Dragonflies

I finally succeeded in taking decent photographs of the broad winged damselfly. These metallic green damselflies love to sit in bright sunlight to sun themselves. And because of their metallic coloration reflect light, it is hard to figure out the correct angle for the best shot. Another factor was the fact that you can't choose where they turn up at. Often they sun themselves in locations with limited area for a photographer to work with.
I tried using a flash to correct the light balance but the damselfly's metallic body bounces light off the flash causing over exposure around the damselfly. The best way to photograph them is without a flash.
This time around I had a better working area and the results to go with it. Here's another that focuses on the damselfly's head.While heading back this dragonfly caught my eye. I wouldn't have stopped to photograph it if it wasn't about four inches long and had unique coloration something that I've not seen before.

Friendly Pacific Swallows

I was out looking for the Blue-throated bee eaters but none were around with the swallows this evening. So I focused on the Pacific Swallows that patrol the green runway catching insects in flight. I am still trying to get decent shots of these Pacific Swallows for sometime as they usually sit on an old goal post in wide open space perfect perch for these birds right in the middle of the runway. I finally figured out the best position and angel but the bird was a little more flighty than the other bird on the opposite side of the goal post.

It's a Bird, It's a Flying Lizard!!!

I went in search of the kingfisher and once again the bird eludes as did the Blue-throated Bee Eaters. While trying to find the bird again, I caught a glimpse of something come flying down. My initial thought was a bird but it was green and had four feet.
Immediately, I recognized the flying object.... a green crested lizard. It must have leaped off a tree to avoid something. It then climbed up another tree and as you can see it was nice and toasty in brilliant technicolor.

The kingfisher was no where to be seen but I did catch a glimpse of a Banded Woodpecker. This one is another that hangs around one particular tree. I am going to hang around this area again when I have the time to see if I catch a good shot of the elusive birds.

Scaly-Breasted Munia Family

This is the time for a new generation of birds to fledged. This munia along with it's mate brought their off-springs to graze in the backyard.I quietly climbed on a stool to have a better view of these birds as they fed on grass seeds. The four birds spent over 30 minutes feeding while I happily snapped away as these birds were rather comical to watch in the backyard.

The Kid In Me

It's been raining the entire week and I have been couped up at home doing nothing but work. Yesterday, we baby sat my almost 4-year-old nephew. To keep him entertained and behaved, I had to bribe him.
We made doughnuts and the kid in me came out to play. I found a simple chocolate glaze recipe and we created chocolate glazed doughnuts sprinkled with colored rice. What kid would refuse these colorful delights?After my helper fried up the doughnuts, I dunked them in the glaze to coat them. Next came to color to brighten them up. The kid had three doughnuts at a go and insisted on a doggie bag when his grandfather came to take him home for his afternoon nap. It felt good taking the short break to be creative and letting some of the stress from work slide away.
I munched on a couple more today as I had to deal with a very stressed out client who was not having a good day. Can't blame him as we were looking at a crappy piece of work that we weren't allowed to fix.

Animal Rescue

I went on my usual walk and as I neared my half way mark, I spotted a tortise in the drain. The funny thing is that there were other people around but not one saw the tortise in the drain. I stopped to photograph the animal.Then I went to look for help as the animal needed rescuing for there was no way for it to climb out of the drain. It was a good thing a ranger had already reported for work and I had him rescue the tortise.The tortise I found is a Spiny Terrapin, an uncommon native forest dwelling species. It lives well camouflaged amongst the leaf litter, making occasional forays to streams and puddles. It feeds on fallen fruits and other vegetation.

