Nature Sightings

Some dragonflies for you

2007-04-10T20:42:00.000+08:00

I'm back.....for now....

2007-04-10T20:31:00.000+08:00

Hello.....ain't afraid of your flash...see how big my eyes are!

"Yoda" balancing on a branch....(btw, he fell off after this picture was taken & landed on another branch.....sheesh)

Can I pass off as a chimpanzee???

Happy New Year

2007-01-02T20:51:00.000+08:00

Little Spiderhunter

Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher (Black-backed Kingfisher)

Siberian Blue Robin (female)

Well, haven't been doing much except sleeping & eating & eating & sleeping. Hey, it's the year of the Golden Pig which comes only once in every 600 years. So my New Year's resolution would be: Sleep as much as I can & sleep at every opportunity! What's yours?

So far, haven't shot any birds much despite the migratory period..kinda slack for me...actually hung up my camera last year so these photos were actually taken before Christmas but just toooooo lazy to upload. Hope you won't mind. Just enjoy the pictures......

Ferruginous Flycatcher

2006-11-24T21:33:00.000+08:00

Was walking down when I saw a flutter beside me...stopped to take a look & there was this little bird perched so sweetly. Trying not to scare the bird, I moved like a robot & managed to snap a shot before it flew up & away..........

Three Musketeers

2006-11-24T10:18:00.000+08:00

Sitting on the bridge...looking at the world go round....enjoying the breeze & view from our point.....nobody else can do that except us 3 musketeers.......One for all & all for One!

Mother Nature

2006-11-22T09:57:00.000+08:00

Ever wondered what it will be like to fly among the clouds? Sometimes when I look at the clouds and their amazing shapes & designs, I do fantasize but my feet never seems to lift off.....hahaha, so all I can do is just stare & day-dream & marvel at the wonders of nature.....

I just love sunset.........don't you? Sunset brings a lot of things to a close.....like the day is going & night is coming, days birds are going home to roost while nocturnal creatures will begin their "day"...but best of all...it means......I HAVE FINISHED WORK FOR THE DAY!!!!!! YIPPEE!!!

Say No to Feeding & Yes to Antics

2006-11-22T09:30:00.000+08:00

Enjoys some monkeys antics........

Monkeys

2006-11-22T08:42:00.000+08:00

Monkeys....what comes into your mind when you hear the words "Monkeys"? - cheeky, robber, bandit, aggressive creatures, bites & attacks people, stealer, snatch thief.....etc. So many unwarranted words to describe them, why? Cos when humans start taking pity & feed them, monkeys will start developing a change in their diet & taste. Just imagine, if you start feeding your baby junk food instead of healthy food, what happens? The baby will also start wanting just junk food & will not eat other food & when he can't get what he wants, he will throw a tantrum & wail to the sky! Same goes for the monkeys except they don't wail or cry....they snatch, attack you and rob you! If junk food is unhealthy to humans, do you think it will be healthy to monkeys????

We need the monkeys(who are the natural habitants of the forest) to forage & eat the fruits of the forests to help us disseminate & germinate the next generation of trees by the natural way......you & I don't eat seeds, neither do the monkeys, so when they eat the fruits, they will disseminate the seeds onto the forest floor and another life cycle will begin. So please DO NOT FEED THE MONKEYS. THERE ARE ENOUGH FOOD FOR THEM IN THE FOREST! We need them to start a new life cycle for the trees and only with enough trees to form a forest, then can we and our future generation be able to take a walk through the forest away from the hustle and bustle of city life to enjoy the serenity & wonders of the forest.

These pictures are a good example of monkeys who become fat & lazy when they have been constantly fed by humans........

More to come soon......akan datang

2006-11-21T22:16:00.000+08:00

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (winter breeding male)

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (1st shot)

I'm Back - 3

2006-11-21T21:36:00.000+08:00

Grey-headed Fish Eagle

Purple Heron

Laced Woodpecker

Green-backed Flycatcher

White-rumped Sharma

Forest Wagtail

Eyebrowed Thrush

Another set of photos

2006-11-21T21:26:00.000+08:00

Eastern-crowned Warbler

Changeable Hawk Eagle

Common Iora

Brown-throated Sunbird

Dark-sided Flycatcher

I'm Back - 2

2006-11-21T21:17:00.000+08:00

Brown Shrike

Blue-winged Leafbird(male)

Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

Another shot of Asian Paradise Flycatcher

Asian Brown Flycatcher

I'm Back!!

2006-11-21T20:57:00.000+08:00

Well, it's been such a loooooong time since I last updated my blog...tsk tsk. So I decided to do something before my blogs has cobwebs & dust...haha.... With the migratory season in swing now, have decided to post some photos for your viewing pleasure...just don't ask me when I took them as I can't remember... The picture on the left is an Artic Warbler.

