TERN - Sooty Tern (Sept 2026 - Lifer Pelagic 604/688)

First spotted by brother XianLim feeding amongst white-winged and whiskered. The Sooty silhouette points to a juvenile/ first winter plummage with dark body and a white vent. This is a vagrant 

The sooty tern (Onychoprion fuscatus) is a tern in the family Laridae. It is a seabird of the tropical oceans and can fly for years at a time, skimming the sea surface for food, and returning to land only to breed, on islands throughout the equatorial zone.

It is a medium-large tern,  in the size of 36–45 cm (14–17.5 in) long with an 82–94 cm (32.5–37 in) wingspan, It is more larger than the bridled by 10cm/4 inches. The wings and tail are long, and it has black to dark blackish-brown upperparts and white underparts, and a white forehead. The tail is moderately wide/deeply forked 

A black tern was also found perch on the cliff of Pulau Perak which was a good record when the boat was circumventing the island. A record shot was taken by the sharp eye of XianLim. Hope to see it when we plan to do our  second  trip again in November 2026 which is peak season for migrants.

Bottom bird .....not sure what tern or jaeger?

 

BOOBY 1/3 - Red-footed Booby (2026 Lifer 603/688 ) September 2026

Looks like the Adult white morph Brown Booby

This is one of my mega lifer of 2026. An invitation to Pulau Perak was send out to my gang when news that this bird was sighted roosting there. It was more than a month then and I was worried the bird may left as it is a vagrant or passage migrant.  

When we reached the rocky faced island at about 5.00pm we were disappointed that the bird was missing at its regular perch. Everyone were gloomy that we may have missed the window to see this rarity vagrant. Then at about 5.45pm Xialim shouted Red-footed it back from its outing. Everybody were alive and shooting at their own pace. The bird was going round and round our boat amongst the other Brown Boobies. I was struggling to shoot it in the air. All blurred in the dusk lighting as the sun setting behind the island.

 In the next morning we were hoping to have another session of shooting the bird. Some of us got to shoot it at the perch in the early morning of 6.30am. It flew out to the sea toward the east so early everyone were taken aback wtflower! 

Avian Sighting October 2026 - Comb Duck @ Knob-billed

In the month of October 2026  my blog have touched 1,000,000 visitors. Yahoooo

At the same time  I was down to Sg Balang to try to see the Red-necked Phalarope but it left the vicinity after 2 days sighting. Instead we found a pair of Comb duck in the flooded padi field which are also on passage farther south. Sighting of this duck had increased year on year like the Asian Glossy Ibis. In September 2026 a group of 10 ducks were sighted in Serkam padi fields Melaka. This pair may be separated from that group. This is my second time shooting this duck.

 

BOOBY 2/3 - Brown Booby (2026 lifer 602/688) September 2026

Nestling at left 

A colony of Brown Booby of about 30-50 pairs reside on the rocky face of Pulau Perak. In September a few nestling were sighted in their whitish feathers.

They are large seabird of inshore and offshore waters in tropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian, and western Pacific Oceans. Feeds primarily on small schooling fish such as flying fish, sardines, and anchovies, and also takes squid. Hunts by plunge-diving from low to moderate heights and may pursue prey underwater with strong kicks. Often forages in flocks, especially where predatory fish drive prey to the surface. Will follow fishing vessels and exploit baitfish or discards when available.

The booby's head and upper body (back) is covered in dark brown to blackish plumage, with the remainder (belly) being a contrasting white. The bare-part colours vary geographically, but not seasonally. The species also displays sexual dimorphism of the bare part colours, the males having a blue orbital ring, as opposed to the yellow orbital ring of the female.

Female boobies reach about 80 centimetres (31 in) in length; their wingspans measure up to 150 cm (4.9 ft), and they can weigh up to 1,300 g (2.9 lb). Male boobies reach about 75 centimetres (30 in) in length; their wingspans measure up to 140 cm (4.6 ft), and they can weigh up to 1,000 g (2.2 lb).

Unlike other species of sulid, the juvenile plumage already resembles that of the adult. They are grey brown with darkening on the head, upper surfaces of the wings and tail, while the lower breast and underpart plumages are heavily flecked brown on white.

Their beaks are quite sharp and contain jagged edges. They have fairly short wings resulting in a fast flap rate, but long, tapered tails. While these birds are typically silent, they occasionally make grunting or quacking sounds.

