Changeable Lizards

This changeable lizard was spotted in Hall 4's carpark, sunbathing on top of the branches of a Hongkong orchid tree.

Changeable lizards can change their colours quite rapidly while not as rapidly as chameleons. From this picture, you can see how the colour of the lizard matches that of the branch on which it stood. If I'm not wrong, we do not have chameleons in Singapore in the wild. Many people still seem to mistaken the changeable lizards commonly seen in Singapore for chameleons though, despite the various differences.

Changeable are usually spotted in brown, grey or olive hues with speckles or bands, but can also be seen in other colours such as bright green. Did you know that their colour changes may actually reflect their moods? Pretty interesting, right? Now I wonder what colour they would be when they're happy... What do you think?

During the breeding season, the male's head and shoulders turns bright orange to crimson and his throat black.

You may read more about them here: http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/verts/changeable_lizard.htm

Changeable lizards are a pretty common sight within our garden campus. You just need a keen eye to spot them especially since they are so well hidden most of the times. So, if you'll like to take a photo of them too, keep a look out for them when they're out during the sunny hours of the day and don't forget to share your pictures with us! Just send it to earthlink-actmgr@ntu.edu.sg. We'll love to see them.

Nature Appreciation Night, 24 Oct 2008

Short message from the guides:

The nature walk had been very enjoyable for all of us and so I hope everyone else had fun too! We are still working hard to find out more about our garden campus but I hope the walk had been both interesting and informative for all of you. There are actually more than 30 types of plants in Yunnan Garden itself and that day's walk covered only a fraction of them. The route that day had been designed such that it catered to the special seasons of the trees - eg flowering/fruiting. The next time you visit the garden again, it'll be another different sight.

So, we hope to see all of you again soon for our next walk! It'll be yet another experience - different trees, different Yunnan Garden.

Epiphytic Plants

There are always interesting plants and trees to be observed when you walk around the campus. But sometimes, the ecological interactions between them are just as interesting. Last week, I came across an interesting tree located around hall 1 block 12. What makes it very unique is that its whole trunk has been covered with many other kinds of plants, right to the extent that you can barely see the trunk itself!

I took this picture at night with my phone camera, so I hope you will excuse its poor quality.

These plants should not be confused with parasites. Despite growing on the tree, they do not steal the nutrition from it. This ecological interaction falls under the commensalism symbiotic relationship, to which the plants gain benefits of better sunlight exposure without having to harm the tree.

Similar plants interaction can also be spotted along the Student Walk to canteen 2, in case if you want to see them as well.

"Euphoric" Tree at Yunnan Garden

18th September 2008 marked my first formal encounter with Yunnan Garden, which was actually a prelude to what nature guiding is all about for a greenhorn like me. Previously, I have walked through Yunnan Garden once but I did not have the luxury of admiring the flora and fauna. Thus, the experience was truely an eye-opener of the diversity of organisms that the garden has to offer.

There was a particular tree that struck a deep impression on me. There was a strangler-like growth on the main trunk of the tree, though I am not very sure what it is supposed to be. I was fascinated with this artpiece of nature. What made this tree interesting was the pattern of the growth. Using some imagination, it reminded me of a happy man with outstretched hands and legs. Somehow, for some unknown reasons, whenever I look at this photo of the tree, I would feel a sense of euphoria.

Therefore, the next time you are at Yunnan Garden, do slow down your footsteps to take in the sights of nature. There might be some other masterpieces of nature along your way. Do enjoy!

Butterfly seen on our campus shuttle buses

Hello all!

I recently took a good look at the butterflies pictured on the shuttle buses again and realised I was wrong the last time when I said the butterfly I saw is the same as those seen on our shuttle buses. Pardon this amateur butterfly watcher!

I have yet found out its name. If you know what butterfly it is, do let us know! You can use the comments function on the blog or simply leave us a tag.

Bird Watching in NTU

Do you find yourself with nothing to do while waiting at the bus stop in front of the Innovation Centre for the 179 buses? Now you will be bored no longer! Let me tell you why.

Notice the huge fig tree beside the bus stop? (You can refer to older entries to see pictures of how it looks like. http://gardenntu.blogspot.com/2008/07/heritage-tree.html) It is now the time when many birds perch on the tree for a feast of the fruits. The fruits have turned into a pretty shade of pink now!

So how do you know when the birds have arrived? It is actually very easy to tell. The birds make their presence known with the loud noises they make. If you look carefully, you would be able to spot more than the just the common mynah, crows and sparrows. I was at the bus stop waiting for my bus today at around 5pm. (About 5 buses came and went but they were all too packed for anyone else to board.) I wished I could take some pictures but I didn't have my camera with me then.

I might be wrong but I think those birds are the Asian Glossy Starlings. I was not able to get a good look because they were high up in the branches. There were many of them on just one tree! If you know anything about those birds on the trees, do drop us a message! We want to hear from you!

The next time you're at that bus stop, why not take a look around you and you might discover something interesting. It is also a very good way to pass time! There are actually many interesting birds to be seen around our campus - I have personally spotted kingfishers, pink-necked green-pigeons and woodpeckers and many others that I could not name.

