The Waiting Game

14" by 18"
Oil on canvas
2015

It's 2016! To start off the new year, here's a painting that I completed a while back. One of the larger works I've done, it shows a Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) by the edge of a reservoir, waiting motionlessly for its prey while the day warms up around it. The heron has an unbreakable patience and focus; it's survival depends on it. When it hunts, everything balances on a single moment, an opportunity to strike. While the heron plays the waiting game, the sky is restless, with clouds stretching, curling and vanishing. A hunting heron will not and must not look around at the scenery that is full of life - but a full heron may.

I took around one-and-a-half months to finish this one. To get a better idea on how to create the landscape, I visited some of the wetlands in the North of Singapore, which helped show me what types of plants to paint too. Anyway, there it is. Hope you like it!

Butterfly Colours - Brown

One of my favourite colours, browns are some of the oldest colours in art, with umbers and siennas (clay pigments that derive their shades from iron oxide) being the amongst the first pigments that humans have used. Brown is also very common in butterflies, providing camoflage against predators. Some butterflies from the families Lycaenidae (the Blues) and Satyrnidae (the Browns, Arguses and Morphos) have beautiful variations of brown on their undersides and blues, purples or greens on their uppersides, which are concealed when the insect folds its wings upright. The colour of earth, bark and skin, brown is perhaps the true colour of nature, even though the brighter and somehow more charismatic green has been universally associated with it. Brown has also been tied to humility - perhaps one reason it was the party colour of the Nazi Party, which targeted the middle and working classes


(Left to Right, top to Bottom)

Common Disc Oakblue (Arhopala epimuta)
Dark Brand Bush Brown (Mycalesis mineus)
The Knight (Lebadea martha parkeri)
The Plane (Bindahara phocides)
King Crow (Euploea phaenareta)
The Saturn (Zeuxidia amethystus)
Bamboo Tree Brown (Lethe europa)
Chocolate Sailor (Neptis harita)
Starry Bob (Iambrix stellifer)

Mr Lee Kuan Yew (1923 - 2015)

Singapore's founding father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, passed away on Monday, 23rd of March. To many Singaporeans, including my parents, he WAS Singapore. His immense vision and determination made Singapore what it is today. It was a sombre week but as the nation mourned, I felt helplessly detached.

I grew up in the Singapore that was the result of Mr Lee's leadership and I've only lived fifteen years in this country - half of which I remember little of. The reality is that I can never feel the same about Mr Lee's passing as my parents or any other adult Singaporeans. I just don't have that same emotional connection. My journey as a Singaporean has been blissful; maybe even ignorant.

For many of us teenagers, our connection with Mr Lee is about gratitude; being thankful for all the privileges we enjoy today, the beautiful country carved out for us and the bright future ahead of us. It's unfortunate that the next generation may only see Mr Lee as a figure in history; a man who exists only in textbooks. 

But it shouldn't be that way. I feel that it is my duty - and every young Singaporean's - to get closer to him. I have heard and read so many stories about him this week and I think it's the least anyone can do. It is our job to live the values Singapore was founded on and fight for a better future so that Mr Lee Kuan Yew's spirit and legacy will live forever.

And if that's what it means to be Singaporean, then I couldn't be more proud.

Goodbye, Mr Lee.

A Rediscovery and The Prime Minister - UBIN DAY

Pulau Ubin: An offshore island from Singapore and our last kampung. It's Singapore before all the tall buildings went up - natural, wild and rustic. Last Sunday, we had a celebration of all things Ubin - organised by the amazing Grant Pereira and Ria Tan, Ubin Day 2014 saw a huge range of activities to bring the public closer to the heritage and biodiversity of the little island. Here's something you don't often see on your way to Ubin, a traffic jam!

ButterflyCircle was there to show some registered participants around Butterfly Hill and to teach them about butterflies. I was attached to a really wonderful group of students and their enthusiastic teacher, who were there to learn more in order to set up a butterfly garden. We saw some pretty cool things: a Mottled Emigrant came to lay eggs just in front of us, we found a number of uncommon butterflies and I got them to get right up close with the butterflies that were willing. One of the rarer species around was this form-agenor female of the Great Mormon.

This stunning giant was laying eggs on the pomelo bush and caught everyone's attention. The great mormon is polymorphic, so the female occurs in many greatly differing forms, some of which have not been seen in years. Better still, my group got to see something extremely special - a rediscovery! A strikingly patterned butterfly was flitting incessantly around a tree trunk and I knew straight away that we had something new. And it was - a rediscovery for Singapore, the Malayan Nawab (polyura moori)! It has been suspected to still be extant here and now we have the proof. 