 

SHEARWATER 3/4- Wedged-tailed Shearwater (lifer 601/688 Pelagic 3/30) September 2026

Wedge-tailed shearwaters feed pelagically  on fish, squid and crustaceans. Their diet is 66% fish, of which the most commonly taken is goatfish. The species was thought to mostly take food from surface feeding, but observations of feeding wedge-tails suggested that contact-dipping, where birds flying close to the surface snatch prey from the water was the most commonly used hunting technique. However, a 2001 study which deployed maximum depth recorders found that 83% of wedge-tails dived during foraging trips with a mean maximum depth of 14 m (46 ft) and that they could achieve a depth of 66 m.

This is my third Shearwater of Malaysia .....other than the Short-tailed which is a Pacific ocean bird but still frequently sighted in northern west coast seas of peninsula Malaysia. If you see that the legs are longer than its tail it most likely the bird. In future there may be even a Sooty sighting in the water of Malaysia been blown to our seas in extreme weather..

They are open sea dwellers and are sea  duck (web footed). In Malacca straits, they are visitors in July - November. We were fortunate to see many small feeding groups of a few to 10 birds. You can see them along the way to Pulau Perak a distance of 180 odd km. Feeding amongst terns. 

They are medium size pelagic of upto 1.5 feet /46cm. Overall its dark brown body in entirety.  There is pale morph which looks like Streaked but the beak is still black unlike the pale beak of the Streaked. Of course the wedged-tail shape when maneuvering & shearing the surface of waves; feet are red and when flying its tail is wedged as per se.

They breeds in Indian and Pacific Islands and many records in the coast of Australia Islands. They are monogamous for good unless failed nesting may split the pair.... 

A pair of Streaked Shearwater feeding amongst the many Wedged-tail

Tail is wedged

 

SHEARWATER 1/4 - Streaked Shearwater (2026 Lifer 599/688) September 2026

 This species is pelagic, but is also found in inshore waters. It occurs in the Pacific ocean, nesting in Japan and the Korean peninsula , predominantly on their offshore island. After breeding, the streaked shearwater migrate south, feeding in the seas off northern New Guinea, the Arafura Sea, and the South China Sea. I am not sure whether they fly over to Strait of Malacca at the narrowest section of Thailand peninsula to Andaman seas then down south. 

The Streaked ( left) is larger than the Wedge-tailed

This shearwater has broad wings with a brown upper side and white underwings. The head and neck are flecked white to almost complete white. The face and underparts are all white. The bill is grey to pink with a dark tip while the feet are pinkish-grey.

Streaked shearwaters have a body length (from tip of bill to end of tail feathers) of 45 to 52 centimetres (18 to 20 in) and a wingspan between 103 and 113 centimetres (41 and 44 in).

The streaked shearwater feeds mainly on fish and squids. It follows fishing boats, attracted to anchovy crawls off Japan and has been known to be taken as by-catch in nets or drowned when ingesting the bait on long-line fishing lines.

The streaked shearwater nests in burrows. It prefers forested hills. This bird is abundant and widespread; however, some mortality occurs through becoming entangled in fishing nets, and from some predation by cats and rats. In addition, it is harvested by some traditional endemic human cultures.

A pair in paler grey head and caudal bottom is white compared to the Wedge-tailed

The rarity of Streaked encountered was 1:50 compared to the sighted Wedge-tailed during our trip. We also sighted a new sighting of a Tropical Shearwater  in Strait of Malacca.

A threesome

SHEARWATER (2/4) - Tropical Shearwater (Pelagic Lifer 600/688) September 2026

Photo courtesy of AT

Photo courtesy of LowKH

This Tropical Shearwater is the first record sighting in the waters of peninsula Malaysia  about 130km off the coast of Kedah towards  Tekun Perak @ Pulau Perak. It was first sighted by our spotter XianLim saying aloud a Short-tailed which was then reconfirmed a probable Tropical shearwater. With its guidance every one of us manage to shoot the rarity vagrant which had  wandered off from the Indian Ocean to northern straits of Malacca. 

Our boatman was just fantastic as it chases down the bird for a good 5 minutes without missing a beat at 35-40 knots. The boat was bumping up and down as we try to shoot it on the move,. Side by side with the bird gliding over the waves; we hope it will settle down in the water. As it tired out we saw it landed off about 300m away as we move nearer for some better shots. It is easier to shoot it when it start to fly off. Surely it did and we got sharper pictures for that moment. Everyone  were happy to record this lifer!.

Photo courtesy of XL

 

Streaked as compared

Streaked shearwater feeding amongst big fishes chasing up the anchovies

My setting was damn out 1/8000 on my fuji XT5+XF150-400mm ISO2000 Still poor short. Time to change to Sony 

My take,,,,..thought I did not get it! Yahooooo my 600th lifer and a rarity