Dragonflies from MacRitchie

MacRitchie Reservoir is home to a large variety of Dragonflies, due to tha large reservoir and many swamps surrounding the area. Here are a few species of dragonfly I managed to spot and shoot during the walk through the forest. A common species, orange in colour.

Another species, the Shaded Basker. I used to see this species commonly in Bukit Timah.

Here's a large dragonfly, no idea which species though. It was hanging onto a twig silently for a long time. And my, I do love its blue eyes caused by the camera flash.

Leafless Tree, Still Alive

I spotted a leafless tree somewhere close to the reservoir at MacRitchie. Before I left, I took a closer look and realized that the tree wasn't really dead, since it was occupied by a large number of birds, probably a species of pigeon or dove. Found this rather interesting, so decided to post it anyway.

Minute Residents of MacRitchie

So I was back in Singapore and as the March Holidays came closer, I got ready to go for more hunting, this time in MacRitchie Reservoir. Once again, I borrowed my friend's 450D, Well of course, we came across more than a hundred different species of invertebrates, most of which are insects. Here are some of the interesting ones. A species of Pansy butterfly.

A colourful fly with large red eyes.

Snails... they were everywhere since it had rained just a few hours ago.

A tiny leafhopper along the boardwalk.

Termites crawling off in large numbers.

A mating pair of Micropezid Flies.

Colourful forest crickets, they were everywhere as well.

A tiny Flower Mantis, brown in colour. This one was particularly hard to shoot due to its size.

A Giant Millipede perched onto a tree. It's the first time I'm seeing such a big one in Singapore. These are common in India.

Last but not least a hairy caterpillar with a smiley face :).

Flying Dragon

As I had mentioned earlier, we had to climb a really steep mountain, one that was covered with dense forest. I got to spot a number of critters but didn't get the chance to shoot all of them as I had to keep up with the others. Most of them were insects. At one moment during the hike, I spotted a small gliding lizard (or flying dragon) perched upon a tall tree. However, the tiny creature scurried up high into the tree before I could photograph it. I was pretty devastated as I never really got to shoot a flying dragon well. But that wasn't to be! I managed to spot another one near the base of the hill, close to the car park. This one was big, and I immediately identified it as the Common Flying Dragon or Sumatran Flying Dragon. Here are some shots.

Notice the small path of yellow under its throat. That's his flag that he spreads when he sees a mate.

Close up of the head.

Remarkable camouflage!

So I was delighted with this chance to shoot the lizard properly, but it wasn't over with this. The lizard climbed up the tree and when I looked up, I realized that he was closing to another lizard, a female! I immediately took some shots. However, I was using a basic 18-55mm lens on my friend's 450D and it couldn't reach the pair well even at full zoom. But still, here's a fair shot. Look closely and you'll see both of them.

Winged Wonders

There were a large variety of dragonflies and other winged insects around the campsite, but most dragons were quick and I didn't get to shoot many. Here are a few different species I managed to shoot.

And then there were a pretty good number of bees and wasps, which, I didn't really wish to go too close to. Here's a carpenter bee at its usual spot in the morning.

And a species of wasp, digging into the earth, probably that's where it resides.

Legs... A Lot of Them

Here are some many-legged creatures I came across and shot during the camp. This place was home to a large number of millipedes, such as this red one here.

And the Pill Millipede. These were more common near the forested areas. The one shot here was one of the biggest we found.

There. it curled into a perfect sphere.

And here's a common house spider I regularly used to spot in India. This guy was found in one of the gent's toilets.

Kahang Eco-Organic Rice Farm, Johor

We had a great level camp for all the Sec 3s in our school in January 2010, a trip to Kahang Eco-Organic Rice Farm in Johor. Like many other sub-urban places, it is surrounded with plantations and paddy fields. Here are some photos of the surroundings. This is a shot one of the many paddy fields you see.

We had a whale of a time getting into the fields and playing among the mud. When we got out, everyone of us looked like mud monsters.

A shot from the main assembly area. I just love the colours and depth of this shot.

A rainbow that appeared right after a slight downpour.

Here's a photo i took from the peak of a hill we climbed during the camp. It sure was a tough hike up but the result was rewarding!

Photos of critters coming up next.