Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Ah Balling Revisited

My Chinatown guide was hungry and we decided to have a pre dinner snack before heading back to street level to play with our cameras. Hai Seng is her favorite ah balling stall and I was happy to so her where the stall is. It took a while to locate the place as I discovered my mobile was on me. After a little searching we found the stall and we each ordered our bowl of rice dumplings from this similing owner of the stall who still makes his dumplings by hand.The dumpling filling we both like is black sesame. Didn't take us long to empty our bowls.Sated and pretty pleased with ourselves, we went on to explore Chinatown.
Here's where to go for an ah balling fix: -
Hai Seng Ah Balling
Stall 02-059
Chinatown Food Centre
Blk 335 Smith Street
Singapore 050335
12pm to 9pm
Thursday 12pm to 6pm

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Mid-Autumn Festival 2009

Thought it would be fun to head down to Chinatown and take in the sights like a tourist since the area is lighted up for Mid-Autumn Festival.
Mid-Autumn Festival is by Chinese, Koreans, and Vietnamese people as a harvest festival, even though it is celebrated by each differently. In Singapore, it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival.
What is the festival without the traditional goodies like mooncakes and pomelos. My friend who was my Chinatown guide brought me to the oldest traditional baked mooncakes store - Chinatown Tai Chong Kok Confectionery - which is a household name for many generations. It was my first time at the store and I was fascinated.
I am not much of a mooncake eater but I do love tradition and this store was such a throw back. The ladies of course were equally taken with me when I confessed to them that it was my first time at their store. We still managed to converse with my half-baked Mandarin. I walked away with some great photos and a paper bag of mini mooncakes.
Outside were stalls stacked to the brim with pomelos. I love pomelos and will eat them pretty much all year round when I can get them.Last but not the least what is mid-autumn without the lanterns.

Monday, September 28, 2009

A Sub-Adult Painted Bronzeback

Spotted a sub-adult Painted Bronzeback in the forest basking in the mid-morning sun on a tree. Being young this little snake had an innate sense of curiosity as it looked at me and sensing the air around it.The Painted Bronzeback is also known as the Common Bronzeback as it is the most widespread of the four species of Bronzebacks. They can be found through out Southeast Asia, often near urban human habitats in parks and secondary forest.As for this little one it decided to flee from me.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Here's A Lizard I Never Tire Of Seeing

Green Crested Lizards are one of my favorite lizards as they can be so stunning to catch a glimpse of. They can be harder to spot because of their perfect leaf green camouflage. They also face competition from the Changeable Lizard which is a non-native species introduced by man.
Lizards like all reptiles, need to sun themselves up if the their body temperature drops too much before they can start to function. It is also the best time to observe these lizards as they are in the open and are sluggish.This one was so obvious as it contrasted with the yellow leaf. It just so pretty lying on the leaf sunbathing with its slender toes spread open. Once it realized that it was being photographed, it disappeared among the green leaves and I lost sight of it.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Macaques Acquired Taste For Flour

The walking route was dotted with flour from start to finish. The result of a Hash run through the nature reserve organized by the Hash House Harriers. Members (Hares) will lay a trail, which is then followed by the remainder of the group (the Pack or Hounds). The trail often includes false trails, short cuts, dead ends, and splits. These features are designed to keep the pack together regardless of fitness level or running speed, as front-runners are forced to slow down to find the "true" trail, allowing stragglers to catch up. I followed the trail this morning just for the fun of it and discovered a secret back area that has been cleared. Back at the main trail the Long-tailed Macaques were all out along the walk trail, they were attracted by the flour on the ground.These macaques have acquired the taste for flour. They were scooping up handfuls of flour and eating it (see the white mouth).I observed this behavior all along the trail, it seems the macaques have been conditioned to eat flour.The next troupe was at the Kallang Water Plant, they too were eating flour off the ground. Three troupes all exhibiting the same behavior. Will these macaques eventually become nuisances and raid homes in search of flour left in the open?

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Moulting Gliders

Thought that the tag to my folder for the Common Gliding Lizards made an interesting title for this post. Did a round of palm tree inspections to see what I would find. A failed start began this round, forgot to insert a compact flash card into the camera duh? Had to run back home to retrieve card before I could begin photographing the strange looking Common Gliding Lizards I spotted on a palm tree. In total, there were five lizards on three palm trees at various stages of moulting and looking like alien species. I was witnessing a mass moult among the population of gliding lizards living on a cluster of palm trees.What amused me was watching one lizard contort itself in a ballet like movement to get dead skin to come off.On a different cluster at the other end the lizards weren't moulting.The pair I observed were busy feeding on ants going round the palm tree.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

