Other shore surveys in Jun 2026

Rui Quan Oh covered the most ground in the month, checking up on Admiralty, Sungei Buloh, Pasir Ris, Marina East and together with Zen Xuan He, Pulau Ubin. They see all the amazing wildlife that regular shore survey team miss. From owls to mousedeer, snakes and skinks, frogs and weird and beautiful insects. And extortionate cats attempting to intimidate snacks out of innocent passersby.

The rest of the team cover Changi and East Coast PCN. 

Lizard tongue and lily at Admiralty Park

The monitor lizard has a large thick blue forked tongue!

I also noticed a strange lily, during a slow stroll through Admiralty Park today.

Fascinating fishes of Admiralty mangroves

Mangrove streams can have some interesting fishes, if we take a closer look. Some of them are quite pretty.

I also came across some damselflies and dragonflies and interesting plants in the tiny mangrove at Admiralty Park.

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!

Monkeying in the Mangroves with Mega Marine Survey

Unlike humans, monkeys can walk quite easily over soft mud!

This is one of the observations I made at today's Mega Marine Survey at Admiralty Park, Sungei Cina mangroves.

Monkeys and mudskippers at Admiralty Park

I met the troop of Long-tailed macaques at Admiralty Park again yesterday. It was such a lovely sunny morning, I had to go out!
In the shade of the tall trees, the monkeys were quietly being monkeys. They were not afraid, but didn't disturb me either. This probably means that people do not feed the monkeys here. Hurray!

Woodlands Waterfront promenade - a new seashore park

What natural shores are near the newly opened Woodlands Waterfront promenade?
A project by the URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority), the waterfront at Woodlands will eventually span the shore from the causeway eastwards.

Monkeying around at Sungei Cina

I had a quick look at the tiny patch of mangroves at Sungei Cina.
And came across a troop of Long-tailed macaques browsing in the mangrove forest.

Sonneratia and streams on a sunny Sunday

Finally I got a real close up look at the wild Berembang flowers at Woodlands Park.
But I was out today for an entirely different reason!

"Environmental Improvement Works" at Admiralty shore, May 09 - May 10

Works which started in May 09 continue to May 10 involve removal of existing revetment, topping up of sand/ stone and reconstruction of the existing jetty.

Wild monkeys at breakfast in Admiralty Park

There was a rustle in the huge Simpoh air (Dillenia suffroticosa) bushes (more like trees) as I was heading back from the mangroves at Admiralty Park.
There were several little monkeys in there foraging for their breakfast!

Hotbed of Hoyas at Admiralty Park

Another relaxing 'late' start: daybreak at the mangroves of Admiralty Park.
This tiny patch of mangroves on Sungei Cina are part of the Admiralty Nature Area and incorporated into Admiralty Park.

Mangroves of Admiralty Park

There's no low tide so it's perhaps time to visit Admiralty Park, as I've been meaning to do for a long time.Officially opened in Oct 07, with a second phase launched in Oct 08, the Park has meandering paths through grassland habitats next to streams, some narrow forested areas and a tiny patch of mangroves.

There is a 2-km nature trail next to, with two bridges across, a little stream called Sungei Cina. The stream edges are thick with lush grasslands full of wildflowers and bugs and butterflies.I'm really bad with photographing anything that flies. I'm more used to shooting things in water. So it was nice to get a chance at these little insects. I have no idea what they are. There were quite a few of the yellow butterflies. They are really annoying to shoot as they have a seemingly random way of flying about. I'm in awe at how the Butterfly Circle folks can shoot these animals.
The path meanders through several large clumps of Nipah palms (Nypa fruticans) and some were blooming! I've done a separate post on the fascinating insects attracted to these blossoms.

Right along this open path, I came across the biggest Putat sungei (Barringtonia racemosa) that I've ever seen! It's huge and appears old and well grown. Perhaps it was there since before the Park? It's good to know it was incorporated into the Park.This tree is listed as 'Critically Endangered' on the Red List of threatened plants of Singapore. It has pretty pink puff-ball flowers that appear on a long trailing stalk. I only noticed today, that the leaves have a toothed edge. Wow! What a great, unexpected find.

