Bird Guides

Bird Guides of the World: Jason Bugay Reyes

October 20, 2026 by Editor No Comments

What is your favorite bird species?

Indigo Flycatcher

Bornean Banded Pitta

What is your name, and where do you live?

My name is Jason Bugay Reyes, and I live in a village in Tuaran district, not far from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo

What are the main regions or locations you cover as a bird guide?

Birding around Sabah and North Sarawak.

Bornean Stubtail

How long have you been a bird guide?

Since 2007

How did you get into bird guiding?

After a good friend of mine showed me the Blue-throated Bee-Eater perched on the electric pole in 2003.

Bornean Peacock-Pheasant

What are the aspects of being a bird guide that you like best?

Watching those lovely birds and lifers together with clients from all over the world

Which aspects do you dislike most?

Impatient clients and questioning my guiding method.

What are the top 5-10 birds in your region that are the most interesting for visiting birders?

I would start from the mountain: Whitehead’s Trogon, Fruithunter, Mountain Serpent Eagle and down to the lowland are the Blue-banded Pitta, Bornean Peacock-Pheasant, Bornean Ground-Cuckoo, Bornean Bristlehead, Black-faced Kingfisher, Black Oriole and Dulit Frogmouth.

Giant 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

Trip at Mt. Trusmadi, Mt. Kinabalu and Telupid for approximately around 4 days 3 nights with key species such as Bulwer’s Pheasant, Bornean Banded Pitta and Bornean Peacock-Pheasant from the bird hides and Whitehead’s Trogon, Bornean Stubtail and other montane birds from the trails.

Whitehead’s Trogon

What other suggestions can you give to birders interested in your area?

The best birding time is year-round, with the busiest months from July to October.

Helmeted Hornbill

If any readers of 10,000 Birds are interested in birding with you, how can they best contact you?

Black-faced Kingfisher

Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers of 10,000 Birds?

I am a member of the Borneo 400 club in Sabah and represent Swarovski Optik, Austria, as one of the brand ambassadors since 2013, with a specialty in Digiscoping and bird sound recording. My other passion is coffee!