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.

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!

2013

The past year has been a crazy roller coaster. It's flung me in every 

direction and now that I'm getting off and walking to a new ride, it 

seems as though it came and went quicker than I could have ever 

imagined.

In butterflies, it has been amazing year. The Singapore check-list has

once again expanded due to numerous new discoveries and now 
stands at 310 species. That's an awful lot of butterflies for a tiny 
island of only 710 square kilometres. I got to fully appreciate the 
diversity we indulge in here when I flew to Adelaide, where the 
number of species is minuscule in comparison. I've also had so many 
first encounters this year, with the Courtesan and the flos family 
being definite highlights.

There has also been plenty of activity in the butterfly scene here. In 

January, the priceless Fleming Collection of butterflies landed in 
Singapore. It's really an honour that our humble country was chosen 
to house the collection, a valuable reflection of the butterflies of the
region, compiled from 1963 to 1978. June saw ButterflyCircle doing
a survey of the butterflies of Gardens by The Bay, unearthing 
another rediscovery and even earning a newspaper article! 

It's great to see that Singapore's wildlife is getting a bigger voice. 
This year's Festival of Biodversity, while not as big an event as last 
year's, being situated in a major mall, caught the attention of the 
general public and brought the wilderness to them.The Singapore 
Butterflies Facebook group is another example of how more and 
more people are beginning to open their  eyes to the delicate 
world around them. 

My only regret is that I missed out on a fair chunk of the excitement.
I was caught up school work most of the time. This year I sat for my
streaming examinations to determine what subjects I would take 
next year. Surprise surprise, I came down with a terrible bug the day 
before my first paper, with nasty hives and fevers attacking 
throughout the exams. Of course everything turned out well. Also, I 
have now ventured into the magic circle. I was invited by a teacher 
of mine who brought me into this new form of art.

I was oh so lucky to take part in the amazing Project Phoenix, a 
community magic renewal programme that started in March 
when a group of us taught weekly magic lessons at a Community 
Centre and the volunteers, or 'students', ended up performing to 
the Children of Club Rainbow. Club Rainbow is a charity that supports
children with chronic illnesses and their families. I was really moved 
during our visit to the children in April; they were all fighters. To
see them laughing and smiling through what many of us would 
crumble under was one of the most beautiful experiences I've had 
this year.

The three month long project finished in a huge magic show held at
the centre's theatre. I went on my first stage performance that night 
and I loved it. Another big event I was part of was the 10th Splash 
Awards, an IT competition that looks into the development of mobile 
applications. It brought Secondary school students from all over the 
island together. I was leading the team representing my school. Yeah 
we won. It wasn't easy work though; I spent close to two months on 
photoshop designing our app, the Kindred Knowledge Konnector.

I also took part in the annual StrITwise competition, revolving 
around game development. My team stood second amongst the over 
sixty participants. We didn't win the big name but it's the journey 
that matters more. If you haven't figured out by now, I'm the painter 
who chases butterflies with a huge camera, performs magic and is in 
the IT field. It's not easy to do all that while still having to be a 
student but I guess that's why I've had such an wonderful time.

2013 has been quite an amazing year. I am aware that for almost 
half of the year there were no posts here at all. I want to say sorry 
for not doing the housekeeping required of a good blogger. I cannot 
guarantee that my posts will arrive every weekend but I will certainly 
try to make that happen. To all of my readers, thanks for being such
a great audience of my babbling. The past year has been a crazy 
roller coaster and I can't wait for what 2014 will bring.

pictures from top to bottom: common bluebottle, commander, blue pansy, branded 
imperial, banded swallowtail, long banded silverline, large snow flat, common hedge 
blue

Away to Down Under

I'm off! My sister recently completed her GCE O levels and
we're going abroad to celebrate! I'm so proud and happy for
her. So I won't be posting any butterfly sightings here for a 
while. When I come back, however, I will most definitely put
up a hurricane of pictures. 

Busy Year

Hi all Bluebottle readers,
This year I may be a little busy studying as I am
taking a major examination at the end of this year,
the Primary School Leaving Exam. So I am sorry to
say that there might only be a few posts this year.
However, I will try to make up for it after the exam
is over. Thanks!

My New T180

Yippeee Yoo! My dad just bought me a new lens,
the Tamron macro 180. It's really nice. Anyway, I'll
share some shots using it. This is some kind of Mycalesis.

I love the background that it gives! The 180mm focal
length also helps me get the butterflies higher up, like this
rare ultra snow flat, feeding on the pagoda flower.

It's also great for shooting puddlers. Look at the
result! This one is a common hedge blue.

Here are more puddlers. Oh, by the way, from here

the shots are from Cameron Highlands, we went there

for a holiday. Here is a singleton.

This is a common nawab, also not found in Singapore.

This is the autumn leaf, it can be found in Singapore,

where it is common.

Well that's about it, so hope u enjoyed the pics.

The End and please comment.

In the Papers!

Ah, sorry this came so late. I was in the papers!
( my paper 22 June ) I was away on a holiday when
this came out. On the Hortpark outing, (http://nypsbluebottle.blogspot.com/2010/06/hortpark-1362010-with-bc.html)
the reporter came too. And that's why. Well, here
it is. :)

Please comment.

Sorry

Hey everyone. Sorry I havn't posted in a long
time. The weather hasn't been good lately so I can't
go out and find anything interesting. :(

Test shots

Test shots using a canon macro 100mm.

My butterfly and avian watching trips

Hi again,
you might find some of my interesting
trips on birding and butterfly watching
in this blog, so have fun !

My favourite Locations for Birding and Butterfly-watching

If you enjoy birding and butterfly watching

as much as I do, here are some places that

I recomend to you. If you have not tried these activities before

and you are interested, you can start out at the same places.



For birding:

• the Mandai Orchid Garden, for sunbirds, and bulbuls


• Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, for wetland birds like waders, egrets and plovers


• Singapore Botanical Gardens, for forest birds like drongos, garden birds like sparrows, mynas and doves

For butterfly watching

• the Mandai Orchid Garden, for a variety of large butterflies
• the Hort Park, for blues, yellows, occasionally pansies and skippers

You can also visit forests to find bluebottles, swallowtails and many brown butterflies

( the locations are all in Singapore )

My First Blog!

Hi everyone!
I finally created my own
blog !!!
Hope you enjoy !!!