Among the other interesting plants I saw along the way was a Wax plant (Hoya sp.) but it wasn't flowering, and a very tall Noni (Morinda citrifolia) tree.
At the top of a little rise, in the open areas, I notice lots of little saplings. They are probably propagated special trees. I recognise the Sea teak (Podocarpus polystachyus) among them. This is quite exciting!The trail then loops into a narrow forested area, under tall Rhu trees (Casuarina equisetifolia) and secondary forest plants.Finally, the trail leads to a short bridge over a canal that leads into the mangroves! Although touted as a boardwalk through the mangrove, it's really just a bridge and doesn't bring visitors to walk amongst the trees. Not like the boardwalks at Chek Jawa or Sungei Buloh.But the mangroves do look interesting. With at least two Bruguiera gymnorrhiza with their bright red flowers near the bridge. As well as tall Avicennia and other trees.
It was nice to come across a rather well grown Yellow-eyed pong pong tree (Cerbera odollam).
What was interesting for me to see was the rattans looping around the trees near the mangroves and over the streams. This is my first time seeing such large fat rattans near a mangrove.

Rattans are actually palms, like the more familiar Coconut palm and Nipah palm. But unlike these palms, rattans don't invest in a sturdy trunk. Instead, they are climbers and clamber over other trees, using them as support to reach the sun.To climb, they have spines all over the place. On the leaves, on the stems, and the tips of the leaves are lined with grappling hooks (top little photo insert). A rattan is not a pleasant plant to have a quarrel with.

According to Tomlinson and Giesen, Calamus erinaceus is a rattan that is associated with mangroves. The Malay name is 'Rotan bakau'. I'm not sure if this is the one I saw at the Park today.

I also saw some replanting going on in the forested area. I recognised some as Putat laut (Barringtonia asiatica) and Penaga laut (Calophyllum inophyllum) trees.

It seems that the mangrove area is still connected to the sea, as the map of the Park shows.
This is great to know. And with the replanting going on, the Park may eventually be home to some of our rare and endangered shore plants.
Unfortunately, there was someone deep in the mangroves with a bucket and a back pack. The bicycle chained to the bridge probably belongs to him. I'm not sure what he was up to, he disappeared shortly among the trees.The forested area was full of birds and other creatures. Like this Plantain squirrel (Callosciurus notatus). There were also lots of signs telling people not to feed the monkeys, so perhaps there are monkeys in the area. But I didn't see any today.And this little Ashy Tailorbird (Orthotomus ruficeps) took off just as I tried to take a picture of him.

The Park is interesting, and I might try to take a closer look at the mangroves another time.

Status and threats to Admiralty Park

Admiralty Park includes a 20-hectare nature area, "the biggest nature area within a park in Singapore" according to the NParks website.
And here's the Nature Area (marked NA in green) within the Park, from the Master Plan 2008 page on the URA website.

Being located in the middle of an industrial area, the mangroves are vulnerable to industrial accidents. A factory fire in Jun 08 resulted in pollution of the waters in the area.

The coastline that leads to Sungei Cina and the mangroves in the Park are also going to be developed into a 'waterfront oasis'. This is probably the area with the green cross-hatched lines in the map above.

More about Admiralty Park

The park has also WiFi Hotspots at strategic locations. The Sakura restaurant is located at the West Entrance of the park (it was offering a buffet when I was there).

Republic Polytechnic is right next to the Park and they have collaborated with NParks to produce an Admiralty Park e-guide.

There is a guided nature walk at this Park every second Saturday of the month. From the NParks website: "Experience the nature area filled with rich biodiversity of flora and fauna. Appreciate the beauty of the river at different water levels. Venture through both the secondary Rain-forest and the mangrove forest, and seize the opportunity to observe the various plants and animals. Registration ends 3 days before the event. To register, please email Dorothy at dorothy_lim@nparks.gov.sg"

Time: 8.30-10.30am
Venue: Admiralty Park, amphitheatre
Website: http://www.nparks.gov.sg/
Contact: Dorothy at dorothy_lim@nparks.gov.sg

You can also volunteer at the Park on the last Friday of the month on a bi-monthly basis. The next event is on 24 April (Fri) at 08.30-9.30am. To register, email dorothy_lim@nparks.gov.sg .

More links

• Admiralty Park on the NParks website.
• Admiralty Park e-guide by Republic Polytechnic and NParks.
  