A Two-Minute Encounter

It was a rather cool morning and the air was laden with moisture, which made the walk very nice. I was trailing behind two old ladies and as I rounded the corner. I spotted a small light brown snake about 35 cm long crossing the road. I quickly grabbed the camera out of the backpack and approached it. To my surprise the dull snake changed color and iridescent red line appeared down its back along with black stripes. WoW! what a great visual transformation.This snake was a spirited too and it quickly went into defense mode. The classic "S" curve with body taut. It lunged at me twice in its effort to get away and gave me little chance to compose my shots. As I wasn't sure if my identification of this snake as the Striped Kukri was 100% correct, I chose to be cautious as I allowed it to get itself to the side of the road. Sometimes, the Banded Malayan Coral can be mistaken for the Striped Kukri. Kukris are harmless and the Malayan Coral are venomous, and care should be taken not to handle them. In this instance, best thing to do is stop traffic (if possible) and let the snake get out of the way on its own.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Another Black & White Series - Little Dancer

This series of photographs were shot after dinner on the second last day of puasa. We were wondering along Haji Lane when I spied this lithe lean young dancer going through her dance routine. I shot the series entirely without flash.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Going Cuckoo Over A Cuckoo

Yawn! woke up at 5.30 am to get myself ready to head out to look for the Plaintive Cuckoo that is on every birders' must shoot list for September. The walk in the morning was beautiful as you can see from the silhouette on the lake with the sun burning red. It was a hot day out.
Took me about an hour to locate the bird and then the adrenaline kicked in.This bird is about 22cm long and is still a juvenile.When birders first found it, it had no tail. By the time, I got my turn it already is spotting a nice tail. Unfortunately, I do not know much about the bird but some say it is local. Like other cuckoos, this bird also lays its eggs in other birds' nests.
What I do know is the bird has awesome eye sight as it picked off caterpillars that were on the grass.It then flies back up to a tree to finish its meal.While I was there for about half-an-hour it ate almost ten caterpillars. I am so pleased with myself having photographed this bird.Drove home and chilled out as the heat and humidity was fierce today.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

My Favorite Subject

As you can tell from my posts, I am crazy about snakes. They are the most misunderstood lot of creatures and are often viewed as pests. Reality is they have a purpose in the eco-system like with all the other creatures. As predators, snakes help to keep population of other prey animals in check. If man destroys all snakes then there will be an imbalance in the eco-system.
My little subject today is an Elegant Bronzeback that was spotted warming itself. It stuck its tongue out at me not because it is being rude but snakes use their tongues to sense and taste the air around them to look for prey or identify threats.This fella was pretty cooperative and the photo below shows you why the species is call Bronzebacks. After finishing my shoot, I let the snake go on its way as with all snakes they flee versus hang around and tangle with a human. We are not their prey and they will not waste their time with us. The next time you see a snake leave it alone.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Another Colugo Encounter

I spotted this little fella last week and did such a bang up job on taking photos of it that I had to look for it again. Well I found it hanging upside down, which is how Colugos rest in the day.Once it knew I was there it moved and I finally got the shots that I have been dying to get. A Colugo looking straight at my camera lens. Notice how large the pupils are, Colugos are nocturnal hence the large pupils to allow more light it much like a camera shutter.Colugos live alone or in small loose groups and they spend their time in dense foliage high in the tree canopy or in tree holes. They feed on flowers, buds, shoots, young leaves, fruit, nectar and sap.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The Toad That Lives In The Leaf Litter

Have you ever walked in the nature reserve and heard the shrill calls of what sounds like frogs all around you? The calls seem to come from the leaf litter that is scattered on the ground.I've done this before, gone in search of the creature that calls from under the leaf litter. It isn't easy but when you do find one it is like hitting jackpot. I had to go amphibian hunting again just for fun and to take a fresh set of photos. Once I located a possible location, I slowly lifted leaf by leaf and initial layer revealed a large spider. Then out pops the Four-ridged Toad the owner of those calls in the forest.Once I was through with photographing this toad, I gently placed all the leaves back on it.

Monday, September 14, 2009

On A Hot Sunny Saturday

Saturday was hot and muggy, and I thought it would be a perfect day to out looking for reptiles. However, the reptiles of the slithery kind were hell bent on not showing themselves to me despite my heading out twice that day.
I did get some interesting photos of nature around me. The beauty of a tree fern against the sunlight.My favorite Long-tailed Macaque, Half-tail. I am glad that he is still around as I was told he was no more. To me, he usually minds his own business but apparently he can be a nuisance and aggressive.I then wondered over to the stream and found these brilliant blue damselflies skimming the stream. Sadly there were no snakes to be seen anywhere.