Batam 01Jun24

Attendees: Danny, JS, KH and Rob

From JS

Ferry from Harbour Front, Singapore to Sekupang, Indonesia

Batam pelagic

Bridled Tern

Swinhoe's Storm-Petrel

Ferry back from Sekupang to Singapore

Singapore Strait 13Oct18

From KH

Danny, JS and I joined this pelagic trip organised by Martin. The tern numbers were still good, but the storm-petrel numbers have dropped significantly.

We counted 24 Aleutian Terns! Here are some of them:

Bridled Tern swallowing fish while in flight.

The one and only Common Tern on this trip - of the longipennis subspecies.

Yellow for Great Crested Tern and orange for Lesser Crested Tern.

Swinhoe's Storm-petrel resting on the sea.

1. 24 dark swiftlet sp.
2. 116 Bridled Tern
3. 24 Aleutian Tern
4. 1 Little Tern
5. 1 Common Tern
6. 54 Great Crested Tern
7. 20 Lesser Crested Tern
8. 16 Swinhoe's Storm-Petrel
9. 1 Little Egret
10. 15 white egret sp.
11. 1 Gray Heron
12. 2 Brahminy Kite
13. 2 White-bellied Sea-Eagle
14. 13 Barn Swallow

Singapore Strait 08Apr18

From KH

Seetoh organised this trip where we took one boat out. Today, there were only terns, like these Black-naped Terns on the red buoy and this Bridled Tern in flight.

On Pulau Jong, we had a pair of Great-billed Herons and White-bellied Sea-eagles.

1. 3 Gray Heron
2. 2 Great-billed Heron - A pair on P. Jong
3. 1 Changeable Hawk-Eagle
4. 1 Brahminy Kite
5. 2 White-bellied Sea-Eagle - A pair on P. Jong
6. 2 Bridled Tern
7. 3 Aleutian Tern
8. 1 White-winged Tern
9. 22 Black-naped Tern
10. 3 Pied Imperial-Pigeon
11. 20 dark swiftlet sp.
12. 1 House Swift - Off Sisters' Island
13. 2 Barn Swallow

When we landed on Pulau Hantu, we saw some fisherman with these pretty fish. For dinner?

Anchor Tuskfish (Choerodon anchorago)


Spanish Flag Snapper (Lutjanus carponotatus)

It was great to know the Mangrove Whistler was back on Pulau Hantu singing away!

1. 1 Great-billed Heron
2. 2 Brahminy Kite
3. 1 Asian Koel - Male
4. 2 Collared Kingfisher
5. 1 Golden-bellied Gerygone - Heard
6. 1 Mangrove Whistler - Singing
7. 1 Tiger Shrike
8. 1 Malaysian Pied-Fantail
9. 2 Large-billed Crow
10. 2 Yellow-vented Bulbul
11. 1 Ashy Tailorbird
12. 1 Oriental Magpie-Robin - Male
13. 2 Plain-throated Sunbird - A pair

Singapore Strait 06May17

From JS

Facing stormy weather from the west, we headed out into the Straits of Singapore. Unlike last Saturday's outing, we had a mission to find a Swinhoe's Storm-petrel for Subaraj's client. Of course, the mission is only binding to Subaraj. We were just interested to find any birds that are passing through our waters.

We had a great start when Frank spotted an all-dark bird flying in the distance. Photos captured revealed a Short-tailed/Sooty Shearwater.

Next, we saw feeding Little Terns everywhere we go.

Just when things was starting to get quiet, we spotted four dark blobs on the water aka sitting ducks. It must a relief for Subaraj when the birds turned out to be Swinhoe's Storm-petrels. Great! A new tick for the diehard birder. Honestly, Singapore's waters are really good for this species - much to the boredom of the residents... Nevertheless, we have learnt to find joy in the subtle behaviors and one individual even went to the extent of feeding right before our eyes. It was tiptoeing on the water as it repeatedly bowed its head to scavenge floating "food". Alas, its "food" was the plastic waste strewn all over the waters. *:(( crying

Besides the four storm-petrels, we encountered a further dozen more and another single Short-tailed Shearwater.

That was the end of the five minutes of excitement. We floated around for another two hours without any notable sightings. Again, when things had gotten too quiet, eight terns flew passed our boat, heading westwards. Frank got a bit skeptical about their preliminary identity, Bridled Terns. Thanks to his skepticism, we found two greyer individuals among the eight and they were Common Terns of the longipennis race in breeding plumage, sporting an all-black cap and white tail streamers. Lovely!