The excitement, however, didn't stop there. We were extremely honoured to have a different kind of visitor to the hill, The Prime Minister of Singapore. He - along with his troop of bodyguards, cameramen and the press - came to find out more about the hill and it's fluttering inhabitants. We took him around on a little tour and shared our knowledge of butterflies with him. What struck me was how willing he was to talk to us and hear our thoughts. Here's me sharing some of the places I love to go for butterflies.

Photo by Mr Loke PF

He was also incredibly friendly and down to earth so after having a short discussion about butterflies, we just had to take some pictures with him. Yes, by pictures, I mean we-fies. It's not everyday that you get to do this! There I am, beaming from the back. As you can see, height is something I don't have very much of...

Photo by Lemon TYK, whose in front

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also announced at the opening of the event, several plans for Ubin which were mostly about preserving the rustic charm of Ubin and enhancing it. I think it is great that the government is getting involved in the conservation of natural places like Ubin. Hopefully, with events like Ubin Day, more people will understand and respect nature and maybe even get down to help in the race to conserve. I had an amazing time on Ubin Day, all thanks to Mr Khew for inviting me and of course, Mr Grant and Ria for their inexhaustible passion and energy. Here's to the wilderness!

On Hold

I'll be busy for the next three weeks with my examinations.The rest of the Tiger Orchis posts will come after that. Sorry about that!

Another Good Day

It looks like the hot weather is here to stay. My recent visit to Dairy Farm Nature Park was quite eventful, even though I spent most of the time hiding in the shade from the merciless sun. A fair bit of the activity was actually at the entrance of the park, where the human traffic was very high! The first butterfly was a pristine Malayan Sunbeam.  














When I accidentally disturbed it, it flew down to the concrete pavement to puddle. Every few seconds, someone would walk past and frighten it, making it difficult to get a picture of. There seems to have been quite a few sightings of sunbeams recently.














After a while, it got tired of all the people walking by and retreated to some taller shrubs, way out of my reach. 














There were a number of Malayan Eggflies at the entrance too. Their caterpillar hostplant, Pipturus Argentus (Australian Mulberry), must grow nearby since I always see them flying there. The Malayan eggfly occurs in different forms. This one, with a whitened patch on the hindwing, is form nivas.














The females of this species are known to guard their eggs, which they lay by the hundreds, until they perish. Malayan eggflies are highly territorial insects and constantly fly out to attack intruders to the "air space", including other individuals of the species. This can be quite a nuisance for butterfly photographers, for they sometimes get excited by falling leaves! This is another form, form anomala.














Where the cyclists were washing their shoes, this little Fluffy Tit came down to puddle. Its long feathery tails were fluttering in the wind. Unlike the sunbeam, it was not  at all bothered by the presence of people walking by.




























After spending quite some time lying flat on the ground and shooting it, I walked up the main dirt road all the way until I hit the flower patch at the top of the hill. It was disappointingly quiet and besides a few monkeys, there was hardly anything to see. I watched this male Common Mormon chase a female relentlessly for a while.

She eventually grew tired of him and sped off. Later, I found her feeding at a cluster of pagoda flowers. She must have been very tired and hungry from being chased by the male and spent a long time at the flowers to re-fuel.

Back at the entrance of the park, there were numerous little blues puddling on the road. They were wary and flew off at the slightest disturbance. When puddling, they also hardly stood still and were crawling around a fair bit. This male Pointed Line Blue was one of the more cooperative models.

Looking back at my pictures from Dairy Farm in 2009, when my family and I first visited it, the nature park seems to have always been a great place for butterflies. I think its very close proximity to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve allows it to have a great range of forest plants and trees, which helps to attract butterflies; they usually stay near their caterpillar host plants. I can't believe that I've been butterfly-blogging for five years already. Onward!

















(This is near the entrance, in 2009. It still looks the same!)

Butterfly Colours - Orange

Interestingly, the colour Orange derives its name from the orange fruit (citrus sp) and not the other way around. While there is no butterfly group known as 'the oranges', orange is one of the most common butterfly colours, except for in Swallowtails (papilionidae), where it is usually only found in small spots. The colour is bright and often symbolises fun and entertainment. For butterflies, orange is often used as a warning colour, like red and yellow. Many milkweed butterflies, such as the ever-popular Monarch, use this colour to advertise their poisonousness. 


(Left to Right, Top to Bottom)
The Leopard, Common Tiger, Fluffy Tit, Common Posy, Cruiser, Burmese Lascar,
Common Sailor, Yamfly, Tawny Coster

The New Butterfly Book!

A new book has been born! The latest addition to the family, 
Butterflies of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, was 
launched on Thursday, the 24th of April, at the iconic Gardens by 
The Bay.The book is absolutely beautiful. It was a very special 
moment for the butterfly scene over here!

