Bishan Park Canal polluted with paint by nearby condominium

Saga of the Seacil

Model of a seacil

Yesterday, I attended a very illuminating and fascinating discussion about the controversial seacil project. It has brought a conclusion to a topic that has weighed heavily on the minds of many who have come to love our shores and the amazing diversity of marine life we still possess, and also spurred some debate over how we should protect and conserve our often fragile habitats.

For those who are puzzled as to what a seacil is, here's some background information...

Passers-by distracted by swinging monkey near Woodleigh MRT station

'Goondu' snake gets head stuck in drink can at Marsiling Drive

Water pollution? White substance discharged into Upper Thomson stream

Validation

Some of you might have recalled this post I wrote about Timberland Earthkeepers and the Horqin Desert, which I submitted as an entry in this contest.

I'm really happy to announce that I've won for myself an all expenses paid trip to join the Timberland Earthkeepers reforestation efforts in Horqin in Inner Mongolia, as well as a nature appreciation trip to Jiuzhaigou Valley (worth S$3,500). On top of that, I get a S$1,000 Timberland voucher.

What has happened to our once lovely East Coast Beach?

Harry Potter and the Parliament of Owls

Today marks the opening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. The final instalment in the movies based on JK Rowling's best-selling series of novels, countless people all over the world have followed the adventures of Harry Potter and his friends at Hogwarts for more than a decade, ever since the first of the books was published in 1997 (and the first movie released in 2001).


(Image from Harry Potter Wiki)

Given that the stories take place in a world populated by wizards and witches wielding magic, much of the 'wildlife' appearing in the stories are completely fictitious. Unfortunately, muggles like us will never get the chance to learn more about acromantulas, Hungarian horntails, phoenixes, hippogriffs, or basilisks. However, there is one group of animals that are very real creatures indeed, the owls.

I covered the owl species that can be found in Singapore over at the Celebrating Singapore's Biodiversity blog, so here I will be talking about the owl species that are featured in the Harry Potter stories. A lot of information about the owls in the books and movies is available on this page by bird enthusiast Laura Erickson ("Professor McGonagowl").

Dead python with smashed head found near Kallang River. Did someone kill it?

A new look for Monday Morgue

Equatorial spitting cobra (Naja sumatrana)
Woodlands, 27th June 2011

One of the regular features of this blog has been my weekly Monday Morgue updates, featuring photos of a dead animal I encountered somewhere in Singapore, whether it's dead fish on a shore or a crushed snail in my neighbourhood. You may have noticed a lack of new Monday Morgue entries on this blog in recent months. That's because after a suggestion from some friends, I decided to move my Monday Morgue posts over to a blog specially dedicated to sharing photos of animal carcasses.

Dangerous prank: Man releases large hornet on bus, causing panic

Timberland Earthkeepers Contenders

Nuffnang Singapore and Timberland Singapore held a blogging contest to send a blogger to Inner Mongolia and Sichuan as part of the Timberland Earthkeepers programme. Thursday (30th June) was the deadline, and it'll be an exciting time for me as I wait for the results. My entry can be seen here (Apparently, it got picked up by last Friday's edition of Friday Ark). And here are the posts written by other bloggers, which I managed to find through Google.

HDB resident stung by bee from 'monster' hive in condo: Who should pay?

After NEA check, petrol kiosk still leaking sewage into Bishan canal?

Monkey see, monkey do: Monkeys open lids of recycling bins at MacRitchie Park

Heroic uncle catches snake with his bare hands at Jurong

Yikes! There's a huge bee hive in a primary school in CCK

Dirty, smelly and brown: What's happened to S'pore River?