Since it was past noon, we decided to head home. Facing St John's island, we spotted another all-dark bird, gliding above the surface of the water. The flight was rather slow with more gliding than flapping. My preliminary id of the bird was Short-Tailed Shearwater while Frank was leaning towards a Storm-Petrel. We were both wrong. It was none other than the area's third sighting of the Bulwer's Petrel.

The appearance of the Bulwer's Petrel brought life to the boat. Yes, the bird has been seen a week ago. But, who would believe that a pelagic bird would linger for a week? The id of the bird was cast in stone and the only questions in our heads were "was it in Singapore's waters?" and "are Bulwer's Petrels passing through our waters regularly?" Such trivial questions make the aftermath of seeing a bird more fun. The experience lingers longer when there is some reflection. Amazingly, the Bulwer's Petrel, a bird not recorded in our last couple of dozens of boat trips, was to be our last bird of this memorable trip. What a great closure!

1. Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii) 1
2. Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris) 1
3. Sooty/Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna grisea/tenuirostris) 1
4. Swinhoe's Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma monorhis) 14
5. Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) 4
6. White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) 1
7. Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) 2
8. Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus) 6
9. Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) 31
10. Black-naped Tern (Sterna sumatrana) 3
11. Common Tern (longipennis) (Sterna hirundo longipennis) 2
12. Lesser Crested Tern (Thalasseus bengalensis) 7
13. tern sp. (Sterninae sp.) 10
14. swiftlet sp. (Aerodramus sp.) 10
15. Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 1

Singapore Strait 29Apr17

From JS

On 29 April 2017, we joined the pelagic trip (2x boats) organised by See Toh and Francis. Straits of Singapore is probably one of the last few frontiers for birdwatching in Singapore. There are still a lot of knowledge to discover concerning the movement of seabirds through this part of the world. With a bit of fortuity, a vagrant may appear - which is the case in other waters of the world. For birdwatchers seeking an additional tick for their Singapore list, the Straits of Singapore is the place to explore.

Setting off at 7am from Sister's islands where we had just cleared customs, we headed eastwards towards Horsburgh Lighthouse, our key destination for the day. For the first one and a half hour, we saw nothing. The weather was not favorable with dark clouds before us. Our first bird was a pair of Little Terns. Following which, we encountered an Arctic Skua in the distant. Thereafter, it was just Bridled Terns and Short-Tailed Shearwaters capturing our attention. To think that a couple of years ago, the latter was not even recorded and our count has exceeded 10 by the time we had reached Horsburgh Lighthouse!!!

Bridled Terns

Short-tailed Shearwaters

At Horsburgh Lighthouse, I was honored to finally record the Black-Nest Swiftlet for my Singapore list. To do so, I had to spot the birds on the black nest built below the window ledge of the buildings on the outcrop. Tough work!

Another interesting sighting at the lighthouse was a pod of three Indo-pacific Humpback Dolphins including one calf. To demonstrate our delight for the sighting, we actually spent additionally time circling the outcrop two times in search of them. Alas, they did not show again...

Indo-pacific Humpback Dolphin

Heading back, we stayed close to the Indonesian side of the International waters. This rewarded us with further sightings of Short-Tailed Shearwaters, Bridled Terns, three White-Winged Terns (including one individual moulting to breeding plumage) and an Aleutian Tern in breeding plumage. Great sightings, especially the birds in breeding plumages.

White-winged Tern

Aleutian Tern

Hoping to find something different, we checked the yellow buoys off the coastline of Indonesia and found resting Lesser Crested Terns, a new bird for the trip.

Just as we were leaving the last buoy to head back to Singapore, we saw an all-dark bird gliding at the surface of the waters. The flight of the bird resembled that of the Shearwaters. Thus, I was too quick to identify it as just another "Short-Tailed Shearwater". Thankfully, See Toh was quick to point out something unusual about the bird - it had pale upperwing coverts. This was no shearwater, it was a passing Bulwer's Petrel!!! Out of our excitement, we actually made a U-turn and attempted to look for the bird. The bird was probably long gone by then but we just wanted so much to re-find it. The significance of the sighting was simply the bird has yet to be recorded in our Singapore checklist. Any sighting of the species could mean a step closer to its inclusion...

Bulwer's Petrel

After seeing 10 species of seabirds, including a potentially new species for the Singapore checklist, all the participants were in fine spirit. All of us would like the birds to come closer to our boats but as with any pelagic outings, nothing is certain. The potential of finding new birds or the risk of going home empty handed makes pelagic outings so interesting. With eagerness, we await our next pelagic adventure...

1. Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii) 1
2. Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris) 27
3. Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) 1
4. Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) 1
5. White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) 1
6. Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus) 2
7. Long-tailed Skua (Stercorarius longicaudus) 2 - Species only seen by participants on another boat
8. Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus) 26
9. Aleutian Tern (Onychoprion aleuticus) 2
10. Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) 2
11. White-winged Black Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) 3
12. Black-naped Tern (Sterna sumatrana) 4
13. Lesser Crested Tern (Thalasseus bengalensis) 22
14. tern sp. (Sterninae sp.) 36
15. Black-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus maximus) 100
16. Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus) 4
17. Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 3
18. Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica) 10

Pacific Swift

Batu Gajah, Sawah Ring, Sg Balang, Parit Jawa, Malacca Strait 22-23Sep12

From KH

Con, Danny and I joined Ang and his friends for birding at the padi fields and Malacca Strait.

We spent the first day in the padi fields and what a hot day it was. As the padi fields were pretty dry, there were not many waders, although we did find Wood Sandpipers, Common Sandpipers, Pacific Golden Plovers and Red-wattled Lapwings. Herons (Purple and Little), egrets (Cattle, Little, Intermediate and Great) and bitterns (Cinnamon and Yellow) were common in the fields. Other birds of note were a Watercock, Oriental Reed Warblers and Grey Wagtails. In one of the rivers, there were Common Moorhens, Purple Swamphens and Lesser Whistling Ducks.

At Sungei Balang, there were many grassland birds - munias (White-rumped, White-headed and Scaly-breasted), Baya Weavers, Zitting Cisticolas and a Paddyfield Pipit. We managed to locate two boxes with Barn Owls in them. As it was still too early for raptors, we only saw Black-winged and Brahminy Kites.

The second day, by contrast, was really wet! It rained on and off the whole morning. While having breakfast, a pair of Oriental Pied Hornbills on antenna were a welcoming sight. After breakfast, we took a boat trip from Parit Jawa to the Malacca Strait and spent about 4 hours out in the sea (around 9 am to 1 pm).

Lesser Adjutants - the iconic birds of Parit Jawa.

Lesser Adjutants

First, we encounter the commoner terns, like Little Terns, White-winged Terns and Great Crested Terns pretty near the coast and at the kelongs.

White-winged Tern

Great Crested Tern

As we went further out, we started seeing Bridled Terns heading south. We counted about 100 birds by the end of the boat trip.

Bridled Tern

The first star bird of the trip appeared around 9:45 am. It was an Aleutian Tern - a lifer for the Malaysian birders. The bird can be told apart from others by the white forehead, thin black bill, thin black trailing edge on the secondaries, white leading edge and pale rump.

Aleutian Tern

Before long, we encountered our first Swinhoe's Storm Petrel - another lifer for the Malaysian birders. We would see another two later. Finally, we spotted a pod of dolphins on the way back.

The final count of pelagic birds:
Swinhoe's Storm Petrel 3
Aleutian Tern 1
Common Tern 2
Bridled Tern ~100
Lesser Crested Tern 1
Great Crested Tern ~50
White-winged Tern ~10
Little Tern ~5

And water birds at Parit Jawa:
Lesser Adjutant 15
Grey Heron 5
Little Heron 3
Little Egret 5
Greater Sand Plover 1
Lesser Sand Plover >20
Common Greenshank 1
Common Redshank >20
Common Sandpiper 3
Terek Sandpiper >20
Whimbrel 1
Black-tailed Godwit 2
Red-necked Stint 5

From Con

http://confoley.com/parit-jawa-september-2012

Singapore Strait, Imbiah 15Sep12

From Colin

Swinhoe's Storm-petrel 470 W
Bridled Tern 296 E
Aleutian Tern 15-20
Common Tern 1-2
Great Crested Tern 22
Lesser Crested Tern 1
White-winged Tern 1

The numbers of all are remarkably similar to same weekend in 2011.

From Con

http://confoley.com/pelagic-outing-september-2012

Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins

Great Crested Tern

Bridled Tern

Aleutian Tern (front) and White-winged Tern (back)

Aleutian Tern

Swinhoe's Storm-petrel

From JS

Swinhoe's Storm-petrels

From KH

After the boat trip, Danny, JS and I went to Imbiah to look for the Hwamei, but none were found...

There were also not many birds, but we did see Coconut Lorikeet, bulbuls (Olive-winged, Yellow-vented) and other common birds.