My Research In Kinarut On How To Double The Nests Population Within 6 Months !!!

Is it possible to multiply the total number of nests in a BH from 300 to 600 within 6 months?

It will be a big challenge and if this is possible I will be delighted to tell all of you how to do it.

All that I needed is a BH whose owner will carry out all the things that I have planned for his BH.

He should be committed to the set of rules and diligently carry out the scheduled visits and what to be done.

I have a very good feeling that this BH located in Kinarut will be see the predicted result.

So far I have spoken to him on what I have planned and all he need to do is to follow those steps.

To materialize the target nests number I will be using the "Super Pheromone" as the key source of the plan.

It was proven on many occasions that once the pheromone is used the nests number will suddenly surged to an unusual numbers.

For this Kinarut BH the owner was not aware about it however his maintenance supervisor has been following my instructions.

He admitted that he applied a few times and those birds loved it.

What I told him to do now is to consume at least one canister during every visit into the BH.

I told him to put more effort to spray the pheromone on any new spots that were made by those swiftlet.

All those fake nests without any tenants should be wet with the spray.

He should clean the  floor so that he can evaluate those fresh bird shit spots newly formed.

It is not the owner who will be the key person to push the population up but his supervisor.

I plan to ship a few litres of the double concentrated liquid pheromone and my instruction to the supervisor is to apply inside a selected room.

Let see how it perform but my gut feeling is very positive.

Something which every BH owner will be very happy to look at every evening.

This BH was initially with about 5 birds responding during a birdcall test conducted.

Now we are looking at 700 birds staying in it.

A New BH Under Construction With Those Condo Shape Nesting Areas !!!

I used to visit a few BHs that uses those staggered shape nesting areas.

Most of the time they use nesting planks each step about 3 inches in width.

During my stay in Tawau, Sabah I was given a chance to take a look at a BH that uses cement block in the shape of those condos.

It was an unusual method of construction and the owner was very proud of how he came out with his method of getting these structures done.

While answering his many questions I forgot to take a good look at how he installed the structure.

When we were in the car and about to leave I asked him his the hell he lock those heavy structures onto the ceiling?

He stop his 4X4 truck and took me up to the higher flow just to show me w\how it was done.

The BH was still under construction and from what he was trying to do it will another few good months before it will be completed.

The concrete triangular structure is put in place first before those cement slab were laid.

Hmm... something new and great to increase the know how.

Have fun with some of the pictures taken before my battery went flat.

A Big BH With Two Entrance Holes Facing The Same Direction !!!

I was told that BHs in Tawau are gigantic.

After completing the first BH in Tawau, Sabah, I was taken to this huge BH (120' X 40'X 2 stories

The owner was complaining that after more then 2 years the nests number was not to his high expectation.

There were lots of bird shit spots however many dried up.

I took a few pictures and would like to share with all my blog readers.

The BH was on a hill facing a kind of valley and you can see the ocean from its location.

There were four BHs about 200 to 500 feet from the BH and two of the four were doing well.

My informer told me that this BH was erected by the same consultant who owned the BHs below.

What makes me a bit do not like about the BH was that it has two separate data rooms with two amplifiers each.  One playing internal while the other playing external sound.

It does not make sense to me to run one BH with two data rooms that are about 40 feet apart.

This BH adopted the same cement block as its nesting planks.

The owner recently erected many new partition walls and it become like a lost valley if you are not careful.

There were a sizable number of nests inside but they were scattered all over the nesting rooms.

Main target was the top floor.

Since those nests were scattered all over you feel that the BH is not doing well.

To me it will be better to get your tenants to stay inside a selected room and not all over the place.

I told the owner he can do that if he knows how to use different sounds volume and perhaps the super pheromone.

He should get some new sounds to pull those swiftlet generated by his neighbour.

He should also know how to select the right sound volume.

I did introduce to him the proper use of the Super Pheromone inside his BH.

As long as his neighbour is not using the same aroma he should be able to bring across those young birds.

My idea of starting those insect generating system was thrown to him.

If he wanted more birds to come to his BH he should look into insect generation system.

Those steel walkways installed inside the monkey house roving areas can be a very good place to set the insect breeding food.

I was not very happy with the way the monkey house top looks like.

There was nothing to attract those wild birds except a few tweeters installed at the entrance hole.

He should get at least one hexagonal tweeter for each entrance hole.

I hope I will be able to visit his BH again but in the meantime I will be advising my contact person to convey my recommendations.

Tawau 3 Stories BH With Less Then 30 Nests !!!

