wild shores of singapore

SOooooo cuttteeee!!!

2012-05-24T17:15:55.449+08:00

SOooooo cuttteeee!!!

Thanks for the tip Mars!

2012-05-22T09:07:25.334+08:00

Thanks for the tip Mars!

Try on putting Tea Tree oil. It works for me and ...

2012-05-21T14:38:32.921+08:00

Try on putting Tea Tree oil. It works for me and my family. For babies or kids, you do a mixture of olive oil and tea tree oil. 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil + 5 drops of Tea Tree Oil. Hope it helps!!!

Hurray!! Thanks for this good news Joe!

2012-05-12T06:51:23.163+08:00

Hurray!! Thanks for this good news Joe!

Just found one yesterday at Chek Jawa seagrass lag...

2012-05-11T22:03:14.520+08:00

Just found one yesterday at Chek Jawa seagrass lagoon! : )

So glad you could join us Pei Yan!

2012-05-08T13:46:54.821+08:00

So glad you could join us Pei Yan!

This place is really amazing and pretty. I enjoyed...

2012-05-08T09:01:08.685+08:00

This place is really amazing and pretty. I enjoyed myself for the pst 3 days.

What a lovely post you have NVK Ashraf! Glad the p...

2012-04-24T15:21:54.184+08:00

What a lovely post you have NVK Ashraf! Glad the photo was useful!

And I have used your photograph in my article on N...

2012-04-24T13:19:38.542+08:00

And I have used your photograph in my article on Natrinai poems(http://nvkashraf.blogspot.in/2011/10/best-of-what-i-have-read-tamil-sangam.html). Thanks.

Thanks. I just tried putting aloe vera gel-fresh ...

2012-04-19T19:35:11.472+08:00

Thanks. I just tried putting aloe vera gel-fresh from plant. You cut a leaf, rinse in water then remove outler layer, leaving the gel, cut to fit the area of bumps, then secure with a plaster or the like. Leave for as long as you can, 1-2 hrs. The bumps would reduce in size, and less itchy.

Oh dear! So sorry to hear that pv. Yes, Changi Bea...

2012-04-19T17:18:28.629+08:00

Oh dear! So sorry to hear that pv. Yes, Changi Beach is really bad. Try bathing gently with hot water. It works for me. Hope you recover soon.

I was at Changi Beach, near Car Park 6. Didn't...

2012-04-19T11:51:00.073+08:00

I was at Changi Beach, near Car Park 6. Didn't even know I was bitten until the next day when the itch & red spots became prominent. The itch is truly unbearable-never been bitten by sand flies before. Best thing to do is NOT scratch, as scratching exponentially expands the bites to ugly bumps & even itchier! 'Green grass oil' & clove oil didn't work. Calamine lotion lasted about 2 hrs of comfort. Trying Repaid Skin Relief Cream, tolerable itch so far.

The packages from the thrash you showed may perhap...

2012-04-18T15:54:47.867+08:00

The packages from the thrash you showed may perhaps come from the other side of the straits as well and not just from the floating fish farms. It is well known that our northern neighbours see their rivers and seas as their convenient dustbins.

Thanks to your many constructive comments, NParks ...

2012-04-16T13:15:27.686+08:00

Thanks to your many constructive comments, NParks replied almost immediately to my email this morning about the incident. They will arrange to meet NEA to discuss this. NEA has also just replied to say that the issue has been highlighted to their officers and that they will respond as soon as possible. Thank you everyone for your support on this issue!

How can we introduce insecticide and fog in a natu...

2012-04-16T00:27:37.236+08:00

How can we introduce insecticide and fog in a natural habitat?

If the chemical used is Cypermethrin (which is commonly used in fogging), even though it has a low toxicity to birds and mammals, they are highly toxic to aquatic organisms and fish as well as to bees. The spraying is in the coast at Chek Jawa!
http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/Actives/cypermet.htm

Highly sadden by this.

In Taiwan, my sister send me a picture of a sign in the toilet that warns visitors to be aware of poisonous snakes. It is a given that in a natural environment we protect the wildlife residents of the area by taking precautions ourselves and not kill the residents.

I agree with PeiYan: "Dragonflies provides in...

2012-04-15T22:48:34.605+08:00

I agree with PeiYan: "Dragonflies provides indications as to how well the ecosystem of the place is doing". If I come to a site and I see a variety of dragonfly species which are typically found in a similar habitat, then I can say that the ecosystem there is rather healthy.

Well, in Bishan Park where grass cutters are seen cutting grass (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbo8MShHYxQ) and mosquito oil is applied (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT0iVjMkoMw), I still only see 4 or 5 species, much fewer than I had expected.
Well, we have given feedback to NParks and PUB. It seems that the grass cutters do not cut the vegetation so thoroughly now. That's better than before. But I still wish to see more vegetation, and a variety of vegetation along the stream. As for mosquito oil, PUB replied to say that they will use BTI (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, a soil bacterium) instead.

It's certainly very distressing to think about...

2012-04-15T14:19:50.146+08:00

It's certainly very distressing to think about the potential impacts on the wildlife and other organisms in the area, especially in areas that don't actually have a mosquito problem.

I don't blame the workers because they're doing their job and carrying out instructions (although they seem to be quite overzealous), but it's a matter of the instructions they receive from higher management. At the same time, it's essential to get visitors to understand that mosquitoes, while undesirable, are inevitable in nature areas. Instead of complaining to the authorities and getting them to poison the area with chemicals, how about taking the necessary steps to reduce the risk of getting bitten?

For goodness sake, it's NATURE... let it be. ...

