I realise that the more mozzies I feed, the more interesting the animals are that I get to see. Why must this be so?

Was called to Sungei Buloh yesterday to take on a group of schoolkids from Pat's Schoolhouse. Very inquisitive minds… endless questions. Very rewarding. I'm glad I had a choice between this and a bunch of teenage boys from SJI! 

My duty was but in the morning. I had the rest of the day to myself. I knew of the treasures the KNT held and also its better birding spots, so that was where I ventured. It was mozzie frontier, but it was all worth it! Saw some pretty strange creatures along the way… and I came out through the other end and met with the Kranji Dam, where the terns where, where I've always been wanting to shoot. Darn my D70… too slow with my 80-400 VR! I could barely keep track of the terns in my viewfinder; how was I to focus on them as they swept past above my head? It was fun though, and the place stank of rotten fish washed up from the reservoir.

Little Tern

Giant Ant-mimicking Spider

Pentatomid stink bug nymph (Pycanum sp.?)

Some Plume Moth (Pterophoridae)

Cotton Stainer nymphs

After Buloh and Kranji was Geylang, to the headquarters of Nature Society. Some President's Chat thingy, was invited along. It turned out to be a meeting to do with the constitution and resolutions passed at the AGM, and some other discussions. My first time dealing with the NSS and meeting it's who's who and legal advisors… all rather exciting. I wish I had met them sooner, it would have helped in some things. I've met a few of them before in my wanderings about nature places, and it's usually a "you look familiar, have I seen you before?" before we're formally introduced. I don't know where this would all lead to, but I think I've really got my hands tied. 

Q: Isn't there a United Nations force stationed in southern Lebanon? What is its mandate, and has it accomplished its mission, or even anything substantial?
Gary Westmoreland, Schuyer, Virginia, USA

John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor: Unifil (UN Interim Force in Lebanon) has been stationed in southern Lebanon for 28 years, but the great powers prevented its having any serious mandate. As a result it has had to stand by helplessly and watch while groups attack Israel from Lebanon and Israeli forces fire across the border or invade. It can be dangerous work, as the killing of the 4 UN workers by Israeli shellfire shows, but it is also thankless.

Source: BBC News 

*****

Which brings to mind this one great film: Shooting Dogs. On the 1994 Rwanda genocide, and the inaction of the UN forces… a deeply moving and influential film. The survivors of the genocide were involved in the production of this film and some were cast as actors and extras; no words will do justice to the truths that this movie brings. 

*****

Sigh. Politics… you can't screw them so they screw up the world. People are dying. And don't forget poverty issues and all that. 

*****

Sometimes, people ask me if the Model United Nations actually does anything. I'd like to ask if the UN itself is doing anything. It's saddening and maddening.

There comes a time when you can stand in the road and see vaguely what's up ahead. I can do it now; the fog has thinned to a slight haze. For the past few years during my ecology degree I have been living somewhat in denial of what my future holds. I thought I had wanted to be one of those adventurers, those people in the field, with all their gear and in wild places conducting some important research. I had loved all my ecologically-oriented modules, and loved every single field trip. I loved the shags, the insects, and the rabbits. But they are not for me. Not the front line. Now, I know, and I can boldly spell it out - whatever I do from here on out, as in career-wise, will have nothing to do with academia, nothing to do with scientific research, and nothing to do with cargo pants and sweaty tops, and nothing to do with cameras. I loved the life, and I believe I will continue to love such a life, but it's time to take a step back and look at it again. Too many things stand in the way. People always say "do what YOU want to do" or "follow your dreams" and such, but it's not always that simple.

The sad fact is, by virtue of my being me, my upbringing in this family and in today's world (and with that, all the pressure and expectations and hype), my calling is not of the forests or the reefs, but the urban jungles of the commercial world. This upcoming Masters is an attempt to blend in both my passion and my calling, an attempt that I am making to make the most of both fields, and the choice of which was the manifestation of my stubborn unwillingness to let go totally of anything environmentally-related.

I guess I could look at it a different way. That yes, the grapes are sour. Tell myself that I have been disillusioned, that I am lucky that I now know better. That the nature of scientific research simply takes too long, and the work taken by an individual scientist has little direct influence upon the outcome of decisions made that would impact upon the environment. That the application of pro-environmental and sustainable practices in socio-political contexts should be the way forward. That it is money that makes the world go round, and that in money lies the answer to our conservation woes. The goals of businesses and conservationists are often in conflict and I will make it my challenge to seek compromises for both sides. One famous word: synergy. 

But how many corporate high-fliers are there out there who are able to excel and achieve in the workplace and not get tired out by the end of the week? Who among them have the time to go take a breather in a nature park every weekend, or give that camera a good workout outdoors? And add to that the joys of having enough spare time to do some volunteer work? Only those who're lucky.

I once told myself that I'd resist… I'd try to resist. But I have fought this internal battle inside me and my idealistic self has emerged defeated. By crossing that line out of the naturalists' circle, I would have crossed myself into the business circle. I would become one of 'them'. They who are - as my Welsh coursemate effectively puts it - the 'greedy people'. Sadly, people do not recognise that there is a grey in-between. Perhaps there is no in-between. Once you're half a step into the commercial world, you'd get carried in by the currents, whether you like it or not. Do or die. Absolute power corrupts absolutely… or somewhat like that. Whatever… 

I am already afraid of what kind of life awaits me. I do not want to be giving all this up too soon. As it is, it is already difficult enough to sustain good working relationships with the people and the organisations once you're overseas. Even as a student. You're often not around, you're unable to be present at local events and partake in local activities. Sure there's the power of the internet, but that too, is difficult to utilise when the only thing on your mind when you're over the other side is to meet that assignment deadline or read those journals.  And when I start work… …  heck. I think I'll be disappearing, not only physically but virtually as well.

