Painted faces: revisited

Work kept me away from the wayang at Pulau Ubin last year but I'm glad to catch-up with the Teochew Opera troupe this year. For me it was the exhilaration of capturing the transformation each performer goes through to become their characters. It was also a chance to see the familiar faces from 2011.

The other kings of the sky - swallows & swifts

Often we think of birds of prey as kings of the sky, but swallows and swifts too own the skys. They hawk insects on the fly, and they seem to effortlessly move around the open air space. It's hard to catch them at rest as often they perch high up in trees. Learning to identify these winged wonders is even harder as to the uninitiated they all look similar.

Recently, while on my morning walk, I stopped to glance skywards at the swallows and swifts zipping around. As I studied the birds, I realized that they were of different species. The largest is  the grey-rumped treeswift. I went back equipped with lens and ready to take pot shots of the swallows and swifts as they flew by.

Population of two

Little Grebes were first sighted here in 1992, in a pond near the old Punggol pig farms. By 1994, they were pretty well established till their pond habitats were filled as the area was re-purposed by the government. The population was said to have dwindled over the years.

The old Singapore Quarry site was one of the known places where a small population of little grebes existed but in recent years, they have all disappeared. The other known locations are Lor Halus at the old refuse dump site, and the new wetlands. There another small population on Punggol Barat island near the Seletar airport.

The only accessible site is at Lor Halus Wetland where a pair of little grebe hold court in a shallow fresh water pond. May be due to our tropical climate, our little grebes do not lose their breeding plumage and they seem to breed all year. 

Little grebe nest

Tulipmania@Gardens by the Bay

Hey folks if you are here in Singapore, and love flowers as I do, drop in at Gardens by the Bay for Tulipmania. Go now as the exhibit ends 20 May. You'll get blown away by the tulips and an array of other flowering bulbs. You will need to purchase a ticket to enter the Flower Dome where the tulips are housed.

Walk way to the Flower Dome

Crowded out

People never seem to under stand that releasing foreign fish or animals into our environment is bad. May be this pictorial representation of the damage they are doing will bring the message home. 

A small section of a river crowded with foreign fish.

Spot-billed pelicans of Asia

Missed these pelicans at Laem Pak Bia in Oct 2012 and was glad to finally get to see them in Sri Lanka.  

Spot-billed pelicans or grey pelicans are found in Asia. As their common name suggests, these pelicans possess a spotted bill; the throat pouch is also spotted in appearance. 

lone individual in a lake