The Grand Imperial

I was rushing home as the weather was starting to get overcast and I didn't want to get caught in a downpour with two lens in tow. As I hastily walked past a tree, a butterfly caught my eye. It was alone and a lot larger than the other Lycaenidae that I have come across.It didn't take me long to flip through my brain to realise that I found another butterfly from the Lycaenidae family.Wuhoo!!!! The butterfly find pushed all thoughts of heading home quickly out of my brain as I switched modes to gotta get my photos no matter what. I must have spent another 10 minutes photographing the butterfly making sure I got all the shots I wanted. From experience I know that I may not come across the rare butterfly again. My little lone beauty is the Grand Imperial.The Grand Imperial (Neocheritra amrita amrita) is rare, and on Singapore island, mostly individuals are observed. The adult butterfly appears to be a tree-top dweller and occasionally descends to feed or lay eggs. It shares the behaviour of a closely-related species, the Great Imperial (Jacoona anasuja anasuja) and resembles it closely. Where encountered, the butterfly is observed to fly rapidly, and stops to rest with its wings folded upright. Very rarely, it can be seen sunbathing with its wings opened.

White-Bellied Sea Eagles

I had the pleasure of watching a pair of White-bellied Sea Eagles when the pair came a calling. It was awesome to see these big majestic birds at a reasonable distance. The pair rested on a dead tree in the evening and fly away when I approached them with my camera at around 7 pm.
My next sighting of the pair was the following morning on the same tree just before the skies opened up. The larger of the two flew off almost immediately when I approached but the other allowed me to get right up under the tree to take a couple of photographs. I wonder if it was hunting as there was a troupe of monkeys near the trees and the apes were nervous with the presence of the two large birds. My photos are still a little grainy due to the limited distance I have on my lens.They didn't come back this evening as it rained all day. I hope to see them again tomorrow morning as I would love to photograph them under better weather conditions.

Colugo Momma

I saw a group of people photographing something with their mobile phones and compact cameras. As I got closer, I saw a Colugo no more than 6 feet up a tree. The people did not know what it was so I gave an impromptu lesson on the Colugo.I decided to try photographing this Colugo with my macro lens. This was a nice shot of the Colugo as it raised itself off the tree trunk to look at me.What I didn't know was this Colugo was also carrying a baby with it. Till I went back a second time to show another friend I met the Colugo. I spotted mini Colugo peeking out of momma's body. This is my first sighting of mother and baby and it was terribly exciting.

Wild Durians & A Fruit Party

We had to do it at least once, pick durians within the nature reserve. As mentioned in my earlier posts this year has produced a bumper crop of fruits all round. The durian trees in the reserve were laden with fruits and there was plenty to go around.A couple of weeks ago, we picked over 20 fruits as the durians were everywhere. It was a lot of hard work but also a lot of fun. Where in this day and age do you get a chance to pick free durians? We had a heck of a time opening these durians as we did have the right tools to do the job. The durians were also mediocre and now we knew why no one staked out these trees.
Today I held a tropical fruit party at my home and served pomelos, mangosteens, duku langsat, rambutans and durians.I bought two types of durians Sultan and Mao Shan Wang (Cat Mountain King). Sultan is the dark yellow flesh and is bitter sweet to taste. The pale fleshed version is Mao Shan Wang and it has a bitter after taste and a tiny seed. I bought 12 packets of durian and we finished 8 of the 12. I froze the balance of slightly over 1 kg of durian meat, for round 2 next weekend, where I shall make durian puffs for tea.

I Wanted Zhen Zhen Porridge

I drove all the way to Maxwell Road Hawker Center at 6.30 am on a Saturday morning because I wanted to have a bowl of Zhen Zhen porridge. To my disappointment I found Zhen Zhen was closed. I ended up heading to Guan Dong Noodles for wanton noodles. The last time I was at the food center, I tried their stew beef noodles. Although the stewed beef was tender and tasty I found it a little too much for me. I wanted a cleaner taste and I was also in search of a perfect bowl of wanton noodles.However, waiting to place my order I changed my mind and asked for chicken noodles instead. The lady ahead of me ordered two plates and they looked simple and light. The stewed shitake mushrooms was what made me change my mind.The dish doesn't look like much but the noodles were al dante like the previous time I ate here. The sauce from the stewed mushrooms was what made the plate of noodles so fantastic. I am glad I asked the lady for extra sauce to coat the noodles. The plate really hit the spot and I was ready for my walk about along Keong Siak Street.

