Punggol shore during low neap tide

Always wanted to visit Punggol end and I finally succumbed this afternoon. I cannot remembered when I last visited this place. It could be during OBS 9 years ago!


I chose the lowest possible level of the neap tide to visit and recce this shore. In this photo shows the jetty that stretches off the road end of Punggol Road. Right at the start of the jetty are construction works for Punggol Promenade.

Plans include turning the jetty and beach at Punggol Point into a park with cycling tracks and eateries, and developing the stretch along Coney Channel into nature trails and fishing spots.


Refer to Ria's blog post for more details for the construction of Punggol Promenade.


Across the Straits of Johor is the western end of Pulau Ubin or Tanjong Tajam. The fluted rock formation is also visible from mainland. A bumboat was travelling along the waters.


And it landed at the jetty! This is actually the boat that ferries people to and fro OBS (Outward Bound Singapore). From this photo, you can also see Pasir Gudang of Johor Bahru in this distance.


Pasir Gudang is an industrial town with shipyard, ship building or repairing, docks and ports. That explains the giant ships that pass the water channel.

Enough of getting oriented! Is there marine life on this shore? Siyang has previously visited Punggol during an extremely super low spring tide and here's what he has seen.


Since today is only a neap tide, I expected to see nothing. Thus explains why I didn't even wear my boots. I was surprised to see a thin stretch of shore exposed!


I had a quick look at the rocky area and saw quite a number of high shore creatures such as snails, crabs, ascidians, sponges, beaded anemones, sea slaters and rock oysters. Not bad!


I later checked another part of the shore where there are many beautiful rounded boulders.


And to my amazement, I saw so many Green mussels (Perna viridis)!


I have never seen so many of these mussels on a shore until I came to Punggol today.


That's not all to the mussel story. There were also quite a number of mats of another species.


These are the black ones that we also saw recently at Ubin shore. I'm not too sure of its identity though. Looking at the curvy lines on the shell, could they be juvenile Green mussels (Perna viridis)?


Here is a Green mussel with many of those blackish juveniles.


I also came across some mats of my good old friend, the Asian date mussels (Musculista senhousia).


And here's how the shell of the Asian date mussel looks like when out of it's mat of byssal threads.


Another group of creatures that dotted the shore will be many of these beaded anemones.


On the side of rocks, I came across some elegant branching sponges (Haliclona sp.).


As well some of these Drills (Family Muricidae) gathering together to lay these yellow egg capsules.

That's quite a treat. Exploring the shore at a neap tide, without booties! I will be back for more adventures on this shore. :)

More photos of the trip here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/koksheng/archives/date-taken/2010/12/16/