48th National Day at Pasir Ris Park

My hope of visiting Pulau Ubin on our 48th Singapore National Day was crushed when I was shocked to see the queue for the bumboat ride snaking from the ferry embarking point to the road. My common sense told me to forgo Ubin. I eventually ended up at Pasir Ris Park (PRP).

I reached PRP around 10 am. Roaming on the mangrove boardwalk, I came to an observation tower where I saw a shrub growing with some strange-looking blue flowers. Knowing nothing about this weird plant, I just snapped a few shots out of curiosity. I think this is one of our native plants Nipis Kulit (Memecylon caeruleum )  in the Family Melastomataceae.  

While strolling along the boardwalk, I just could not find any terrestrial animal worth shooting. So I looked at the mudflat and saw quite a few crabs - this one just came out from the water.

Of course, the Kitchen Garden has always been one of my favourite spots at PRP for butterfly watching and photography. The Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus chrysippus) is everywhere but I didn't have much interest in chasing for a "perfect shot".  

This male was feeding on its larval host plant - Blood Flower (Asclepias currasavica). Of course mating pair is always a popular subject  for photographing.

I went round the boardwalk again but it was not a lucky day for me to bump into surprises. So I decided to call it a day and headed towards the MRT station. A consolation for me at least, I encountered a tattered Sumatran Sunbeam (Curetis saronis sumatrana) flitting around skittishly - a long distance shot was my initial prize for being patiently waiting for it to perch.

This open-winged shot was a result of my instinctive reaction - it scooted off as soon as I snapped it. 

Finally a sting bug (Pycanum rubens) hiding beneath a large Simpoh Air (Dillenia suffruticosa) gave me the last chance of the day to fire some shots.