• Official opening of Admiralty Park media reports on the wildsingapore website.
• Surprises aplenty at Admiralty Park's new trail Dhany Osman, Straits Times 12 Oct 08
• Phase 2 of Admiralty Park opens to public Dominique Loh, Channel NewsAsia 4 Oct 08
• Woodlands factory on fire again; public advised to avoid beach, canal Channel NewsAsia 13 Jun 08
  
• Drains and canals at Sungei Sembawang polluted following factory fire Channel NewsAsia 7 Jun 08
• $19m waterfront oasis to be built in Woodlands Channel NewsAsia 26 Jan 08

Blooming Nipah at Admiralty Park

The Nipah palm is among the best recognised mangrove plant as it produces 'attap chee', a favourite ingredient of our much loved local desserts such as ice kachang.And at Admiralty Park today, there were lots of large clumps of Nipah palm (Nypa fruticans) all along the trails. A few were flowering and I took a closer look at the insects that were attracted to these strange blossoms.

The palm produces two kinds of flowers.
The female flowers form a globe made up of little segments that eventually become the fruits. While the male flowers appear on a thick long sausage-shaped inflorescence.

Blooming male flowers are golden yellow with sticky pollen and attract a lot of insects.There were honey bees. And swarms of tiny little insects.Are they flies or bees? I have no idea. But there sure were LOTS of them.

According to Tomlinson, two kinds of insects visit the flowers "in significant numbers": small bees of the genus Trigona and small flies of the Family Drosophilidae. He says the bees may not be important pollinators as they only visit the male flowers and not the female flowers. The small flies, however, visit both kinds of flowers and appear to complete their lifecycle in the branches of the male inflorescences.

If this is true, then it's important NOT to 'clean' away the withered male flowers as they may be the source of the pollinators that the palm depends upon!
The honey bees pack the pollen on their back legs.And I noticed (after I got home and processed the photo), one of the little insects eating the pollen on the bee's leg!!

Besides the honey bees and little insects, there were also beetles. There were many of them, but not as many as the little insects. And the beetles seem to be mating as well as eating!
And there were even tinier insects too! Wow, it was a real frenzy!

I didn't see any insects at the female flowers. But perhaps these only become receptive after the male flowers surrounding them wither away? There's still so much more to find out about our mangrove plants.Eventually, the male flowers wither away, and the female flowers turn to dark brown fruits.

The Nipah palm often forms large colonies. It is generally found in tidal rivers, calm estuaries and shallow lagoons with permanent and high inflows of freshwater. It does not occur on shores exposed to waves or in areas with high salinity, and is also not found far beyond the intertidal influence.

The Nipah palm is among the more commercially valuable plants of the mangroves. The leaves are used for 'attap' huts. According to Burkill, "a more skilful use of the leaves" is to produce attap: drying the leaves, folding them over a rod and stitching them in place to form shingles called attap. These shingles are used for roofing as well as the sides of houses and can last for 5 years or more. The leaves are also used to make umbrellas, sunhats, raincoats, baskets, mats and bags. Young leaves are made into cigarette-wrappers.

Another famous product of the Nipah palm is the production of 'toddy', an local alcholic drink. Burkill describes the process of tapping sap from the palm to produce 'toddy': A palm is fit to tap at 5 years of age or after its second flowering. When the fruit is forming, the stalk carrying it is beaten with a wooden mallet. After being bruised daily for a week, the stalk is tapped for its sap and the flow maintained by daily shaving off from the stump of the inflorescence. It is accepted that tapping over 50 years is possible.

The sap ferments into alcoholic 'toddy', almost immediately as "bacteria of fermentation is in abundance" in the containers used to collect the sap. Nipah suger is not much made in Malaya because it contains "too much of a treacly substance that is difficult to eliminate". Toddy left to stand becomes vinegar in a fortnight, which is used to bleach Nipah leaves for the hat and mat industry.

An animal that is fond of stealing 'toddy' is the Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). It is also called the Toddycat. The Toddycat and Palm leaf is part of the logo of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR) at the National University of Singapore.
From the write up about the Toddycat and Palm leaf in the logo ...

"Commonly residing in roofs of houses, gardens and parks, they travel between houses via telephone wires, poles and trees. Often mistaken for cats or rats in the roof, Toddy eats flesh and fruit with equal gusto.

Seven of the eight species of world's palm civets are found in Southeast Asia. They are secretive and elegant animals residing in the threatened forests of Asia, and even now, we know very little about them!"

The Toddycats is also the name of the volunteers at RMBR! Here is the really delightful mascot of the volunteers...
There sure are a lot of fascinating fauna and facts surrounding the Nipah palm!