Reasons Why I Hate The Monsoon...

Hey people,

Firstly, I have to apologise for the long absence from this blog. Really needed the time to catch up on my studies and I did not visit the beach within that one month! So sorry.

Secondly, We have been having really crappy weather for the past one week or so. The monsoon has arrived so every day if it's not drizzling its pouring so yea... really bad weather for shelling. The tides have also risen due to the high amounts of rain deposited on our island... :( Although I did manage to visit the beach today, with relatively good weather, I would have to leave that to my next post. Why, because this post has been dedicated to informing everyone why they should check the tides and weather before visiting the beach..

 So here am I, on a Thursday afternoon. Just finished some activities in school and managed to convince my papa and mama to drive me to the beach. As you can see, the ripples in the pond are not caused by tiny fishes but instead, rain droplets...

 In any case, I decided to continue with the visit, making my way to the shore...

 And lo and behold, the SEA HAS SUCCESSFULLY MANAGED TO COVER THE WHOLE SAND BAR!!! So much so for not listening to the tidal predictions... (Btw, 3.2m)

 Even a section of grass along the upper shore was submerged! And worse still, NO SHELLS OR ANYTHING INTERESTING...

 Since I had no choice, I decided to check out the coastal vegetation at Punggol Point. Did manage to spot some COASTAL MORNING GLORIES in full bloom.

And of course, the high tides again.

Tragically, The rain got havier and I was soaked to the skin... (Ok, maybe not that wet) but still, it was a wasted trip to the Punggol Point... Moral of the story, Check the weather and tides before visiting the beach...

Top 7 Beaches In Singapore

Hello everyone,

Yup, the exams are just 1 week away so no more beach visits for the time being... :( In any case, this post does not require me to visit the beach now or anything, relying on experience is what is needed here. :) Despite undergoing large scale land reclamation and stuff, some beaches actually do harbour a great deal of biodiversity, and specifically, SEASHELLS! So here are my personal top 7 beaches you should visit for shelling. :)

                                                                    IN 7TH PLACE...

                                                                       Changi Beach

       Changi Coast, this side faces north, opposite Pulau Ubin's Chek Jawa and Pulau Tekong

                  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Changi_Beach_Park_6,_Jul_06.JPG

 

Sungei Changi, or Changi River. The riverbanks are lined with mangroves that are practically untouched.

 

                        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sungei_Changi_21,_Jul_06.JPG

Environment: Reclaimed Sandy Shore, Artificial Granite/Rock Armour. Facing Pulau Ubin and Changi Ferry Terminal. Water Clarity is usually poor and sedimentation is quite serious. :(

BUT...
YOU WILL STILL FIND THESE!!! :D

 Blood cockle, Common Scallop, Rock Oyster, Textile Clam, Mussel, Venus Clam blah blah blah...

 There may also be Sea Urchin test lying around...

 And the Dog Conch, the representative conch of Singapore.

 And some false limpets, namely Guam, Javan and Flat. There are also Star Limpets there as well!

 And lots of live Nerites too!

 From Left: Belongkeng Mangrove Snail, Bituberculate Rock Shell and the Melongena Shell! :)

Moon Snails are pressty common too! Although they may be harder to find....

And the crowning jewel! The Balier Shell!

 

Well, there aren't many perfect shells here during the high tide but once the tide receeds, the shores are filled with all sorts of marine snails and stuff! The creatures there are also very diverse! Used to frequent this beach in the past but not so in recent times. In any case, some of the more common species that can be spotted there include the Venus Clam, Blood Cockle, Moon Snails, Lineated Nerite, Textile Clam blah. Occasionally you would see some unusual visitors like the Bailer Shell and Belongkeng Mangrove Snail (they mostly come from Sungei Changi, there are mangroves there. ) The Dog Conch can be found there but it's usually badly eroded. Oh, The Spiny Murex can also be found occasionally, but that's if you're really lucky considering the fact that the beach is usually filled with lots of people! So for identification purposes, here are some pictures of the shells found there. :)

Power of Polish!

