Fishy day at Admiralty, with Sungei Cina

There's slivers of mangroves at Admiralty Park which slide over to Sungei Cina.

Today, I had a long slow look at them. And encountered lots of mangrove fishies!

1 million views of wildsingapore flickr!

Thanks to the kind support of many people, it was a delight to reach a total of 1 million views on wildsingapore flickr!

From the stats provided by flickr, as of 6 Mar 2011.

Flickr is a great way to share about Singapore's biodiversity! Easily allowing lots of people to learn and care about our wildlife and wild places!

Abandoned net at Kranji Nature Trail removed!

About 30 metres of thick abandoned nets entangle and choke the mangroves at Kranji Nature Trail.

Yesterday, a small team headed out to try to remove them.

Updates for volunteers with NParks Conservation Division

Gathering for another update of conservation efforts, was a large group of volunteers with NParks' Conservation Division this morning.

It was great to see friends I haven't met for a while (hello Bian!) and learn more about how ordinary people can make a difference for conservation in Singapore.

A year later, how is Tanah Merah's oil-slicked shores? Part 2

Crude oil is still on sitting the shore, and sheen and scum still floats on much of the lagoon.

But there's still marine life in the water under the rainbow sheen.

A year later, how is Tanah Merah's oil-slicked shores? Part 1

It's nearly a year since the oil spill hit Tanah Merah's reefs and shores. Today, I sense the corals here are showing signs of a comeback!

The leathery soft coral (Family Alcyoniidae) here seems a lot happier than on my last trip to this shore in December 2010.

February wild facts updates: crab, fishies and special coastal plants

It is rare, apparently, to see the awesome mangrove Mound crab (Sarmatium germaini) out of its hidey hole in mud lobster mounds.

I didn't realise this until I was kindly told by N. Sivasothi and Ng Ngan Kee! The crab is listed as 'Endangered' and it eats mangrove leaves, dragging these into its burrow to eat them in peace and quiet.

Blooming mangroves at Kranji Nature Trail

I had a closer look at mangroves of Kranji Nature Trail over the last two days. And was delighted to see several rare plants in bloom!

Although tiny, the pink flowers of Dungun air (Brownlowia tersa) are quite delightful.

New mangrove slug named after Singapore

Elysia singaporensis is a newly described slug that was found in "old mangrove forest bordering east side of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve".

It is tiny! When alive, it is only about 30mm long. When well fed with algae, it is green. It has "ruddy specks" on the upper and undersides including foot sole, forming a line over the upper sides of the rhinophores. A new paper in the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology (RBZ 59(1): 1–115. 28 February 2011) shares all the fascinating details.