Sunday, March 10, 2013

Two Short Outings During Lunar New Year

The Lunar New Year period was exceptionally wet this year. Gloomy weather and the erratic passing showers during the Lunar New Year week (10 - 17 Feb) made long-distance outings impossible. I could only sneak out to the nature reserves for a short stroll and photographing session when the sky appeared to be clear on two afternoons.  

The Tree Yellow (Gandaca harina distanti) is a forest denizen. The damp forest paths provided some ideal  spots for them to puddle. Apart from being very skittish and alert to movement, the water-logged trails  gave me a hard time taking some shots. 
The Ypthima species are rather unattractive in appearance but they too are naturally alert - this Common Four-Ring (Ypthima huebneri) was no exception.
Nearby, a tiny spider unknown to me, was waiting patiently for its prey to be trapped in its webs. I noticed that somehow the butterflies seemed to be able to avoid the spider webs.
Along a forest fringe, this small Yellow Grass Dart (Taractrocera archias quinta) enjoyed its quiet moment on a low perch.
I was quite lucky to see this slender but beautiful red-headed snake crawling on the forest floor. It deprived me a second shot as it  wriggled underneath the forest litters rather quickly when I approached closer.
How can I resist taking a shot of the uppersides of this male Common Posy (Drupadia ravindra moorei) even thought it was not pristine. 
I didn't see many butterflies on both occasions so common butterflies such as the The Lesser Grass Blue (Zizina otis lampa) also attracted my attention.


2 comments:

  1. Awesome sighting of the beautiful (but also extremely venomous) blue Malayan coral snake!

    http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/blue_malayan_coral_snake.htm

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  2. Ivan, thanks for the id and the link.
    Wow, I didn't know it is highly venomous.

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