Hello everyone,
Well, we have had the best of the weather and tides today. A 0.1 tide with perfect weather, not too sunny nor cloudy, and best of all, at 5p.m. :) As such, this unplanned trip eventually turned out to be an exciting and amazing visit. Granted, only a few shells were collected but still, it it was wonderful as we managed (or at least I managed) to catch the best of Punggol Point... :D
Well, the first sight after stepping out of the car... lovely weather and a cooling breeze... :)
Well, I did not photograph some of the creatures prior to this PEACOCK ANEMONE because my camera decided to fail me due to the lack of battery. However, it finally "revived", how it did it, I have no idea... In any case, it was great news! :D This was the only PEACOCK ANEMONE I spotted.
And there were numerous CARPET ANEMONIES!!! A mental calculation would bring the total number of CARPET ANEMONIES spotted to close to a dozen! They were lovely and a rare sight, considering the fact that the only other place I've seen them would be at Check Jawa.
All these animals were hidden beneath the huge patch of ULVA GRASS.
Surprisingly, I actually managed to spot this! A SPONGE CRAB! Yep, it was seen moving and is only the size of a marble! Haha! Cute guy!
The internal view...
And we managed to see hundreds of these CARINATE ROCK SHELLS. Apparently, they were amongst the ULVA WEEDS... Not so "Rocky" as comapred to its cousins... :)
Another CARPET ANEMONE! I just can't get over these things!
And a cute BALL SEA CUCUMBER! This is the second one.
CARINATE ROCK SHELL in its original habitat.
So... as I continued my journey down the coast, I met a remarkable man! (Not so sure about his name...) But HE MANAGED TO CAPTURE THIS OCTOPUS!!! (ba chat) Lovely! And best still, it was caught and later released! :D Nice way to practice catch and release eh?
Now, make a guess... what's this brownish lump?
A DOG CONCH! Better still, A LIVE DOG CONCH!
MY "collection" of weird and unique creatures! Just to calm you readers down, the overturned fish is actually, firstly, ALIVE. Secondly, I actually managed to capture 7 of these SINGAPORE TOADFISHES (Allenbatrachus reticulatus). Thirdly, the BLUE FLOWER CRAB isn't living, but instead, a moulted shell. No worries, I released them back once I was done with the photo-taking. :D
Sponges... As always, our local coast are strewn with rubbish. I APPEAL TO ALL READERS, while shelling, beach combing, fishing or simply strolling along the beach, please please keep our beaches clean. Everyone has a part to play alright? :)
And a WEIRD LOOKING ANEMONE. :)
And look!
A MELONGENA SNAIL! From the top, it actually looked extremely inconspicuous, not for the untrained eye.
And a LONG BLACK SEA CUCUMBER (Holothuria leucospilota) and look at the beautiful RED SPONGES at the side!
The BLACK SEA URCHINS (
Temnopleurus toreumaticus) were showing up in thousands!
And tragically, this is the carcass of a SMOOTH OTTER. Occasionally, we do see families of them visit this shore. They are listed as critically endagered in Singapore. This wasn't what I would like to see but it's a clear reminder that we do not own the straits, but instead, share it with other innocent animals as well...
My catch before releasing them, BYE!
How low the tide went...
I returned to clean up my shells at the toilet and while leaving, spotted a SILVER AROWANA in the freshwater pond. :)
The offshore rocks, reachable only at negative tides..
The sun sets in the west, in the direction of Jurong. :P Throughout the trip, I did managed to spot other interesting creatures such as an OVUM COWRIE, SNAPPING SHRIMPS, THUNDER CRABS the size of two fist put together (!) and thousands of FIRE WORMS.
Till then, remember, the beach is part of mother nature. Protect it. (BTW, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, THE TIDES TODAY ARE SIMILARLY LOW!!! HURRY DOWN NOW IF YOU WANNA EXPERIENCE WHAT I DID! :D :D :D )
