a different horseshoe crab experience

one where we didnt actually go during low tide. this time, tide was high. this time we didnt have to sink into the mud. it was quite a different experience..

we were supposed to try out electronic tagging of the horseshoe crabs..

went over to jalan bathera camp site and started getting the equipment ready. it was a first time for us, so we kinda left it to the electrical engineer, HH, to do the prep work.. :p

there’s the reciever.

the transmitter with the reciever.

HH connecting the reciever to the laptop to test whether data was recorded.

so i thought, why not check out the wildlife.

and…. yep, thats all i got in the few min i walked. of course, a bird/bat eated fruit, which turned out blur in my photo.

once HH was done and the laptop was tested out, we headed out.

our boat!

trying to push the boat out… such a heavy task. “team bonding” says CH, the camp site manager!

we finally pushed the boat down the ramp, and CH rigged the engine and we got moving.

a kelong with a singapore flag..

and this is how we creatively add weight to the transmitter… a rock! and some duct tape to secure it.

the Singapore PCG

mangroves along the ride to near the causeway.

and sungei buloh from a different perspective

the broadwalk at sungei buloh

the causeway and out very important PCG..

at one of our bouys, manfred scooped up a dead crab

and our boatman cum camp site manager CH trying to get a shot of manfred with the crab

the transmitter wouldnt work when the engine was on, so we tried to row the boat…………. sorry, CH and manfred rowed the boat until we realised it was futile…

so in the end, we rode the boat against current, and let the boat drift out..

i was quite disappointed that we didnt get to see more shore birds. but, i guess its not the migratory season yet. i must get down to sungei buloh again in 2 months time! after ICCS!

but egrets and herons were a sight to behold.

and the many fishing kelongs were (stinky) a great experience.

back on shore, the tide had receeded and the fiddler crabs had come out.

it was a differet experience for me because it quite different from what we normally do at kranji bund. les has all the data and i hope she gets what she needs. i guess i’ll know how it goes the next time we meet..

 

is something up with the water quality at kranji mudflats?

it was a great start today, with the weather holding up great in the morning. we found many large horseshoe crabs, many mating pairs and many with barnacles on them………..

but, we also found a number of dead horseshoe crabs…. more than the usual 2 or 3 that we find. with enough knowledge to know they arent moults.. and they stank…

a few dead bivalves. not those that are opened up because they are remnants of what ppl eat. but these are molluscs that are dead.

a huge jellyfish got washed up on shore. thats quite an unusual sight near mangroves. maybe it got old… maybe it got stuck as the tide receeded… i dont know…

but when i saw dead bivalves, it just occurred to me that something might be up with the water quality……..

well, who’s going to test it? what are we going to compare it with?

maybe its just a conjecture…

but whats for sure is that the fishing nets tied onto the mangrove trees trap the horseshoe crabs when the tide is in. when the tide receeds, these HSCs are left stranded, stuck in fishing lines……..

here’s just some of what was rescued.

its actually quite sad…. poor creatures just get stuck because some fisherman wants their fishing lines dried up…………

overall a great day at the kranji bund. with the usual recording of data…

i missed the semakau trip yesterday, and i feel irritated about it…. seriously, like irritated… sigh…

no trips in august. and then ICCS in september..