2012-04-15T02:15:13.918+08:00

For goodness sake, it's NATURE... let it be.

When we humans try to control or affect nature, it oftens come with a backlash and will cause even more problems in the end. With such fogging and spraying, the rest of the insects and creatures which may have helped to control the population of mosquitos and other creatures down will be greatly affected (by lack of food or simply killed off by these chemicals) and in the end they will not be able to re-populate as quickly as moquitos to control them later on.

Please stop the un-necessary and just remind users of the area to protect themselves accordingly instead.

One needs to know and understand that mosquitoes a...

2012-04-14T23:27:38.736+08:00

One needs to know and understand that mosquitoes are permenant feature of all coastal wetlands.

The basis to the abundance of mosquitoes in these areas is easily explained by the existence of relatively stagnant tide pools which are formed during a high tide and would only flushed away by the next high tide. In Singapore (correct me if I am wrong), the time period between two high tides are 2 weeks-since Singapore's water experience diurnal tide conditions. Therefore, these tide pools will not be not flushed by the daily tide movements unless the high tides wash the pools away -this promotes mosquito breeding within these pools.

Therefore, fogging these wetlands(with assumption that the 'chemicals' used are environmental-friendly)would not be the 'best 'ultimate solution to control the mosquito population. One would need to change the hydrology of the areas i.e. to prevent formation of tide pools if he/she really desires to get rid of the mosquitoes in the mangroves-this is almost impossible to be carried out especially on rocky shores!

Ecology wise, the removal of the mosquitoes would lead to devastiting effects of food webs in these areas. What will happen to population of insects, lizards or other mosquito eating organisms within these wetlands if there is no lack of food for them. This in turn, will affect the other animals' diet who feed on the mosquito-eating organism- i.e. the domino effect and the collapse of the food chain.

In summary, NEA should just avoid fogging. it's harmful to other organisms both physiologically and ecologically(as mentioned by other commenters). If the situation is indeed dire, I'm sure there other more environmental friendly options to deal with them.

What is a nature walk without mosquito bites, with...

2012-04-14T23:23:55.411+08:00

What is a nature walk without mosquito bites, with them flying around you and irritating you throughout the journey, getting you to touch your skin and scratch them and leaving all the "kiss" marks at various spots?

If they are trying to stop dengue from spreading, them perhaps they have come to the wrong place. Unless the mosquitos at Chek Jawa bite visitors who are infected with the dengue virus. (Mosquitos are just organisms that spreads the virus. They are not the creators of dengue.)

Mosquitos contribute to the stability of our ecosystem. The dragonflies feed on them. At Chek Jawa, I hardly notice any dragonflies fly around. The uncommon mangrove dwarf (Raphismia bispina) is classified as rare to me. There used to be many of such male species (blue in colour) flying around when I started guiding in 2009/2010. However I can hardly find a single dragonfly in Chek Jawa. http://peiyansama.blogspot.com/2010/12/mangrove-dwarf-chek-jawa.html This is the only image I have captured at Chek Jawa on 24 December 2010.

Dragonflies provides indications as to how well the ecosystem of the place is doing.

Mosquito control should strictly be confined to urban areas. Leave our nature parks and wild places alone.

What is a nature walk without mosquito?

Cool observations Pei Yan, thanks for sharing!

2012-04-14T23:21:20.859+08:00

Cool observations Pei Yan, thanks for sharing!

I couldn't get a decent picture of the piglets...

2012-04-14T23:00:03.400+08:00

I couldn't get a decent picture of the piglets. they move so quickly. but witnessing the little ones running around just make my heart melt. so CUTE!

I noticed pairs Bearded mudskippers coming together in opposite direction (just like the 4th image) and then they wiggle at each other. Then one of it will swim back to its hole to bring more mud out.

As rightly mentioned, NEA is perhaps just doing th...

2012-04-14T22:59:36.196+08:00

As rightly mentioned, NEA is perhaps just doing their job and responding to the public's feedback. However, the application of chemical pesticides to such a nature trove will do more harm than good in the long-term especially if natural predators of the mosquito larvae are to be killed in the process of pesticide application. It would the the public's responsibility to be well prepared (mosquito repellent) and appropriately dressed (light, long sleeved shirts and long pants) for such conditions. Educating the public on 'why chemicals and pesticides are not used in Chek Jawa' can also be used to help Singaporeans understand the ecology of our natural habitats.

I am shocked. Spraying insecticide at Chek Jawa re...

2012-04-14T22:55:46.779+08:00

I am shocked. Spraying insecticide at Chek Jawa reflects a certain amount of stupidity and/or disregard to the fragility of the ecosystems there. It also reflects a certain laziness and a severe lack of creativity in problem-solving capabilities.

I wonder if any research has been done by whomever who had authorised the spraying of these chemicals, to assess the impact of these chemicals on the flora and fauna there, or if the spraying of these chemicals are effective in helping to control the mosquito population at Chek Jawa, in the first place. Chek Jawa, after all, is only a small part of a larger Pulau Ubin.

I sincerely hope that this spraying would be discontinued until further studies can be done. Chek Jawa is a precious natural heritage for all Singaporeans, too precious to be sacrificed by the lack of thinking.

By increasing the natural predators of the mosquit...

2012-04-14T22:40:19.812+08:00

By increasing the natural predators of the mosquitos, we may disrupt the mangrove ecosystem as mosquitos may not be the only food source for these predators. A better solution would be raising the awareness of the visitors that mosquitos are part of the food web in this ecosystem and getting bitten by them is part of the experience for this trip. if they are afraid, as visitors, they should apply insect repellent to avoid getting bitten by insects. We should learn to respect the nature and not to take it on them.