Based on my many years in this line, I have entered and inspected more then 50 birdhouses mainly in Kedah, Selangor and Perak.
Not a single birdhouse have the same design and this is mainly due to the shape of the shop units and of course they were being converted to birdhouses by different contractors/consultants.
When you are invited to enter a birdhouse, you must be ready with a few recommended things. The most important is to carry with you good pair of torchlight. Make sure they are with new batteries. Or else you will see nothing much. The nesting rooms are pretty dark unless you have a set of cat eyes.
Other precautions that I usually take is to wear a dust mask and cover my head with a base-ball cap. I want to ensure that I will not breathe in those mites and dust plus I want to protect my head from those bird shit propels by those baby birds.
The key to a successful birdhouse visit is to be very observant and perhaps list down all the things that you wanted to observe.
The room configuration, the darkness, the nesting areas, the roving areas, the bird entrance holes, the nesting planks, the number of tweeters, the location and number of fake nests used, the humidifiers and sprayers system, the pools, the water spray on the walls and many more.
In normal circumstances you will first enter the control room. The main door are usually made of steel. Once entered, you will be able to observe those sound system and some will have the CCTV in operation. Some places that I went into they have all kind of things including spare parts, sockets, cover coners, balance of nesting woods that are stored either on the floor or a specially fabricated racks.
For a two stories high building, you will usually enter the ground floor nesting room first. Get your torchlight ready and lock your dust mask. Once you are in, you need to look where you are stepping. Yes, scan the building floor. Look at the what are there on the floors and make sure you put them in your memory. There will be lots of bird shits, the pool, the floor wetness, the humidifiers plus maybe some dead birds???
Once that is done, look at the walls. Its color, textures, the height, anything that were applied on them (like bird shit sludge?), any wires hanging out, any thermometers, any wall clock, any lighting system, any water sprays and so forth. Check the temperature and humidity (Maximum please).
Then U look up to the roof/ceiling. Oh yes, this is where the real excitement starts. First you look at the wooden planks arrangements. Are they in parallel strips or matrix? How far are they apart? What about the tiers arrangements on the wall and those ceiling column? Are there any of them. What about the number of tweeters being installed? Where are they facing (probably towards the entrance hole). Can U see any fake nests? Where are they installed. Is it in the middle of the plank or closed to the corner? Are they very closed to the tweeters?
What about the corner covers? Do the owner used them? If yes, what are they made off? Are they made of wood, metal or miscellaneous. What shape are they?
Now you can start searching for those bird nests. The best is to look for their bird shits spots on the floor. Search the spots on the floor and once you are facing it just look up. That is how to find those precious white GOLD. See how they are constructed. Are there any baby birds in them? Are they very close to the ceiling? Which part of the wood panel do they usually located and why?
Try to find a very new nest that are about to start being build. These are small marking on the wood panel and they looks like jelly. If U can U should snap some pictures.
What about those nests constructed at corner covers? See how many of them in one square meter.
Then again you should also pay good attention on those fake nests tenant. How many are there and are they being tenanted? If U are not sure just look down and see any birdshit markings on the floor just below them.
Try not to make too much noise while you are inside a birdhouse. If you want to ask any question please whisper to your Sifu. Noise will cause the birds to jump out of their nest. This rough action might cause those eggs to fall off or the baby birds to fall down.
You can now move to the upper floor. Make sure you walk on the right side of the staircase. Most of these staircases are without hand rails. If you want to use the hand rails please make sure U have your glove on. There will be lots of bird shits on them....
On the upper level, U do the same but now you have to focus on the roving and the entrance rooms. You must try to be as observant as possible. Look at all of them and learn from it.
What is the size of the roving area? How big is the entrance hole? How many? Where are they being located? How close are they to the corner of the building and how low below the ceiling? Which direction are they facing. If you bring your compass can you check on the real directions of the entrance hole(s).
So these are some of the things that I also do when I enter any birdhouse....
They are many more that I look at but the above are just nice to follow....
For me I will be also looking for any sign of termites path, any sign of termite eating the wooden planks, any sign of dead birds on the floor, any eggs fallen down, any sign of moulds growing on the ceiling, any rat's shits, any sign of bird bones, and many more.... What about those insect producing pails? Are they working? The gap between the ceiling and the wooden plank? The thickness and the width of the nesting planks being used. Any groove on them?
If you want to be a good Sifu, you must be very observant and ensure that you cover more then 95% of the what I mentioned above ......
Just try to follow what I have outlined. I guarantee you that you have more satisfactions then just wanted to see how many bird nests are there in the house.....
Do you see any bird shits thrown on the walls in the roving area? Can you estimate how many shits are there?
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