Easter Sunday at St John's Island

What a splendid way to begin the Easter Sunday with a trip to St John's Island to explore the marvellous reefs and marine life of Singapore.

Of course we were greeted with a glorious sunrise which also signifies new hope through the resurrection of Christ on this special day. Interestingly, the sunrise from this angle of the island was from the direction of Lazarus Island.

Lobster at Seringat-Kias!

We saw a living lobster among the seawall of Seringat-Kias on our predawn trip this morning!

Like the normal size of an adult lobster, it was relative quite big and I was surprised when I stumbled upon this charismatic creature which we rarely see on our intertidal trips. Despite being a reclaimed shore, Seringat-Kias holds lots of suprises!

Pasir Ris mangroves with Naked Hermit Crabs

It has been a long while since I have last visited Pasir Ris mangroves. So long that I couldn't even recall when was my previous visit. As such, I am glad to revisit this place while guiding with Naked Hermit Crabs.

There are several nests where you can spot herons from close distances and I arrived earlier to have a look at the grey herons. It began with these two juveniles chatting or quarreling with each other.

More feather star commensals at Little Sisters

I'm back at Little Sisters Island with Mei Lin as she continues to work on her giant clams. Unfortunately, the giant clam on this island could not be located and has been declared as missing or dead. :(

My attention was diverted to look for commensals living among the feather stars that can be found on this island. And viola! Here's a tiny brittle star found moving along the arms of the feather stars.

Mangrovey and seagrassy surprises at Semakau

Last Sunday, I had a pleasant surprise of finding a rare and pretty sea slug at Semakau! :)

This colourful sea slug was originally found underneath a rock found among the mangroves. Yes, it was not found near the coral rubble nor reefy areas but very high up along the shore zonation. I was excited to find this charismatic nudibranch as I have never seen it before.

Reliving CNY moments at Big Sisters Island

It was exactly five years ago in 2007 when I first got to visit our offshore reef at Big Sisters Island during day 2 of Chinese New Year. It was such a great trip with lots of exciting finds that I named that day as the Best CNY ever!

Here I am five years later, still actively exploring our splendid shores at the same reef of Big Sisters Island. Our shores are alive and God's creations never fail to amaze. :-)

Happy CNY from Pulau Hantu!

Hi folks, it's been a while since my last post and I'm finally out of the hiatus. Here's wishing you a blessed Chinese New Year 2012! As usual, CNY coincides with low spring tide as the festive dates are determined by lunar calendar and that it is the moon and sun that determines the tides.

We visited Pulau Hantu after more than half a year and Chay Hoon found this "auspicious looking" commensal shrimp on the small bright red feather star. How apt it is for Chinese New Year! And furthermore, we have not seen this shrimp before!