 

 

 

 

My February 2014 trip to Sabah was to attend to this BH located somewhere near Tawau Golf and Country Club.

The owner arrange for me to inspect his BH after terminating hid current Situ cum contractor.

"I have been following your blog since 2011 and decided to call you over" he said.

His main complain was the way his ex consultant look after his three stories BH.

The number of nests seems to stop at 30 and with very little movement.

His consultant was no longer interested to help any further.

I collected a few interesting but wrong teaching by this very popular "consultant".

1). He believed that swiftlet likes to fly in a sway manner.  This is why he will erect those permanent walls made of bricks.  Usually they will be occupy half length of the floor.

2)  He also makes his followers believed that swiftlet need lots of light inside the BH.  According ti him only with these light they will venture into all the floors.

3). Nearly all BH constructed by him uses those cement slabs as the birds nesting place.

4) His method of wetting the BH is by those water spray using timer.

5) His selection of amplifiers are those low end type that will not last more then 1 year.

Looking from the outside you can easily identify a number of flaws which should have not happened.

The consultant seems to be unaware about how crucial is the bird's flying path.

He also ignore the important of the morning sun.

He give very little attention to this very important design feature.

If he was aware the BH orientation would not be what it is now.

The monkey house design was too big and wasting a lot of nesting space.

The roof areas were bare with not a single tweeter especially hexagonal tweeters mounted on its roof.

His proffered design method to draw those wild birds to all the floors was the tunnel hole.

This design type from my observation is the main reason why most of the current tenants are occupying only the top floors.

They either could not find their way down or lazy to fly lower.

All his ventilation holes ended at the 90* elbow without any extension pipe.

With maintenance light off you can see those light polluting the nesting rooms even at the end of the building.

I made some comments about how he installed the cement made planks.

Usually it should be lined in perpendicular to the birds flying in path however in this BH they run parallel to it.

There many more design flaws and I recorded all of them inside my written report to the BH owner.

If the revamp operation are in accordance to my recommendations plus some additional application of appropriate aroma I have a very strong feeling the BH will double its nests population within 4-6 months there after.

A Good Proof Of Fake Nests Effectiveness !!!

At one time I was very sceptical about fake nests.

After many years of observations and using many types of fake nests, I now become a person who will make it a compulsory item in any new BH.

One very fresh example was at a BH located somewhere in Kinarut, Sabah.

After tweeters installation this BH owner proceeded with the installation of Styrofoam fake nests nearly 900 pieces.

He cut them into small pieces measuring about 5"x1"x1".

He installed all over with special emphasis to be near to those internal sound tweeters.

He also installed the same material made triangles shape at those 90* corners.

His gambled paid off handsomely and within a few months the nests numbers begun to swell up to 279 nests within less than 19 months.

The only sad back he encountered was when his partners complained that those nests erected above the fake nests were out of shape and less weight.

He begun to remove them just to please his partners.

Luckily I stop him from removing all and left with about 300-400 pieces.

Most of these untouched fake nests were occupied (about 70%).

My advice from the beginning was to put at many and once the total number of birds inside his BH touches about 600-1000 birds he can start removing them.

The figure is good enough to force his BH tenants to start using those nesting planks and no longer dependant on fake nests.

This strategy should be followed by all new BH owner.

I can guarantee that it will help to quickly anchor them to start erecting their nests.

Without applying any aroma in these fake nests, you will experience about 10-20 % occupancy on them.

If you wanted to push the occupancy to 60-80% you should spray them with Super Pheromone during every visit to your bh.

I have proven many times and you will not be disappointed if you take this advice to start installing them.

The best size is 1 inch thick cut to 5"x1".

Choose the right location where to install them.

My preferred location is to be beside those internal sound tweeters about 1.5 inches to the left and right.

Try to screw them onto the nesting planks.

Using of double sided tape is not encourage.

Have a good look at these pictures taken during my visit to Kinarut BH.

Somewhere Along the Road to Tawau Airport !!!

Today, Feb 19th 2014,  I started my journey to Tawau airport at about 6;30 am even though my flight was at 9:55 am.

Main reason was to slot in another visit to a BH belonging to someone from Tawau.

The BH looks okay from the outside but I told the owner about a few things:

1) His BH hexagonal tweeter was a bit too high.

2) The main entrance hole was not facing the birds flying path in the evening.

2A) The number of external sound tweeters installed were too little.

2B) The two bazookas should be directed towards the birds flying home path.

3) The roof made of zinc might make hid BH hot inside.

Upon entering I was clearly observed those bright light from the monkey house tunnel polluting his nesting rooms.

