colour, could spot them from a distance.

This is the moult of a horseshoe crab. Unlike dead animals, moults are light and have transparent eyes. And most importantly, they do not not smell! *grins*

and finally, a White Sea Urchin to round off today's trip. I like the purple bands on its spines. =)

Exploring Ubin's Shores

3 December 2009 - Was out exploring the shores of Pulau Ubin today. Quite a physically exhausting trip due to the soft ground (sunk knee-deep into mud a number of times). Nevertheless, it was a good trip and we saw quite a lot of interesting stuff.

There were many Haddon's Carpet Anemones on the shore. Unfortunately, I did not manage to spot any shrimps on them. This juvenile caught my eye due to its cute miniature size...

Here's another type of anemone - Peacock Anemone. They can be found in a variety of colours.

Anemone? Stingray? Nope, this is a Hairy Sea Hare. A first sighting for me. Saw quite a number of them clustered nearby...

another sea hare? Nah, this is a Spiky Sea Pen.

Common Venus Clam.

This is another type of clam - Ribbed Venus Clam.

Ovum Cowries nestled among some unknown bluish blobs...

Onyx Cowries... The most beautiful species of cowrie in my opinion.

Stone Crab. They can be identified by their green eyes circled with red.

Hmm... not sure what species this crab belong to...

And this is a Red Porcelain Crab. Unlike the usual crabs, porcelain crabs have only 3 pairs of walking legs.

Mantis Shrimp. They have really strong pincers. Do not touch them!

This is the Crown Sea Star. It is also know as the "Rock Star" as they are usually found under rocks and stones...

Cake Sea Star. They can be found in a variety of colours and patterns. This one had a red spot in the centre... reminds me of char siew pau... hahahaha

and this very "neat-looking" star is the Biscuit Sea Star. No prize for guessing how it got its name. Don't you think it looked as if it was cut out from a cookie-cutter?

the most stunning find of the day - a Feather Star! This is the prettiest feather star I've seen on my intertidal trips so far. The ones I've encountered previously are mostly plain red or black.

This is a Blue-spotted Flatworm.

and another type of flatworm - the Brown Striped Flatworm.

Thorny Sea Cucumber.

Orange Sea Cucumber.

another orange sea cucumber...

and yet another, but with a purplish body...

Purple Sea Cucumber...

another sea cucumber? Nah, this is the Thumbs-up Sea Squirt.

Zoanthids. Came across a huge patch of them towards the end of our trip. They covered an area equivalent to half a basketball court.

and a nice sunset to end our trip...

It felt great to leave the hustle and bustle of our city to enjoy the rustic charm of Pulau Ubin. Nice and relaxing. Hope to visit again soon! =)

Knobblies Galore at Cyrene Reef!

18 November 2009 - My first visit to Cyrene Reef! Was really looking forward to this trip as I know that I will finally get to see my very first knobbly sea star and lots of other interesting marine life! =)

It was drizzling when we set off. Everyone was a little concerned as no one wanted to miss visiting the shore due to bad weather!

Towing a little dinghy behind us... As there is no jetty on Cyrene, we had to transfer to the dinghy for landing. For a first timer like me, it's a pretty exciting experience!

Land ahoy! Cyrene Reef is located south of mainland Singapore, in the middle of a busy shipping lane. Although it is ringed by petrochemical plants on Jurong Island and Pulau Bukom, this beautiful reef is home to many interesting marine life!

The shore is populated with many Fan Clams. Watch out! Their razor-sharp edges that can give a pretty nasty cut.

And here's another one... Fan clams are easily overlooked as they are usually buried in the sand among seagrass with just 2 - 3cm of their shells sticking out.

Ornate Leaf Slugs seemed to be in season now... these beautiful slugs were spotted no less than 10 times today!

This Mosaic Dragonet came to "抢镜头" (steal the limelight) when I was trying to photograph the ornate leaf slug above...

This plastic-looking thing is a Sand Collar - the egg mass of a moon snail. The hole in the centre of the collar indicates the size of the snail!

Zoanthids. Do not touch them as some zoanthids contain powerful toxins to protect themselves against predators!

This rope-like creature is a Synaptid Sea Cucumber. A first sighting for me. Was kinda entertained by this fella as it kept "stretching" and "shrinking" itself... Reminds me of an accordion. =)

and here's another type of sea cucumber - the Garlic Bread Sea Cucumber.

This is a White Sea Urchin - another first for me. Saw quite a few of them today.

This beautiful urchin is the Long-spined Black Sea Urchin. This is definitely the prettiest specimen I've seen so far. I love it's white and purple hues. =)

Common Peacock Anemone. They can be found in a variety of colours.

Lots of Common Sea Stars were also spotted on the sandy shore...

And finally, my very first Knobbly Sea Star! This photogenic sea star can be found in a variety of colours and knob patterns.

Knobbly sea stars are often harvested for the live aquarium trade. As a result, they are now listed as 'Endangered' on the Red List of threatened animals of Singapore. Cyrene Reef is among the few places left in Singapore where they can be seen regularly.

And now, for the stellar find of the day...

a Pentaceraster Sea Star! This special sea star is a new record for Singapore and was first spotted in Cyrene Reef. Pentaceraster sea stars were previously known to exist only in the western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.

My first visit to Cyrene Reef has been really eye-opening with many firsts. Even though it rained throughout the trip and made photography difficult, I'm really thankful for the good weather (read: no lightning) and the opportunity to visit this wonderful shore. Hope there'll be another chance for me to visit again! =)