For the first time, I guided a huge group of 18 participants. However, I did not fluster at all as they were very interested and attentive throughout the walk. In fact, it was an enjoyable time exploring the mangroves and shore with them! Here is a group photo of them at the peak of Jejawi tower.
At the top of the Jejawi tower, we get a bird's eye view of Chek Jawa. This is also a great place to spot special birds!
True enough, we were indeed fortunate to spot a pair of Oriental Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris) flying pass!
One of which landed among the coconut trees. Everyone was pretty excited to see these majestic birds so close in the wild.
At the mangrove boardwalk, it may seem that the shore is dead but actually it is full of life!
If you look closer, there are tons of male fiddler crabs waving their extremely large claws at the female counterparts.
Going into the mangroves, we had a look at the interesting aerial root modifications. One of the younger girls remembered the pencil roots very well and pointed them out to me everytime she sees them.
The kids and adults both are very sharp at spotting things big and small. Even the extremely camouflaged creatures were not spared from being discovered by us! The younger ones impressed me with their curiosity and they asked good questions.Xin Yao, the boy in orange, is very knowledgeable in mangroves and marine life! He reads up a lot and definitely has lots of potential to dwell deeper in this field.
This tree-climbing crab with red claws is rather large and it attracted the attention of many of us. It is also known as vinegar crab as in the past, Teochews would pickle these crabs in vinegar before eating.
It is until today that I realized that Sea holly can have both leaves with jagged edges and smooth edges. The younger leaves tend to have the jagged edges.
There were many Bearded Mudskippers (Scartelaos histophorus) dancing in the mud.
How do they dance?! They dance by leaping into mid air with their tails.Here is a short video showing how these interesting mudskippers leap with their tails.
The Gold-spotted mudskipper (Periophthalmus chrysospilos) was sighted by one of the participants to be somewhat entangled by a huge red bristleworm! We were wandering which is eating which. But I guess it is the mudskipper snacking on the huge worm.
The Sea hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus) was flowering well. They usual start flowering in the morning and the flower will fall by evening time.
Among the fruits of the sea hibiscus are many colourful Cotton stainer bugs (Dysdercus decussatus).
And another participant found two different beetles side by side on the underside of the sea hibiscus leaf! Wow, that's a great find.
This lazy juvenile Malayan water monitor (Varanus salvator) was busking under the sun quite high up one of the branches at the coastal forest. I am sure to be unable to spot it as it was quite high up and far away. But once again, it is found by one of the participants!
Here is another lazy monitor lizard. Just like Ivan's Lazy Lizard blog. Just a little joke for you!
At the information kiosk, we witnessed many wild boars including several young ones with stripes on their body. How cute!
Just right after we ended our walk, the huge rain poured and we were stuck at House No. 1 for a long time. This is already better than Ivan's group hiding at the Coastal Boardwalk shelter. While waiting for the rain to clear, we spotted several Grey herons feeding.
And after the rain, we were rewarded to see lots of crystal-like droplets on the huge spider web.It was a wonderful time to be out at Chek Jawa! It was meaningful to be guiding a group with almost everyone being their first time here. And I'm sure they have enjoyed themselves because Chek Jawa is indeed a great place to share with others.
More photos of the trip here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/koksheng/archives/date-taken/2011/06/11/
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