Inside I took note the followings errors:

1)  The size of doors at the tunnel areas were too large and the bright light were entering his nesting rooms badly.

2) The internal sound tweeters were wrongly attached to the nesting planks. They were. Too far from those 90* corners and wrongly screwed.

3) Those internal sound tweeters at the tunnel areas need to be dismantle.

4). The house was a bit too dry.

5) The fake nests were not precisely located.

6) The door of VIP room located at the ground floor was too small.

7) Most of his external sound tweeters were fixed to those wood framed with little flexibility.

8). The amplifier used for internal sound cannot allow loud sound to be tuned.


I managed to write a short report while waiting for my plane to take off and passed it to his friend.

During my phone conversation with him I assured him that his BH will be alright if he followed by recommendations.

After two years waiting for someone to help, I was in town.

I hope he will carry out those recommendations.

I promised him that I will drop by soon to follow with fine tuning works.

An Interesting Method On How To Cool Your Elevated BH !!!

(A 4" diameter PVC pipe opening below the BH)

While inspecting the wooden BH at Papar, Sabah I saw these pipes like ventilation holes
 connecting the BH nesting room and the ground area.

They were in a row and about 4 of them.

I was wondering what is so special about them.

I am sure the BH designer must have some reasons why he install these holes.

From what I can think of it has some thing about the cooler air.

Usually cool air are denser as compared to hot air.

If you put the hole on the floor you will have a high chance of cooling your BH.

Those air that entered your BH through these hole on the floor will be much cooler as compare to those from the normal ventilation holes.

However I was not too pleased with the way the owner channelled the cool air into the room.

He used a tee joint and connect in a straight line pipe with only two outlets per line.

This method will cause a kind of more resistance to those air.

I would prefer a shorter pipe length for example two of the holes will have two outlets.

In this way you can double the outlet holes.

Just an idea but what if the area is too cold at night?

Well it is up to you to wisely chose the best for your BH.

Use a bit of your brain so that you can improve your BH nests population.

If you wish to talk more call me at 017 7551318017 7551318

(the rows of ventilation holes below the BH floor)

(inside the BH this is how the ventilation holes are piped)

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Kinarut Stand Alone BH Doing Exceptionally Well !!!

On February 16th 2014, I visited this BH owned by one of my friend/agent from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

He was very lucky to have met me before erecting this BH.

The moment he got my attention he engaged me to help with the site inspection, design, and help during the BH erection.

Along the way he made some changes here and there but he will always call me for some advise.

He told about 8 months to out this BH into operation and on June 15, 2012 the BH was put into operation.

Every  time I drop by in Kota Kinabalu I will insist to inspect it.

Now after about 19 months the nests number hit about 300 nests and based on my estimate the total number of birds staying inside is around 900 birds.

What I planned works.

One good example was the use of fake nests.

I also feels that the number of internal sound playing tweeters helps to bring in more birds.

He used my internal and external sounds.

Nearly 50% of nests inside were associated or on those fake nests.

About 40% are at 90* corners and only 10% were on flat plank surfaces.

His next step is to look into the followings:

1) To double the nests population from 300 nests to 600 within the next 12 months or shorter period.

2) He need to improve nests number that are on those fake nests and 90* corners.  By doing so he will be able to harvest a better valued nests.

3) He need to push those birds to built their nest with 180* shape.  There must be a way to do it and he need to carry out some ideas that I brought with me.

I assured him that his BH now is on the right track and he should continue to look after it properly.

It should be properly maintained.

Those cockroaches , ants, beetles, ticks, spider, house lizards and geckos need to be eliminated.

Try to make sure both the internal and external sound plays all the scheduled time.

Check and be alert on any attack by owls.

Remove those bird shits on the floor on a regular basis.

My biggest recommendation to him was to regularly use the "Super Pheromone" as per my instructions.

My requirement is for him to deploy at least one canister per visit.

Spray on all those markings and make sure that every time he harvest the base on the nesting planks are sprayed.

My gut feeling is that he might accelerate the nests population within the next few months.

Remember he wanted his nests population to double up within 12 months.

If he followed the above steps he might doubled within 6 months.

During my visit I located the right room to apply those liquid pheromone.

I stressed that if he can cleaned the planks with mild salt water and once dried apply a layer of liquid pheromone.

If those swiftlet species are attracted to the smell they might start use those flat areas.

This will be help to get more 180* shape nests.

I plan to visit this BH within the next few months.

Those who are keen to learn on the best way to use the pheromone please contact 017 7551318017 7551318.

