What is your favorite bird species?
Trogons
Whitehead’s Trogon
What is your name, and where do you live?
Andrew J. Sebastian, Malaysia
What are the main regions or locations you cover as a bird guide?
Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia, and West Papua
How long have you been a bird guide?
24 years
How did you get into bird guiding?
A Red-headed Trogon turned up in front of me one day – and no looking back since!
Black-crowned Pitta
What are the aspects of being a bird guide that you like best? Which aspects do you dislike most?
The thrill on the faces of the clients when we hit target birds!
Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise
What are the top 5-10 birds in your region that are the most interesting for visiting birders?
- Black-and-yellow Broadbill
- Black-crowned Pitta
- Blue-banded Pitta
- Bornean Banded Pitta
Blue-banded Pitta
Can you outline at least one typical birdwatching trip in your area? Please briefly describe the locations, the key birds, and the approximate duration of such a trip
Day 1: KOTA KINABALU-KINABALU PARK
Meet at Kota Kinabalu airport. Head to Tanjung Aru (a 10-minute drive) to target coastal birds, especially the Blue-rumped Parrot along with Green Imperial Pigeons, Collared Kingfisher, White-breasted Wood-swallows, etc. Drive 1.5 hours to Kinabalu Park for evening birds. Overnight Perkasa Hotel (or similar).
Day 2: KINABALU PARK, FULL DAY
Target Birds: Mountain / Kinabalu Serpent Eagle (E), Black-sided Flowerpecker (E), Whiteheads Spiderhunter (E), Mountain Barbet (E), Bornean Bulbul (E), Bornean Treepie (E), Sunda Laughing-thrush (E), Whiteheads Trogon (E), Whiteheads Broadbill (E), Chestnut-crested Yuhina (E) etc
Day 3: KINABALU PARK – TAMBUNAN
Spend most of the day at the park, check out from the hotel, and drive 2 hours to Tambunan town for 2 nights. Check in at Paddy View Guesthouse.
Day 4: TAMBUNAN
Early drive 45 minutes to Trusmadi Hide. We spend almost the full day here at a comfortable hide with megastar birds. Lunch at the hide.
Targets: Bulwer’s Pheasant (E), Bornean Banded Pitta (E), White-crowned Shama (E), Crested Partridge etc. Return to Paddy View, Tambunan.
Bornean Banded Pitta
Day 5: TAMBUNAN – TELUPID
Check out Tambunan, 1-hour drive to Gunung Alab. Upper montane bird hide for close views of some amazing endemics.
Targets: Crimson-headed Partridge (E), Red-breasted Partridge (E), Hooded Laughingthrush (E), Sunda Laughingthrush (E) etc.
Depart Gunung Alab for Kota Kinabalu (2 hours) with lunch along the way and get dropped off at the Kota Kinabalu Airport or a hotel in the city. END OF TOUR.
Rhinoceros Hornbill
What other suggestions can you give to birders interested in your area?
The best season is between mid-February to April and from July to early November.
Black-and-yellow Broadbill
If any reader of 10,000 Birds is interested in birding with you, how can they best contact you?
Email at ajsebastian@hotmail.com or on my FB at https://www.facebook.com/andrew.j.sebastian/ or IG at https://www.instagram.com/andrewjsebastian/?hl=en
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