Just some updates

2006-07-13T19:47:00.000+08:00

Haven't been doing much shooting lately cos of my sickness last week & this week, have been too lazy to go out & do any shooting. Rather, have been lazying at home being a "house cockroach". That's what my boi boi calls me! The only thing I did was to bring my dog out for his long overdue walk but that too was just for 15mins cos he wanted to go back home & not walk any further!

I just read Genevie's blog about the pangolin that I released when she was not around(hahaha). Well, that boy is sure one tough fighter! He managed to crawl his way to the ants nest hidden inside a rotten log & burrowed his head in to feed! When his head finally appeared, it was reddish & his tongue was flicking in the air...probably saying "hmmmm, finally the food that I love". He then proceeded to crawl to another log & decided to sleep there. So I left him there to sleep & hopefully, when he wakes up, he'll see the ants nest just beside him.

I went back to look for him the next day but he wasn't around, so I hope he managed to look for a safer place and continue his fight & live happily ever after.

Some Birds To Share

2006-06-18T22:38:00.000+08:00

Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker (female)

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (female)

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (male)

Striped-tit Babbler (juvenile)

Crimson Sunbird

Pictures I took on that "Fateful" day

2006-06-17T00:37:00.000+08:00

Yellow-vented Bulbul perched on a branch in the rain

Olive-backed Sunbird(female) inside her nest....at eye level somemore!

Another type of Black-headed Munia

Black-headed Munia

Cow.....

White-bellied Sea Eagle

25 May 2006 - Unfogettable day

2006-06-16T22:35:00.000+08:00

It was my Rest Day and I thought I'll spend my day shooting and touring around our neighbouring country. Little did I know that it was to be my most unforgettable day.....the day I and my guy was almost labelled as TERRORISTS!!!!!

This is how it went: It was raining earlier on so we waited till the rain had stopped before proceeding towards 2nd Link. Upon reaching the Rest & Relax point around 4pm, we had our lunch and then proceeded towards our favourite "Bird Paradise" location. As we were approaching our destination, I spotted a White-bellied Sea Eagle perched on a radio tower and decided to shoot a couple of shots. Not bad considering he chose to fly quite low and near. Afterwhich, we proceeded into the "village" to search for more birds. This place used to be a Malay Village but they have since been relocated elsewhere and bulldozers have started their piling and whatever. Anyway, I spotted some other birds and a lone cow grazing along with a Malay man, he then approached us and enquired what we were shooting, so told him we were shooting birds and wildlife. He then left on his bike and we decided to proceed out to another hill top to wait for other raptors to appear.

As we stopped at the hilltop, my guy decided to tune his bike while I proceeded downhill with my camera when out of the blue, two soldiers on a scramber with machine guns came towards me and stopped me. One of them then "detained" me while the other went to approach my guy. They asked us some rather idiotic questions like "what time you entered the country", "why are you here", "what are you doing" etc. We told them we were just shooting the scenery and some birds. They then asked for our passports and asked us for our IC so as to verify with the passports. Told them that we don't carry our ICs out of our native country as passports are valid proof of who we are. They didn't accept our explaination and decided to call back to their base and after about 30mins, a jeep arrived with 4 more soldiers. Again, they asked us the same questions that the two soldiers had earlier asked us. Then, they asked to look at my camera to see what pictures I took. So I showed them and my camera only contained pictures of birds, cows and scenery. Still not satisfied, they took turns looking through the pictures again and again. Afterwhich, they laid out all our things and placed them on the ground and took pictures of our items and us plus our bike.

As it was getting darker and late, we then asked them whether we are allowed to leave since they can't find anything illegal about us....they then said they need to consult their Chief! So again, we had to wait.....another 1hr past before another car arrived and a fat man appeared. We thought he was the chief but alas, he said he wasn't the chief and he has to consult another chief!!!!! What the heck! Here we are, cold and hungry standing in the dark with our passports in their hands and all our items laid out on the ground, and they still can't decide what to do with us!!!!! Trust me, I was almost up to my head and about to question them back or rather tell them off but my guy stopped me.

