Jurong Eco Garden

Been meaning to drop by the Jurong Eco Garden but never had the time until recently. Not very easy to find place set within NTU itself and with small teeny weeny signboard. To get there, it is easier to look for Thow Kwang Pottery, the last remaining kiln in Singapore. The Jurong Eco Garden is just next to it.

Disappointingly, the garden is another cultivated park. Perhaps there used to be a big forest patch there but most of these are gone now replaced by neat cultured landscaping, bridges and proper footpaths. Great for those looking for a stroll in the park but not great if you are looking for the great nature. And without the big trees, the place was hot hot hot!

About the only "natural and wild" portion left was a 1 km Nature trail but sadly that will also have to go in due course. There was a sign at the trail head that stated that the nature trail will only be opened till year 2019.

Nothing much to see there but still did managed to spot a fair number of critters.

A few different butterflies flitting around but despite our "request" for them to pose for my camera, none of the butterflies took heed except this one

At least the dragonflies were more co-operative

There were also a number of lizards on the trees

And I could hear the sound of parakeets and koel but they were nowhere in sight. Still I did managed to spot some birds

And these group of swifts or swallows flying over the pond. Too bad my camera skill and setup was not good enough to take a close up shot of them

Birds & Butterflies of Scotland

Beside the birds in the zoo and bird parks, we saw many wild birds on top of the countless sea gulls and ducks. Here are some of those that I managed to take a picture of.

A magpie. They are supposed to be pretty common but I only saw them in a few places.

 Another of the more commonly sighted bird which unfortunately like in Singapore has outlive its welcome

 And this is the famous Robin!

This was spotted in London all over the place outside the London Tower but I believe it is native to the whole of UK. I think it is a thrush. Somebody correct me if I am wrong.

And my one and only photograph of a butterfly - spotted right on top of Cow's Head Summit. This is a Red Admiral butterfly.

Lyssa Zampa Tropical Swallowtail Moth

There have been a lot of sighting of the giant moth, the Tropical Swallowtail moth in Singapore. Social media have been awash with photos of them except me. until now...

Since the mass outbreak of the moths, I have seen them five times. One dead in front of my office, 2 high up on the wall at the Tanjong Pagar MRT station and 2 flying around at the void decks around my place. But no photos so far as they were all dead or out of reach of my camera phone.

Until today. On my way to lunch saw this moth on the glass wall of the building next to my office building. On the way home, it was still there and at eye level too! So I got a nice shot with the camera phone.

 Too bad I cannot go into the bank and take the photo from the other side of the glass wall. That will be a first - the underside of the moth.

In my own Backyard

The green forested areas around the neighbourhood are fast disappearing and it its place sprung high rise apartments. Fortunately for me, living along the Sungei Tampines, there are still plenty of flora and fauna remaining. This morning, I took the camera out and went for a stroll and these are what I caught after just 1 and an half hour of strolling from Street 51 to Pasir Ris Park.

I think this is an yellow nape oriole. (somebody correct me if I am wrong in my guestimation)

A monitor lizard on the bank of the Sungei Tampines. Too bad didn't spot any otters

The Grey Heron flying next to the HDB flats. The herons have prove resilient to the many constructions going on around the neighbour and are still abundant.

Is this a waterhen?

Common kingfisher

A squirrel scrambling all over

White collared kingfisher

And first time ever I spotted owls in Singapore! And 3 of them some more. Not too sure what species are these though

And nearby the owls, a woodpecker was displaying its beauty and renovation skill to the group of admiring photographers

Common Mine? A flock of them were flying around but it was kinda difficult to shoot with my long lens

Last but not least, a little birdie that flew and landed just in front of me before swooping off again. 1 chance was all I got and thank goodness it came out right!

Butterflies at Cameron Highlands

There are 2 butterfly farms at Cameron Highlands.Since we were free, we decided to go look at the butterflies. The 2 farms were next to each other and so in the end we went to both places. These are the butterflies that we saw there. Most of the butterflies were at the Butterfly Garden. At the other Butterfly Farm, the butterflies were all on top of the netting and out of sight. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giant Moth

Was out for lunch one weekday and saw this critter on the wall. It was about the size of a palm. Fairly big.  Don't know what species of moth this is.

There is a grandmother's tale that if somebody has recently passed away in the household and one of this giant moth appears in the house, it is the spirit of the deceased visiting the house and should not be killed. 

Nowadays, it quite rare to see this type of moth. In the past, we can see it every now and then in void decks and even in the house. Does it mean there are less people dying nowadays or the moth are dying faster than human are dying?

Anyway, these are beautiful creatures and I hope to see more of them around, spirit or no spirit.

Tampines Changkat Butterfly Garden

Made an exciting discovery  that somewhere in Tampines, there was a butterfly garden!

First opportunity available, grab the camera and went there to see what was available.

Turned out it was a real mini butterfly garden but it was the first time I ever see so many butterfly in one location. But as usual, I was lazy and just snap away, handheld without any tripod.

Mottled Emigrant

Lime Butterfly

Mottled Emigrant (Female)

Plain Tiger

Chocolate Pansy

Orange Emigrant