Crickets

I've been waiting to find these crickets with its wings raised. Don't the crickets look like they are plastic. As to why they do that I suspect that it's a mating ritual.

Cupid's Shaving Brush

I love plants too and these weeds has the most interesting name - Cupid's Shaving Brush. A lilac colored brush.Seeds covered in dew.A larger red version.Fluffy feathery seeds waiting for a breeze to scatter them.

Blue-Throated Bee Eater

I finally tracked down the very shy Blue-throated Bee Eater and managed to photograph one. I knew they were around as I keep hearing them calling to each other but they stay within the forest or above the canopy of trees. The only times I've caught glimpses of these birds were in the early mornings or evenings. This evening I hang around the edge of the forest scanning the trees for these birds and I finally found one.The Blue-throated Bee Eaters forage over the canopy of lowland forest and relatively open habitats such as grasslands. These birds forage in pairs, sometimes in small groups. They are breed here in Singapore May to September and then fly off to Indonesia. Then the Blue-tailed Bee Eaters migrate back into Singapore. Size wise the Blue-throated are about 3 cm smaller than the Blue-tailed.

Uneventful Walks?

It isn't everyday that one gets to see new and exciting things in the nature reserve but then again even the smallest mundane thing can be interesting. If one looks, one does find interesting observations.
How about this? A Lynx Spider sucking the life force out of a red Darth Vader aka Plant Hopper, notice the how plump the thorax is on the spider.Another species of Plant Hopper.Some one said that green is the new black, mister brilliant green grasshopper certainly is green. It is breakfasting on cow grass flowers. Or this little green shrimp, a tiny Preying Mantis trying hard not to get noticed.Which came first man or insect? Here's Mother Nature's version of a Reggae insect dreadlocks and all. If you know the name of this insect let me know as I haven't got a clue.

The Three Confusing Caeruleans

I'm not sure which is which or if they are all of the same butterfly. To me they look like three different Caeruleans.
A Soldier CaeruleanA Dark Caerulean (may be)And a Common Caerulean

What A Gem!

I never regret carrying the camera in a backpack every morning as part of my exercise routine. I know I'm being kiah su (afraid to miss out) but I do see the darndest things during my morning walks and have cussed myself blue for not having the camera with me.
This morning, I spied a butterfly sitting low on some branches and I stooped to have a closer look. Upon a closer look I immediately recognized that this was one I hadn't seen before. Out came the camera in very slow motion least I scare my subject away.I slowly approached it and began to photograph it. It flew off several times but I was lucky to be able to follow it as I had help. I found myself a rare butterfly called the Sumatran Gem.The Sumatran Gem is a rather rare butterfly in Singapore, and it only makes its appearance occasionally. The species usually flies in bright sunshine early in the morning and settles on leaves with its wings closed or semi-open. The underside is reddish brown with striations. The legs of the butterfly are banded.Carrying the extra weight paid off. I have these fantastic shots to share with the world.

Black Veined Tiger

I spotted a beautiful butterfly fluttering around on the edge of the forest and I patiently waited for it to rest on the foliage it was flying over. It was a butterfly that I had not seen before. Later during my research, I located the butterfly in the butterfly checklist. I chanced upon a Black Veined Tiger and the least common of the five tigers found in Singapore.

It's Sinfully Chocolate Heaven

I didn't chase wild things on Saturday but stayed in the kitchen to bake a flourless chocolate cake out of the block of bitter sweet Valrhona chocolate that I had in my pantry. The cake looks like a plain uninteresting cake while it is still in the baking tin. However, this is probably the most sinfully rich chocolate cake ever and one of my favorites.
I dolled the cake up a little to make it look more appealing to the camera.Of course, we couldn't wait to dive in and eat the cake while it is still warm. It should be eaten slightly chilled but we couldn't wait. A slice came off the cake and on went a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some whipped cream.Three spoons came out and we were digging into the cake. It was warm, gooey, moist and crunchy. I added a packet of ground almonds to the recipe but not enough to make it too dense. We made light work of the piece of cake.