Sunday, 17 August 2014

Dairy Farm Trail

 Another hopeful Sunday walking along one of our NParks trail. Hopeful that we will see the return or signs of return of the insects that we have seen a decline in population over the last two years. 

Previous visits to this particular trail that is accessed form a small carpark next to the Salvation Army building along Bukit Timah Road had been disappointing and had led us to surmise that our insect population, healthy in terms of numbers and variety, will soon be decimated. 

However, this morning, we did see signs that were encouraging. We saw some wasps and although they were no where near the numbers we saw two years ago, we were glad and hopeful that their original population will soon be restored. There were dragonflies and a few interesting variety of butterflies and we even saw one or two insect species that we have not seen before. 

The weather was cool and the trees on either side of the trail were mature and tall and shaded us most of the way. I saw a couple of woodpeckers again and wished that I had my Canon D400 with me.






A tiny, baby cricket.

There were a number of fruiting fig trees.



Lovely butterfly.
A golden coloured dragonfly.
Woodpecker.
I wonder if this one makes up a pair with the other one or was it another specie.








One of a troop of monkeys in the distance.
See the damselfly on the leaf?
A butterfly that loves fluttering above the ground.


Dragonfly eyeing me suspiciously.
Common Simpoh Ayer flower and fruit.


What used to be a granite quarry that is now training ground for rock climbers.



A spider lurks within.
An insect camouflaged.

A wasp about to devour a tiny beetle.
Worm in suspension.
A wasp foraging for ants on the muddy trail.


A rare find - flowers of the Fishtail palm.
Finally, the leaf of a Bodhi tree on the bonnet of my car.

Thursday, 14 August 2014

Singapore Botanic Garden - Healing Garden

The Healing garden is a relatively new extension of the Botanic Garden. It contains a wide variety of herbs and medicinal plants in an educational setting. Over the years, trees have grown taller providing adequate shade to make a walk around the garden bearable even on a sunny day. Today, however, was a rainy day but I was fortunate enough to enjoy this garden in between heavy downpours.

Firecracker flowers.


Pretty in white.
A spider appears.

Like dancers in frilly skirts.

Insect on the underside of the leaf.
Hibiscus Mutabilis.
Crepe ginger


Sea Holly.


What's that?

Ant devouring a fly.

Singing Bulbul.


Interesting Leaf form.
Pretty purple flowers.





Fruit of the Crown flower plant.



Singapore Rhodendron.
Nature's intricate designs.
A kind of ornamental ginger.

Hover fly frozen by my camera in mid-flight.

Egg plant a.k.a. brinjal. 

Spider on a tiny flower.

















Halloween costume.
Flower of the lime plant.

This orchid has a sweet fragrance.





Angry wasp.

I found my freedom.


African tulip flowers.











Empty nest.






Two waterhens foraying for food in the bushes.







Coconut tree trunks.

I have never seen waterhens off the ground until today.




















Look carefully...