Pelagic Birding - Pulau Perak Kedah September 2026

This my inaugural pelagic birding excursion in the month of September 2026. This I hope I will be abled to chalk up my photographed lifers to 600s ....  Yahoo! Pulau Perak here we come. The trip was organised by Lili and XianLim and my gang of 4 signed up immediately. Sadly one of my team member have family issue in the last days and cannot make it. The seat was taken immediately by fellow member.

Photo extract from fellow Blogspot blogger@ JL CyberCapt

Perak Island (Malay: Pulau Perak, Jawi ڤولاو ڤيراق) is a small rocky island which constitutes the western most of Peninsula Malaysia. Its diameter is around 200 meters. The island is a sandstone rock that rises from the Strait of Melaka. It has a steep cliff with a height of more than 100m. This is now the new reference viewing hill point for Islamic Calendar calculation, replacing Tanjung Chinchin in Langkawi. The rock outcrop is protected as an army radar station. Unmanned apparently but remotely monitored from Langkawi. 

Perak Island is part of the Malaysian state of Kedah, administered under Yan district. It is expected to be designated as a marine protected sanctuary. The island is 158 km northwest of Penang, the nearest metropolitan area. From the Jetty Nosh, Sg Petani to Pulau Perak may take 5-8 hours depending on your speedboat detour looking for birds. Apparently it is also good diving & fishing spot.

Now the target  lifer list are many as listed here:-

1.Species of migrant Storm-petrel (Swinhoe's & Wilson's)

2.Species of  migrant Shearwater (Wedge-tailed, Streaked,Short-tailed, Tropical )

4. Brown Booby (resident)

5. Red-footed Booby (vagrant migrant)

6. Terns & Gulls

7. Frigatebirds

Nosh cater to overnight group excursion for a fees of about RM 3000-8000.00 for overnight depending size of boat and  how you bargain or return customer rate. Our  boat seats 10 pax maximum More than that is too crowded. We booked the 50 feet long Battuta boat which is quite new and properly maintained. The boat is fast 35-40knots per hour; powered by twin   250hp Yamaha rotor. For high sea birding it is better to have a bigger size boat. If not it will too rocky to shoot the flying birds.

Everyone is smiling gayfully as everyone got at least a lifer 

Seawaves condition in September-October should be calmer unless thunderstorm  is forecast then we will be in choppy water. Sometime it is good to hunt for Storm-petrels along the edge of the storm.

Our birding modus operandi on the high sea was to approach fishing boats which can  attracts many birds especially terns but alas no gulls. These pelagics hunt for fishes on the surface of the sea unlike the shearwater noody and booby which dive into the water to chase fishes. We are grateful to have 2 good spotter WaiL and XianL to  seach of birds in the vast waters as we move eastward to Pulau Perak.