The launch itself was invite-only but it was nice and informal, just
how I would've wanted it. Pansing Distribution generously ordered
for a buffet to grace the event too. After a few all but boring 
speeches, we lined up eagerly to get our copies signed. The company
was amazing. I also had the chance to meet nature legends like Ria 
Tan, Professor Peter Ng, the author himself, Dr Kirton and so many 
others. Here's me, overjoyed, with Dr Kirton!

(image courtesy of Mr Khew Sin Khoon)

The book, covering a total of 280 species from the three countries,
is a 'taster' to the fascinating butterflies from the region. The new
common names appointed in the book may spark a little controversy
but Dr Kirton gracefully justified his decisions during his speech.
The book boasts many lovely photographs, describtions on 
appearance, distribution, subspecies and habits, as well as 
interesting sections on butterfly ecology. It is the fourth book on the 
butterflies of Singapore. Here is my line-up. 

It's not an assumption to say that bird books outnumber butterfly 
ones heavily in the region and in the world too. This new book is not 
just a new reference; it's a symbol of the passion some people out 
there have for these flying jewels. Also, I am honoured to be one of 
the photo contributors to the book! Butterfly watching is growing in 
popularity. I think that it's great to have more butterfly books around
to fuel the growing number of 'butterfly people.

Here's a more detailed account of the event since mine's not the 
meatiest and this is the website for John Beaufoy Publishing.


Special thanks and acknowledgements to: John Beaufoy Publishing 
                                                              Dr Lawrence Kirton
                                                              Pansing Distribution Pte Ltd
                                                              Gardens by the Bay

The Pale Grass Blue

I would love to do some serious out-in-the-forest shooting but
my examinations are in a mere two week's time. So, I have done
some outside-the-house shooting instead. The roadside grass 
patches have sprouted with weeds lately in the mood swing 
weather. One of them is the vernonia cinerea (the common 
vernonia). Lots of little blues have been fluttering around the 
cheerful flowers.















The Pale Grass Blue is the largest of our three 'grass blues'; small
butterflies that frequent the roadsides. This species was discovered
in Singapore in 2001 and has since become quite the commoner.
They have a weak and fluttering flight and stay close to the ground.
Being common and not very showy, they, along with the other grass 
blues, are often overlooked. 

I think it was a blessing that I couldn't get out in pursuit of 
more exotic butterflies; it let me appreciate the beauty of the
little creatures I so often ignore. It also brought back some 
happy memories - I used to pick bunches of common vernonia for 
my mother back when I was... 5? They'd all be wilted by the time 
they got home though. Later on I would stop on the pavement to 
watch the little grass blues go about their lives. It was nice to 
do it all again. (except this time I left the weed picking out) :)

Butterfly Colours - Yellow

Following the yellow trend: Bright and sunny yellow butterflies are 
the main characteristic of the family pieridae; so much that they 
are collectively known as 'the whites and yellows'. In Singapore, we 
have six species of 'grass yellow'. As the name suggests, they are 
little dots of yellow that flutter around grass. Very often, they can 
be seen flying at the roadside while cars whizz by. Yellow is the 
lightest colour on the colour wheel and is usually a symbol of 
happiness and optimism. It is a highly visible colour and many 
insects use it as an aposematic, or warning, colour to ward 
predators off. In the same way, yellow was used as a 
representation of betrayal in the Renaissance. 

(Left to Right, Top to Bottom)
Anderson's Grass Yellow, Common Birdwing, Forest Grass Yellow, Bush Hopper, Tree Yellow, Lime Butterfly, Chocolate Grass Yellow, Yellow Grass Dart, Three Spot Grass Yellow

Butterfly Colours - Blue

The Blue Morpho is an international icon for butterflies. It's 
iridescent upperside of shimmering blues is of unparallelled beauty. 
Blue will be the first colour of this new series that will showcase
the rainbow that butterflies display. While Singapore does not 
have any morphos, we do actually have plenty of blue butterflies
that are just as spectacular. It's a common colour on the uppersides
of many lycaenidae (aptly named the Blues) and swallowtails. 
Blue is often a hue associated with confidence and harmony but
in an artist's palate it usually defines depth. Being such a striking
colour, butterflies with blue often hide it on their uppersides
to prevent being obvious to predators.

(Left to Right, Top to Bottom)
Common Hedge Blue, Fluffy Tit, Common Mime, Pea Blue, Striped Blue Crow, 
Blue Jay, Blue Pansy, Blue Glassy Tiger, Common Tit

新年快乐!!

Happy Chinese New Year! In Singapore, we're fortunate to be able to
celebrate the new year twice. Spring is arriving in China and it's 
apparent here too; despite our perpetual summer, the butterfly 
numbers are starting to recover from December's monsoons. Chinese 
New Year is always a vibrant time of the year that brings families 
together. It's the year of the horse now, so let's gallop into 
prosperity and happiness!

