#38, Clementi Canal



Today I took a short trip to the Clementi Canal (I think that's what it's called). This place joins Clementi and Sunset Way together. It's a pleasant place for people who prefer quiet spots, away from the hustle and bustle of the Singaporean city. It's actually in line with a running track which spans over 3km plus.

Presenting the Canal. The photograph above shows of the MRT track also.

People do some fishing there, though I'm not sure if it's legal. :x

Right. So now to the animals. Lots to see! :D
Actually, I went to the canal the day before in the morning as well. Spotted an Oriental Whip Snake in the grasses, bright green (nice). It was about 2 metres long. Given its length, it should be a fully-grown snake. Luckily, this snake is mildly venomous and it's bite wouldn't kill :-)
Yellow-vented bulbul, very shy as usual. It literally dives from bush to bush, plant to plant & tree to tree. Spotted two of them!
I used flash to capture this changeable lizard. Thought the colours were better with flash. Saw two of these. Haha, looks like everything seems to come in pairs.

As quoted from http://www.wildsingapore.per.sg/discovery/factsheet/lizardchangeable.htm, these species kinda clamped down the native species, the Green-crested Lizard. Thanks SY for correcting the mistake.
Doo you know which bird species actually feeds on the nectar of this plant (Helliconia)?

It's none other than the Olive-backed Sunbird! This bird is extremely cute - everything about it is pretty much cute: it's size, it's call... :-) Spotted around 3 of these birds today. The one above here is a male, while the one on the bottom is a female. Here, sexual dismorphism (the physical difference between the male/female) is seen, as the females have less colourful plumage, in comparison to the male.


They feed on the nectar of this plant too!

Moving on... Also saw the (malayan water) monitor lizard. O.o Saw three of these. I was really quite surprised at this find bcos I never really expect to find these reptilian friends at canals! These animals here are known to feed on almost anything, even rubbish (seem to recall the tiger shark, which also eats almost anything!)

Well, these creatures are also extremely versatile. They can stay underwater for up to 1/2 hour and are great swimmers (refer to the peakture below). For more information, you can visit http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/verts/monitor_lizard.htm.




There were the Great Egrets as well! (I hope I got the ID right)
Taking off...

In flight.
Looking for tasty meal. Worms perhaps? Yummyyyy. For more information, you can visit http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Egretta_alba.htm.
Actually, Im pretty sure that there were other species of Egrets flocking together with the Great Egrets. I think I saw a purple heron yesterday as well but it was not very clear because it was far away.

Finally, ending it all is the Carpenter Bee:) It's HUGE, and is said to be more-or-less solitary. Like any insect, it consists of a head, thorax and abdomen. Really shiny too. For more information, you can visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenter_bee and for a nice diagram on the bee, visit http://life.uiuc.edu/~hhines/male_female2008.pdf.


It was a refreshing trip, indeed though I wished I was able to see more birds. I did see some birds but I really can't ID them because they were simply too far away.

3 comments:

ts said...

The green crested lizard is not endemic to Singapore, can be found in many other places. I think you meant native :)

Unknown said...

oooooops!! yep i actually mean native. thought they meant the same thing but now i know... *_* thankew!!

Joe said...

Nice shots of the Egret!