Amazing Animals

The Joy Of Birding And Bird Photography

Blue-shouldered kite

Bird watching and photography is a great source of happiness for me. The joy of photographing a bird that I have never photographed before gives me a sense of thrill and joyful glee. On my January 1 2022 trip to the Kuala Baram Wetlands, I was able to capture sharp images of a lesser adjutant and a stork-billed kingfisher.  The ...

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The Lesser Adjutants 

It was on the January 1 of this year that I encountered a lesser adjutant (秃鹳 in Chinese or Burung-Botak Kecil in Malay) for the first time in my life at Kuala Baram Wetlands. I viewed that as a great start to 2022! The Lesser Adjutants (Leptoptilos javanicus) are large wading birds in the stork family Ciconiidae that are found in South and South-east Asia. They ...

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Seahorses

The seahorse at Miri Waterfront

The seahorse is Miri’s official mascot. It is little wonder that you can see seahorse mascots all over the city. The biggest seahorse in Miri is the iconic 25 metre tall seahorse lighthouse located at Coco Cabana. It is one of the top favourite photography spots in the city. Another very popular seahorse is the one located at Miri Waterfront. ...

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Shiba Inu Dogs

Shiba Inu dogs

A breed of dogs is enjoying worldwide popularity thanks to hot meme cryptocurrencies. I am talking about Shiba Inu dogs. In 2013 the crypto world was introduced to Shiba Inus when Dogecoin, created by IBM software engineer Billy Markus and Adobe software engineer Jackson Palmer as a joke in response to other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, picked the breed as its mascot. The viral meme,  called ...

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Wallace’s Hawk-Eagle

Wallace's hawk-eagle

I have been photographing birds for quite a long time but it was only on October 1 this year that I managed to come across a Wallace’s hawk-eagle for the first time in Piasau Boat Club area. Since then, I managed to encounter it again on October 11. It gave me great joy to be able to photograph the beautiful ...

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The Spectacular Peregrine Falcon

A peregrine falcon seen at Kuala Baram Wetlands

Regarded as one of the noblest and most spectacular of all birds of prey, the peregrine falcon is reputed to be the world’s fastest bird as well as the fastest member of the animal kingdom, capable of reaching 200 miles per hour with its continuous powerful wingbeats. Its speed makes it a formidable hunter that preys on other birds in ...

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Pied Triller

A lovely pied triller seen at Piasau Nature Reserve

The pied triller is a smallish black and white bird in the Campephagidae family that is widespread and very common lowland resident  in Brunei, India, Indonesia, the Philiipines, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. It feeds on insects and worms. Though this is a very common bird, I have only encountered it three or four times during my bird photography outings.

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Owls Are Amazing Creatures

Barred Eagle-Owl

I have always been fascinated by owls. I recently had my first opportunity of seeing an owl in the wild at Piasau Nature Reserve. It was a barred eagle-owl that reminds me of Yoda of The Star Wars fame. The most striking thing about owls is their eyes. The eyes of an owl are not true eyeballs. Their tubular-shaped eyes, ...

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Enchanted By Feathered Friends At Jurong Bird Park

On my second day in Singapore at the beginning of this month, I visited Jurong Bird Park alone while my wife and my son Leslie went shopping. A visit to the park has been on my bucket list for a few years so it felt great to be able to tick off that item on my bucket list. I bought ...

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