Kangaroo Island Birds

Before we begin, I just want to make sure that we're all on the same
island. Kangaroo Island is Australia's third largest island with the 
most beautiful unspoilt wilderness and a lovely Mediterranean 
climate. When we arrived, we were surprised by how quiet the place 
was; it almost felt like we had the island to ourselves. Also, thanks 
to the island's isolation, its natural vegetation suffered much less 
damage than the mainland did during the eighteenth century when 
the European settlers arrived in Australia. To start off, here is one of
the biggest birds on the island, the Australian Pelican. 

I was surprised by its ability to take off so gracefully from the lamp 
post it was resting on. The lamp, however, didn't take it so well and 
was shaking after the pelican drifted off. I saw plenty of seabirds 
during our stay. There was a group of Great Crested Terns residing 
at Emu Bay, where we stayed. Being amongst the flock of terns was 
one of my favourite moments from the trip. This one decided to 
have some peace and quiet away from the crowd.

We also came across a group of Australian Pied Cormorants quietly
preening their feathers to keep them waterproof.

Gulls were a common sight just like in Adelaide. While we mainly saw
Silver Gulls, the occasional Pacific Gull showed up. These gulls were
huge. They were usually solitary or in pairs but I never saw a group
of them. This one is the South Australian subspecies, georgii, which
has a white iris. The West Australian birds have red eyes.

This is the far more abundant Silver Gull.

I was quite excited to see some shorebirds for the first time too. I 
saw a pair of Pied Oystercatchers walking along a seaweed-littered
mudflat. They looked much fluffier than how the guide books often
showed them to be: with perfect sleek plumage, probably because
the wind was very strong at that time and it was awfully chilly too.

I must have been very lucky to have seen this rare little Hooded 
Plover just five minutes from my holiday home. Its population is 
declining due to the increased amount of human activity in its 
preferred habitat - sandy beaches. The disturbance has caused a low 
breeding success rate and the increase in gulls and ravens has not 
helped either. It is now 'Vulnerable to global extinction' on the IUCN 
Red List. I was glad to hear that they have been thriving on 
Kangaroo Island, a promising sanctuary for the beautiful wader.

A similar looking species that is doing just fine worldwide, the Ruddy 
Turnstone, was found nearby. They never let me get within pouncing
distance from them so I sat from afar to watch them scuttle along
the shore.

Now for the perching birds. Outside our house there was a tree that
was constantly occupied by busy New Holland Honeyeaters. They were
very vocal, making loud 'chip' sounds as they darted from flower to
flower. The restless birds didn't spend more than five seconds at the 
same perch! Whenever I approached the tree, all the birds would 
sound harsh alarm calls and retreat to the other side of the tree. The
shot below did not come easily.

Welcome Swallows were common too. In the morning they would all
line up on the telephone wires outside our place. A pair had built a 
nest outside the Seal Bay Visitor Centre and swooped by to deliver 
insects every two minutes or so. They were so fast, I had to aim my 
camera at the nest and wait for the bird to arrive, then rapidly fire 
in order to get a shot, also earning many stares as the nest was near 
the toilets!

The morning choir in Kangaroo Island was spectacular and one of the
lead vocalists was the introduced Goldfinch, a tiny bird I would have
expected to see in Europe. The males often sang from the telephone 
wires, twittering cheerfully.

While the Goldfinch has just a splash of red on its face, the flashy
Crimson Rosella is predominantly of that colour, with trimmings of 
blue here and there. This obscured view was the best I could get of
a group high up in a tree in the mallee scrub.

The other parrot species I sighted on the island was the small but 
brightly coloured Purple Crowned Lorikeet, named after the indistinct
dab of dark purple on its forehead. I only saw this individual who
stopped briefly before continuing on its search for flowers.

I have saved the best from the last. Recently voted as Australia's 
favourite bird in BirdLife Australia's national poll, this little bird has 
fascinated me ever since I began learning about nature. I heard their
trilling songs all over the island but the Superb Fairy Wren finally 
came into view on our front lawn on the first morning.  This was the
bird that I was dying to see. Watching the group of them hop around
the lawn was absolutely breathtaking; I literally forgot to breathe.

The name 'superb' is superbly fitting. The male sports an intense sky
blue head and back, while the chest and tail are both a deeper 
ultramarine. While the female doesn't pack quite the same amount 
of colour, she is just as exquisite. They look like tiny feather puffs 
with wonderfully long waggling tails.

Here is another male.

That's all I have for the birds of Kangaroo Island. One I would have 
hoped to see is the endangered K.I. subspecies of the Glossy Black
Cockatoo. However, just being in Kangaroo Island was amazing. I 
loved all of its untamed wilderness. During our three day long visit, 
we went sand surfing in the Little Sahara, walked amongst the lovely 
Australian Sea Lions and of course, met many feathered friends.