It was a bright and balmy weekday morning. Had arranged to meet a friend and her kids at Punggol Beach to walk around the shoreline at low tide to see what we could find.
The beach is known on Google Maps as the “Punggol Beach Massacre Site” but don’t let the macabre name put you off, as it is indeed “Good for kids” as stated on the app. There’s also an informative sign about how “Sook Ching” was carried out there during World War II.
To get to the beach, walk leftwards from the jetty.
When we got down to the shoreline, I was immediately taken by how many tiny mussel shells there were, gleaming in the sand.
Rocks may sound hard and inhospitable to life, but those we saw were simply teeming with living organisms.
In fact, more sea life can be seen near the rocks than on the sandy shore itself. Rock pool areas such as these are favourite hiding places for little crabs and mussels. We saw a live crab that was about the size of a child’s palm.
If you look closely, the rocks are full of moss, limpets (look like farmers’ triangular hats), anemones and barnacles.
What my kids loved the most were the little anemones that look like little soft round gummy pastilles. Touch them and they close up like a mimosa plant. Some might even squirt sea water out!
I searched online and found that they are the Phymanthus Anemones, which are very commonly seen on Singapore’s reef flats, especially in tidal pools.
These anemones in the photo below were submerged and thus blooming! If you can’t spot them, they form a crescent shape in the middle of the photo. Their little tentacles were waving in the shallow water, picking up whatever plankton the tide may bring in as food.
We saw many of these sea snails too. Great to see so much fauna – a sign that the ecosystem there is thriving, perhaps.
We saw some straw tube worms too – rows and rows of them near the beach’s end. We also saw two schools of about 40 little fish, swimming near the shoreline amidst the very clear water. No photos taken though. My friends also saw some sea stars there the last time they visited, but we didn’t sight any this time.
What are the tiny black things wedged inside the empty barnacle in the middle and to the right of the photo below?
If you said “baby mussels”, you’ve guessed right!
These little babies grow in there for protection, and finally get as large as those you see in the kids’ hands. Beautiful emerald edges, when you turn them to the light.
An unexpected treat! We sighted some otters! The video shows at least one of them chomping on a juicy large fish whilst frolicking in the sea.
They came quite near the beach, but didn’t come onto land. Always so fun to see these sleek creatures with their cute squeaky calls.
I was quite impressed with how clear the water was – we could see our feet clearly as we strolled along and the waves lapped onto the shore. However, the beach itself sadly did have the usual scattering of plastic packaging and other forms of litter. Nonetheless, its seclusion made for a pleasant morning.
What makes this beach unique are its black boulders, seemingly tossed onto the white sands, like marbles from a giant’s hand.
Here are some other photos of little things that delighted us. Bird footprints!
Doggie footprints!
We really enjoyed exploring Punggol Beach. Such a tiny stretch of beach, but quietly idyllic with so much to observe. A truly beautiful morning with great friends. Glory be to God for his creation, and for the beauty of friendship.
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