Sam was Field Coordinator (front and centre) and got everyone finally on the shores after many false starts.
We had quite a lot of first timers aka Green Grassers, so Siti did a quick quiz on "Is this Seagrass?" Everyone passed with flying colours.
Then it was straight to work on those transects. The day was not only hot, but also VERY windy. Which made laying the tape a bit of a challenge.Today there was also a Chek Jawa public walk on at the same time.
So there were lots of intriguing pots of finds by the eagle-eyed Hunter Seekers of the Chek Jawa guiding team. Ron's tidechaser blog has more about the public walk.
What we couldn't miss was the heaps and heaps and HEAPS of sea hare eggs all over the seagrass meadows.
Someone remarked that they looked like pink bee hoon!And the sea hares were everywhere too! They are the Hairy sea hare (Bursatella leachii).
They were BIG and many had orange 'hairs'. Usually, they are a more boring brown.
Like this one which is all stretched out in its full glory. Sea hares have two pairs of 'tentacles'. One pair in front of the head (oral tentacles) and another pair on top of the head (rhinophores).
They were found all over the place. Many in huddles...ermh probably getting ready to lay MORE eggs? Usually, we see lots of these sea hares for a time, and then none at all again for a long time.This explosion of sea hares reminds us of our first monitoring in 2007, also on Chek Jawa. Wow! This shows that by simply visiting our shores regularly we learn something about the seasonal cycles that affect them.
Very quickly the Team were done and we met up on the Northern shore where the Transect 2 people were.
The Lesser-crested terns (Sterna bengalensis) were resting on the shores where they usually do, right at the tip of the Northern sand bar.
The northern shore is where the Button shells can be found in the thousands!
They lie just beneath the sand, leaving tiny tell-tale holes.
Time for another group shot!
We decided to check out the shore for Halophila beccarii, a rare seagrass that is still found on Chek Jawa. We did find patches of it.
On the way back to House No. 1, Siti and Shufen look for and take back seedlings of Rhizophora stylosa, a rather rare mangrove tree that is still found here and there on Chek Jawa. They will be growing these seedlings for a replanting effort.On the boardwalk on the way back, the Team saw a Long-tailed macaque. A hornbill was also spotted!
A quick washup, a drink and snack and we were soon back at Ubin Jetty.
In the late afternoon sun, Ubin town is particularly picturesque.
And the shore line just amazing under the blue blue sky.
It was a great day out, and we did a lot of work and had fun too!
A last shot of some of the Team before we headed back to the mainland.Thank you Sam for being our Field Coordinator for the Day. We know how much work it is and really appreciate it. And to all the Equipment Marshalls (Gaytri, Hannah, Sijie) who got all the equipment sorted out and cleaned.
Also a big thank you to Andy, Charles, Fiona, Yee Sum, Jion Chun, Kenerf, Kevin, Hui Guang, Meerna, Michell, Nicholas, Robin, Jerald, Sereena, Suizlyn, Zhigang and Lucy.
Other blog entries about the trip
on Sijie's nature scouter blog
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