From Dairy Farm Park to Bukit Timah Hill

My friend and I spent a few Sunday mornings walking up to the summit of the Bukit Timah Hill. We usually started early at the Diary Farm Park trekking up the hill - because we want to be fitter and "conquer" another mountain in China -Ermeishan this time, in early June.

Along the way, if I encountered anything interesting I would usually take some pictures but shooting chances were rather rare most of the time.

I remember we saw this green crested lizard (Bronchocela cristatella) along the road leading to the Wallace Education Centre. This shot was taken before we went up the hill.

When we came down, we could see this green beauty again but further away from us - it looks like it had been suffering from hunger.

Although this is a native species but I hardly get to see it often in the wild - in fact it is getting quite uncommon - so let's look at another shot.

Yes, I am rather bias because I tend to ignore fungi especially those small and inconspicuous ones. But big and brilliantly coloured fungi or those which grow in a cluster could still attract my attention. How can we miss this very striking and conspicuous bracket fungus ?

Some fungus species grow in a cluster like this - would these fungi glow at night ?

I think this bracket fungus is a common species as I always encountered it. Fungi are quite diverse and perhaps ubiquitous. They can be found on forest undergrowth, live or dead tree trunks.

Spotting an adult butterfly or their larva is considered a bonus for me when my intention is "training my legs and heart". Lucky star did strike me at times. I guess this is a late instar larva of the Orange Awlet (Burara harisa consobrina).

I am not sure if this is its hostplant because this plant looks different from its known hostplant which is Arthrophyllum diversifolium and this particular caterpillar was not munching the leaf at all.

Here is my attempt to take a shot of its dorsal view - shooting with one hand.

When the sun was up, we began to see signs of fauna life and butterfly activities. This Branded Imperial (Eooxylides tharis distanti) was seen perching on a sunlit spot.

Don't underestimate the height of the the summit - only 163 m above sea level can make us panting if we are not fit enough. Don't worry, we can always take our own time to climb the steps and appreciate the floral and fauna surrounding us. At the end of the climb, we would be rewarded with lots of fresh and cool air on the hilltop.

At the summit a female Malay Baron (Euthalia monina monina) was looking for sweet spots for puddling, When I was chasing and stalking her quite persistently, I could sense that my "bizarre" behaviour attracted attention of some hikers who were resting at the summit - well it's fine with me !