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They Responded Well To My New Sound !!!

This two clips shows how they are attracted to my new sounds.

 

 

The sound used was super tgi link to super vac.

 

Those swiftlet in the area seems to like it.

 

Will they populate the BH?

 

The question can be answered when the owner of this BH do the nests count two months from now.

 

 

My gut feeling tells me that something unusual will happen after applying the most effective aroma on the nesting planks.

 

Let us wait for 2 months and I will highlight its progress for us to share.

 

The nests inside according to the owner last count stood at 45 nests.

 

I am looking at an increase of around 20%-30% or 9-12 nests.

 

Anything extra will be a bonus.

 

I stressed to this BH owner that it is important for him to set a target.

 

Good example is:

 

"I wanted to get 100% increase within the next 12 months."

 

If my visit and the introduction of pheromone liquid aroma on his bh planks and new sounds played he can easily get the 30% and left with 70% to work for.

 

He need to list down what other think he can do to get the balance 70%.

 

Some that I proposed to him were:

 

1) Try to convert the swampy land just facing his BH entrance hole into at least one water pond.  The size of the proposed pond should be about the size of a badminton court.  Make it about 5 -6 feet deep and slightly slanting. The water pond will usually attract the attention of all swiftlet that are hunting for food in the area.  It will also produce marine breeding insects such as mayflies.

 

2) The second thing that I wanted him to install is a hexagonal tweeter.  It should be installed closed to the main entrance hole and about 2.5'-3' high above the roof.

 

3) The BH internal needs so additional partitions to further reduce those light.  I sketched for him where they should be located and where the doors should be opened.

 

4) One wise thing that I insisted for him to do was to explore additional method to use the pheromone once it shows a positive impact on the nests counts.  He must not stop its application but he must also think of all the methods to maximise its attractiveness.  Good example is to opt for a concentrated formula.  Maybe try to install an auto spray to make the smell of the pheromone fresh.

 

5)  I observed that the sound volume of his BH external sounds were not equal or should  say the one at the front is louder while those at the back were so low.  This can be due to a few possible reasons.  One was that be uses more then one type or]f tweeters on the same line.  The one with the least resistance will be louder while the higher resistance will be less.

 

6) Most of his BH nests were on those fake nests.  He should on a regular basis remove those fake nests that were used  more then one time.  This action will force those wild birds to nest on the nesting planks.

 

7) Since he has started to apply the pheromone, I suggest that he clean the floor so that he can observe the changes that is taking place inside.  Those old bird shit on the floor will not give him the right information.  They tend to hide the signs of new tenants inside.

 

8)  I was blunt to suggest the idea of force harvest.  "Why don't you force harvest your BH nests once a year?"  My idea is to make the nests number jump by at least 20-30%.  This method is a bid cruel but what else can you do since you badly wanted a quick population increase.

 

9) I was not very happy with the humidity inside his BH.  It was a bit dry but to install humidifiers will make the floor rot.  This BH floor is made of plywood.  The only way to go is to clean the floor and install those plastic mat.  It that can be done he might want to install those humidity controlled system.  My suggestion was to opt for those mist spray system using a diaphragm pump.

 

10)  Those lizard traps were well done.  It is time for him to replace them with a new set.

 

All the above recommendations can help to improve his BH nests population.

 

I wish he will follow some and one day he will be very proud of me.

 

Best of luck to him and I hope I will be able to come again to monitor his BH progress.

 

Call  me at 017 7551318 if you wish to get my opinion about your BH.

 

 



I Let The Owner Do The Cleaning And Aroma Application !!!

One very important lesson to ensure that a sick BH can be cured at a much faster rate is to get the owner to do the necessary upgrading operation.

Once they got directly involved they can be proud once the results arrived.

This was what happened at this wooden BH at Papar, Sabah.

Upon reaching the BH, we inspect the BH together and I do the selection of where to apply those liquid pheromone.

The best would be inside one of the two rooms that shows lots of bird shit spots signs on the floor.

If must be where they like to hide and the darkest areas.

We then prepared a mild salt water solution and soaked a few rags into it.

The soaked rags were squeezed to make it a bit dry.

The owner volunteered to be the cleaner.

I told him where to start and up to where it should be cleaned.

A fan was used to dry up the plank.

I warned him to be careful with those tweeters connectors.  The salt water if in contact with the connectors they will corrode the wires.

After the cleaning operation was completed I showed him how to apply those liquid pheromone.

One layer will do and they must be applied smoothly.

He took about one hour to finish applying about 10'X10' ceiling areas.