Hey everyone!

Alright, I was really bored on Thursday so I decided to try out the effectiveness of polishing seashells with olive oil. Well, it was the only substitute that I had but the results are amazing. Better still, I do not need to trouble my Mum to buy nail polish for me! XP Saves the trouble! :)

Lovely! the one on the left is polished. I cannot seem to capture the glow of the shell with this camera... :(

SO try it yourself!!! :D

What you find along the wrackline...

Hello!

WAH!!! After a long period of hibernation, I am back! However, it may not be for long... :( Yea... End of Years is coming and I have lots of work to do. In any case, the holidays follow afterwards so more blogging will follow. :)

SO, for today I will like to share a new shelf on my cabinet dedicated to Shore Weirdos! Yup, they're basically stuff that are not seashells. :)

Yea... Thats a pufferfish that you see. Got that from ShenZhen, China. It was the last one on the rack so I immediately snagged it! The Knobbly Starfish accompanies it as well! :) There are 3 different types of sand dollars too! Theer is a Cake Sand Dollar from Changi Coast Walk. There are tons of them there but DO TAKE ONLY THE DEAD ONES PLEASE! There are also Laganum Sand Dollars too. All of which from Bintan, Mayang Sari. The funny thing is that you can never find any live ones there but there are like hudreds of them littering the coast. The final one is have not identified. Found them on a trip to Cebu 3 years ago on some island, 忘忧岛 in Chinese. I actually got some heart urchins but they were crushed ont eh plane flight back. :(

The Flower crabs there are from Punggol Park. Do you see the Seahorse and Pipefish at the back? :) Also, there are some dried mangrove seeds from all parts of Singapore (Hey, we have half of the world's species of mangroves on this small island! :) ) The funny blue thing at the back is actually a coral piece. My parents found it in Lombok, Indonesia and I have never figured out where it comes from. Any guesses? :) Finally, you have our lovely horseshoe crab! Yup, found it along the Changi Coast. We have 2 species over here although just forther up the peninsular you may find a third species. Sadly, I have not found the moulted shell of the Coastal Horseshoe Crab... Maybe someday. :) You have our cuttlefish bones and a sea bean pod. And finally right in the centre, you have the purest form of seashell, Calcium Carbonate. Isn't it amazing that all 80,000 mollusc species actually derive their shells/bones from this dull, boring looking rock? (By the way, this rock comes from the School Science lab. I could not fit the rock into the flask so the teacher allowed me to take it home on my request. :P )

Hello Everyone!

I am seriously apologetic of the long break in blog post. Was really busy with school, CCA, the olympics (YAY! :D) and lots of other stuff. So today, I am here to bring you some bad news and some good news.

Firstly, the bad news:
I am terribly sorry. I only realised recently that i have been identifying the shells incorrectly. For example:

http://www.seashellhub.com/Trochidae.html
this shell my friends, belong to the family trochidae, not naticidae! i am seriously sorry for identifying it as a species of moon snail for the past couple of blog posts. But you have to agree with me... it does look like a Moon Snail right?

Secondly, I have also realised that the Ambiguous Mitre is astually not Mitra ambigua, but instead Mitra proscissa or the Nebular Mitre. SO sorry!

In addition, I probably have misidentified some other species and will try my best to rectify the problems ASAP! SO sorry for the wrong information!


Now, the good news:
I have to thank this blog:
www.seashellhub.com
It has helped me identify numerous shells that I have so Ben (am I right? :) ) if you are reading this post, a huge thank you for your help! SO also do check out this website too! It has tons of really cool seashells, from all corners of the globe!

Also, recently I have also made a trip to Punggol Park. Although it wasn't a great shelling trip, I managed to get some grat sunsets so do hang in there! I will try my best to post it as soon as possible!!! :)

Have A  Great National Day!!!