Have fun bird-watching, then!


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Do you have any pictures of the birds feasting on our very own Hertitage Tree? We'll love to see them! Come share your pictures with everyone. Send it to Earthlink-ActMgr@ntu.edu.sg with a short caption.


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Edit: I direct you to this website : http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Aplonis_panayensis.htm.

On the website, it says that "They are particularly fond of figs." This further confirm my thoughts that the birds I saw were the Asian Glossy Starlings.

I've actually seen these birds in various parts of Singapore like the Singapore Botanical Gardens. They might not easy to spot as most people would just think of them as another crow or mynah due to the dark appearance of its feathers but on a closer look at its feathers, you'll be able to tell that they are not just any other mynah.

From the website, it says "In bright sunlight, their glossy plumage has an iridescent shine, changing to green, purple or black as they move about." I usually only see the green though but these are really beautiful birds.

A hunt for butterflies in Yunnan Garden

I have always enjoyed taking pictures so on one bright morning, I decided to head down to the Yunnan Garden. It was a Saturday and I happen to be in school because I have something on in the late afternoon so why not find something to do to spend the morning, I thought. For a while, I took many pictures of the lovely flowers in the garden and then something caught my eye - the pretty butterflies flying from flower to flower - and thus I began my hunt. A mission to take their pictures! The pictures I took are not fantastic - nothing but my compact camera with me - but I would like to share the pictures with you of some of the butterflies I saw that day.




This butterfly is found near the ixoras - I believe they like them. There were many of these butterflies on the ixoras when I was there, so if you would like to go on your own butterfly hunt, you know one place where you can find them. I think they are the Chilasa clytia clytia or the Common Mime.

If you were to look at our NTU shuttle buses, you might notice one with these butterflies. Once again, they were pictured with the ixoras.





I found these two butterflies on the right side of the garden (imagine if you were to stand with your back to the Chinese Heritage Center). I had a hard time taking their pictures as compared to the butterflies among the ixoras because they were moving so quickly, they hardly stop for a long enough time for me to capture a good shot. I might be wrong but they look like the Phalanta phalantha phalantha or commonly called the Leopard and Vindula dejone erotella or The Cruiser.

At present, we are more focused on the trees and various plants around campus but occasionally, we try to bring in Nature's other wonders too. However, I must tell you that I am not very sure if I got the butterflies' names right. There is a good chance that I might be wrong because they all look so alike to me. If you know anything about them, please drop us a message! I will try to do some more research as well and see if I can confirm their identities and let you all know.

Here's something to help you start your own butterfly hunt.
Location: NTU Yunnan Garden
Time: About 9am to noon
Butterfly Hangout: Among the ixoras (very easy to spot - the butterflies are quite big)

Not all flowers have butterflies at all times - you will need to know which attracts butterflies and at what time of the day. If there's anyone interested, I will post more information about this. For now, I hope this information is sufficient!

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We would like to see your pictures!

Got any of your own photos you would like to share? We would love to see them! Send it to Earthlink-ActMgr@ntu.edu.sg with a short caption.

Our Nature Guides and Yunnan Garden

In the year 2006, Earthlink NTU and NIE Green Club together initiated the activity--Nature Walk in Yunnan Garden. We aimed to bring together the nature lovers within the campus and explore the nature beauties around. We chose Yunnan Garden as our first guiding place, as this garden had over 30 species of flora and also an intriguing history since 1950s. Then we trained nature guides from our very own student volunteers. Thanks to the hard work of our nature guides, we had conduct 3 nature walks successfully during the first half of the year 2007. Especially, we appreciated the help from experienced nature guides, such as Ms. Yap Swee Cheng and Dr. Shawn Lum.

For the next stage, we would like to expand our guiding walks not only to the whole campus but also places outside NTU. We hope our efforts will recall the importance of the nature.

Photos of the past Nature Walks

Yunnan Garden, with over 30 kinds of flora
and an intriguing history since 1950s

Sea Fig Tree

• Common Name: Sea Fig
• Place to observe: beside Canteen B bus stop
• When to observe: May~June, Sep~Oct
• What to observe: young leaves and friuts
• Why observe: The sea fig bears fruits twice a year. Before bearing fruits, it sheds off all its leaves and comes out with the new ones in only a few days. As you can see from the pictures below, it bears the fruits on its branches. These fruits are first green and then pink. When looked against the sunlight, it seems like corals in the sea. I guess,that's why it gets the name sea fig.
  

Trumpet Tree

• Common name: Trumpet Tree
• Where to observe: Yunnan Garden, Beside Canteen 1, Canteen 2 and SCE
• When to observe: Mar and May
• Why observe: The trumpet tree only flowers for a few days. Within that short period, the whole tree is so overwhelmed with white or pink flowers that you can hardly find the leaves. The flowers keep drop to the ground from time to time. So the most beautiful scene is, when you wake up in the morning, there are circles of flowers spread on the ground around the trunk.

Spiders

Yellow Alder and Sulphur Alder

Yellow Saraca

Yellow Flame tree

Tamalan Tree

Mango Tree

Laurel Wood

Hongkong Orchid

Heliconia

Rose of India

Saga Tree