Sungei Pang Sua mangroves and other neap tide meanders

A lush back mangrove is growing high upstream of Sungei Pang Sua!

A few volunteers check it out on a neap tide and found tall healthy Critically Endangered Berembang! As well as other common mangrove trees and plants. Rui Quan also checked out some mangroves during the neap tide period, his sightings are consolidated here.

The survey was Arjun's idea for a catch up as he happened to be in town. It was Arjun who first alerted our survey team to the corals growing on the 2.5km East Coast seawall more than 10 years ago! He saw the Berembang at Sg Pang Sua long ago and we wanted to see if they were still there! And wow, we saw lots of tall mangrove trees, super tall Nipah palms!

Further upstream, the mangroves got really dense!

The Berembang were still there! This mangrove tree is rarely found in the wild, although they have been replanted in some coastal parks and reserves. At Sungei Pang Sua, there were many tall trees, and shorter ones. In fact, they seem to dominate the area. 

I didn't see any flowers, but there were many fruits hanging down the long 'weeping willow' branches distinctive of this species. Fruits were fallen everywhere on the bridge of Sungei Kadut Avenue. 

The only other tall mangrove trees I saw were Api Api putih. But there were also very tall Nipah palms, dense Sea hibiscus and the usual common mangrove associates like Jeruju, Mangrove ferns, Baru-baru. 

While the young ones checked out on the ground, I did the grandma thing and waited on the high shore with the auntie umbrella - really not used to mid-day survey. I saw some birds like Magpie robins, kingfishers, parakeets.

And checked out happenings nearby, There is construction going on very near the mangroves. And a silt barrier installed in the canal that led into the mangrove.

The construction area (near Sungei Kadut Avenue bridge) is visible on Google Earth. I am not sure what the construction is about.

We thought it might be for the underground Sungei Kadut MRT station, planned for completion in 2035. But the station is located quite far away from our survey site. So, really not sure what is going on.

I hope these interesting wild mangroves continue to thrive despite these developments.

Other mangroves checked out this neap tide

The indefatigable Rui Quan had a closer look at other mangroves - some I have never visited, and others that I have not visited in decades. He saw the Mud Lobster, and Mound crab - elusive animals that I personally seldom see. As well as intriguing crabs like the Nipah palm crab that I have never seen. He also encountered my favourite mangrove animals like the 'ear snails', cute spiders and colourful bugs and the Crab-eating frog that sounds like a machine gun firing. As well as landscapes of the beautiful mangroves! It is so heartening to know that others care enough to check up on them, and to see that the mangroves are still doing well. Thank you Rui Quan.

Collage of photos by Rui Quan Oh

Rui Quan Oh's albums of sightings on facebook.

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Pandan Mangroves 21 Dec


Coney Island mangroves 18 Dec


Pasir Ris 13 Dec