I hope not? I hope I can be in both circles at the same time. The future is may be far, but it isn't that far away.

This post is not all gloom and foretelling. It's perhaps more of a warning… to myself and to others what can be expected. To prepare myself. 

Maybe it's something like living out your religion. It's what you believe in. What you do doesn't really matter so long as you know that your motives for doing that something is true to the heart. 

We started off from Mandai Orchid Gardens, Kiat, Steven (our first time meeting; he figured I was Husky from the butterfly-pal forums! He was Birdwing) and I. We had high hopes for MOG, having heard and seen the great sunbird shots - especially of the Crimson sunbird and the spiderhunter - that other photographers managed to get from that place. It was tooo quiet. Hardly anything besides the Olive-backed and my good friends the Changeable lizards. I bumped into Keith there… a pleasant coincidence! We seem to have a tendency of bumping into each other in places.

We went on to the Kranji dam in search of the terns. Funnily enough, I see them every time I pass by on my way to Buloh, but when I go there specifically to shoot them, they're never there. No terns, no raptors. So… onwards to Buloh. Bob's smaller croc cousin was there by the main bridge, and there was a Paradise Tree snake in the main hide. Saw the tailorbirds, sunbirds, and the Common Iora. Lepidoptera-wise, the sunbeams and lascars were out in full force - 'tis the season for them perhaps.

Nothing much else, so we went to Sembawang after lunch to a former bee-eater hotspot. The long grasslands were trimmed, the bee-eaters were nowhere to be found. No luck whatsoever! Next, to Sringleaf. A Stork-billed kingfisher, and a Purple heron in the canals. Nothing special. We picked up a Painted Bronzeback - it was dead with two punctures in its sides and its innards were spilling out - in one of the smaller drains. Not a bad end to a bad birding day, but it would have been more exciting had it been alive. 

I met up with ZF on Tuesday for a while; we watched Pirates of the Caribbean 2 together. It was also with her that I watched the first Pirates with! Very funny, although I still prefer the first one. Singapore gets another mention, to the amusement of the theatregoers. 

Wednesday night was dinner with the usual guys - Jed, Jingye, and Lionel. It's kinda sad that we four were all who could be mustered from our near-dozen-strong of former Linsteadians. Went to Villa Bali, an exotic little Bali-esq spot, a restaurant cum bar. Quite a nice setting, and food's not bad. We basically chatted the night away…

Slightly to the west of Sungei Buloh are several marine foodfish farms. Including the ones near Changi and Pulau Ubin, these aquacultural establishments take up ~50 hectares of our coastal waters. The floating net cages can only be set up in waters with low tidal depths of five to 13 metres… Singaporeans consume about 100 000 tonnes of fish per year, and 5% of these are from local farms… yadda yadda (I was about to write this like a scientific paper, but I so can't be bothered right now). More info on fish farming in Singapore: The FAO's overview of marine aquaculture development in Singapore; scroll a little lower to read the Fishy Business; and a paper for those really into fisheries. 

These fish farms culture groupers, seabass, snappers, pomfrets, milkfish, mussels and crustaceans

The fry and the young are reared and stocked in net cages, which allows for the washing away of detritus and a constant cycling of nutrients 

Many dogs are kept on the platforms - to ward off crows and predatory birds, perhaps? 

Laying the net 

Washing off the debris collected on the nets 

Metal and plastic drums keep the platforms afloat 

A fish farmer…  

… and his dog

On a Monday; a quiet day. But today was no ordinary trip to Buloh. I wasn't being called in to conduct guided tours. Well… it's difficult to keep me from blogging the details of what made today. But let's just say I managed to get this… the Main Bridge from a different angle!

And in as few words as possible - kelongs, fish farms, offshore islands, and the whole of the western Johor Straits. Grey, Purple, and Great-billed Herons, and both the Milky and Painted Storks. And a little exhilaration at having seen the precious 'fossil' ferns for myself.

Other than that, some usual sightings of my invertebratey friends…  

Katydid nymph

Some hymenopteran - there were quite a number of these on the sea hibiscuses

*beep*

A hemiptera which looks uncanningly like the ones I handle in the NHM collections 

Locust nymphs - aren't they cute?

Mangrove cricket - saw loads of these today!

Kickboxing's pretty fun. Muay Thai, something more SEAsian than the Hung Gar kuen I've been exposed to… and the training's much less tough. More wushu coming up, I hope my poor muscles can take it. 

Drove lots today, much more than my usual few clicks. To our old East Coast home to check the condition of the apartment and get old mail, then to Parkway - ahh… it's been so long… so much has changed - and afterwards to Tiong Bahru to get some strawberries… then home. Then to airport, and back again.

Hmm, Pirates is out tomorrow. Anyone?  

And to whoever's around who happens to read this and who does not already know. We seem to have lost count. Usual gang (Linstead, NUS peeps et al.) meet-up this coming Mon or Tues. About time, I'd say. Drop me a note.