After what seemed like hours, they finally told us that they need to take our passports and photostate and whether we could wait at the hilltop while they go to the nearest town to get the photostating done. This is where I lost my cool and shouted at them! I told them "you bastards wasted my &^%(&^% 2.5hrs asking stupid questions one after another, photographing me and my items, molesting my equipments and now you want me to wait here while you take my passports out of my sight? No way! If you don't allow me to go along with you to photostate my passports, I will hold everyone of you here as hostages! I don't get out of this place with my passports, neither will any of you get down this hill alive!!! I am not a terrorist if that's what you are thinking!" That's when they suddenly became very courteous(forgot to tell you that they were very very rude earlier on) and told me that I could accompany them down to the nearest town. So I told them that I will go with the vehicle that is carrying our passports while my guy will follow behind on his bike. If they don't agree, my earlier threat remains. So they agreed and we all went down to the nearest town and got our passports photostated for their filing or whatever.

After all was done, the fat guy came over to us and told us that his chief has agreed to release us as he is convinced we are not terrorist or illegals. He then apologised for the earlier ruckus and said we were free to leave. Then just as they appeared, they disappeared in a flash! By this time, all appetite for food was gone and we just wanted to get out and reach back to the safety of our native country. Only when we reached home, we breathed a sigh of relief!

Boy, what a day! Never in my life have I been branded as a terrorist! Ever since this incident, I have not stepped back into that country. If I ever do so next time, I will only go to those places that I will not be branded as a terrorist. Thinking back, I just wonder whether the other guys(apart from the two guys in uniform) were actually soldiers as they were all in civilian and did not produce any ID to us. Maybe, they were "eating snake" at a nearby mosque and thought I had probably captured them on my camera as they kept asking me whether I took any pictures of the mosque........hmmmmmm, I wonder and I leave you to wonder too.......................

Part 2

2006-06-16T22:09:00.000+08:00

"Here's looking at you, kid"

I love this picture best. Wondering what's going through his mind as he stares back at me? Hmmmmm...........

(Chestnut-bellied Malkoha)

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Female)

Isn't she cute?????

I love this one - face to face with a Carpenter Bee

See those EYES!!!!!!

Ok..my Sifu said this butterfly has not been seen in Singapore for quite awhile or rather in years,

so by some unseen luck, I have actually managed to capture some shots of this butt.....

"Eliotia jalindra burbona"

Asian-fairy Bluebird

Some Photos To Share

2006-06-16T21:22:00.000+08:00

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

Can you spot me??? (Blue-winged Leafbird - Female)

Pacific Swallow

Indian Nightjar

Cream-vented Bulbul

Black-naped Oriole

Thick-billed Green Pigeon (Male)

I'll Be Back

2006-06-03T22:25:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone, sorry have not been updating my blog recently due to tiredness but have quite a number of pictures to put in. Will do so soon and also update on the latest news of my trips.

Red-crowned Barbet

2006-05-03T22:02:00.000+08:00

Well, I guess today must be my "lucky" day! Firstly, I had a butterfly land on my nose, sleeve & bag instead of on a leave, thus causing me a photograph of it....then later in the afternoon when the sun was not so hot, I decided to take a short walk with my camera to see if I could "catch" anything thing.

I needn't walk far.....cos right beside me was this fruiting tree that had invited lots of birds to perch & feed there....Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Olive-winged Bulbul, Stripe-tit Babbler, Cream-vented Bulbul as well as the ever elusive Red-crowned Barbet. This is my second sighting of this bird and I wasn't gonna let it off without capturing it on my camera. Goodness knows when I'll see this beautiful bird again!

It was fighting & chasing all the other birds away from "his" tree and busy gobbling the fruits. Then he flew off and came back with his partner! So I managed to see a combined attack on the other birds! However, the Pigeons weren't gonna give up their feast readily so it was quite amusing watching them "chase" each other off......I managed to shoot this bird after about 1 hr when he felt that I was of no threat to him. I actually stood there for almost 2.5hrs just filling up my compact flash with pictures of him.

To my dear colleague, please do remember to put in your CF before you shoot any nature cos thinking back of what happened just now was really funny!

Missing In Action

2006-04-27T17:23:00.000+08:00

Well, haven't done much shooting lately, was out of town also. The only thing I did(rather sinfully) was to get myself a new handphone. Was pretty frustrated with my old one as the volume was rather soft...not to mention the ringtone too!! Many a times, I wanted to move my butt and do some shooting, but the "pig" in me just refuses to move.

Am now also looking at purchasing another lens....guess I got the "lens bug", not satisfied with my current one......sigh, my pockets are going to be burnt pretty soon...

What has happened to this month? Seems to be raining almost every afternoon.....rain seems to be rather a mild word...should be more like a thunderstorm! With the rain goes all the animals into hiding........

My other pets

2006-04-07T17:55:00.000+08:00

Wild Boar

2006-04-05T21:27:00.000+08:00

Ubin's very own tame & trained Wild Boar

Dragonfly - Rhyothemis phyllis

2006-04-05T21:22:00.000+08:00