While he does the cleaning and application of pheromone I checked the sound system and tested a few new sounds.

The old sound he used was Pukau 2, but I decided to change the old sound go something new that I when played it bring lots of birds into the roving area.

I combined two special sounds both showing a very strong potential.

The two were "Super Vac and Super TGI".

After cleaning, application of the aroma, changed of external sounds, and spraying of wall's aroma, I told him to allow the BH to run for at least 2 months.

Try to stay away for 2 months and after that period he can inspect for any changes in the nest counts.

It will be something that I am looking forward for the changes.

In the meantime I told him allocate some budget to perhaps rent a backhoe to open a pond.

The pond should be about the size of a badminton court but the bun surrounding it must be about 4-5 feet.

He can plant some figs trees on them.

The ponds will attract more birds to visit his BH.

They can drop by for a drink or search for insect generated from it.

My strong believed is that water can make a big different to a BH.

It usually have a positive effects.

(Owner applying liquid pheromone himself)

 

Discovered An Effective Way To Trap Those House Lizards !!!

(Dead house lizard)

 

This simple method of catching those house lizards in a BH is interesting.

I was in this wooden BH in Papar, Sabah.

The owner was busy cleaning his BH nesting planks and I took sometime to inspect his BH.

One very interesting thing that cough my eyes was the way those lizard traps were installed.

The owner stick them on the walls about 10 feet apart.

I was curious if it works.

I peep into the trap and I was surprised to see that nearly all the traps were with at least one lizard.

A few were with more than one lizards.

Very interesting and it works.

Have a good look at some the pictures taken.

Today Inspection and Pheromone Application at a Papar Wooden BH Owner !!!

One of my biggest achievement during this February 2014 visit to Kota Kinabalu, was to help a BH owner whose BH is in Papar.


"Pak Harry I nearly wanted to give up until I met you.  It was not growing and I don't know what to do and who to ask for help. Lucky for me to have met you and you volunteer to help".


I remember the above sentence since he keep repeating them again and again.


The first time I came was about 2 years ago.


There were little nests inside and no birds were flying above its rooftop.


I took some time to get his confidence so that he will follow my advises.


The second trip was the key to his success.


I squeezed my time just for him but when I landed in KK he was in Miri attending a seminar.


"Pah Harry sorry I cannot be with you but I have arranged with my partner to pick you up and go to my BH."


I told him that I don't really care who takes me there but my mind was made up to help him with his BH.


The moment I entered I discovered how bright the nesting room was.


There was no room or partition wall inside the 20'X60' BH.


The number of internal sound tweeters were little.


There was not a single internal sound tweeters inside the nesting room.


No fake nests and the BH was too dry.


My first mission was to provide a rough sketch how he should darken the nesting rooms.


I added a list of things that he should carried out.


He complied and followed nearly all what I prescribed.


One year plus after that the nest jump up to 45.


I told him that I was not happy with it and wanted to visit another time.


I was cock sure that there must be some thing not right and at the same time wanted to try out something new at his BH.


Today I found out that the reason why but the BH now have lots of flying visitors above its roof.


Not a bad progress but it could have been better.


I told him that he needed to invest a bit more to carry out the followings:


1) Add one more partition wall inside the hall areas.  This will help to darken the VIP room further.

2) I wanted him to erect one more wall at the main roving area to block direct sun light to the door.


3) I also recommended the installation of a Hexagonal tweeter.


4) If he have extra cash he should consider to rent at JCB to open a pond on the swamp land just in front of his BH entrance hole.  The pond will be attractive to those swiftlet and they can be easily lured into his BH.


The day at his BH I got him to clean a selected set of nesting planks and later applied with the liquid pheromone.


I told him that if after two months the nests number multiplied by 50% his should proceed with the next step.


I wanted him to clean the rest of those planks and apply with double concentration liquid pheromone.


I changed his external sound and he was very pleased with the number of swiftlet responding to it.


My gut feeling was that this BH can be easily populated if he follows all my recommendations.


It has a potential of 2000 nests within the next 5 years.


All he needed to do is to continue with the liquid pheromone treatment and make sure there is no owl attacking the BH.


He should also carry out a Force Harvest once a year.


I am very happy for him and will monitor his BH progress.

Let Us Compare Two BHs Which I Visited Recently !!!

The first unit is four stories high and measuring 28 feet by 100 feet and each floor was about 9 feet high.

The total number of nests was 15 after almost 2.5 years into operation.

The cost to build this BH was almost RM 700,000.

The second unit is a mini BH which measured about 20 feet wide by 40 feet long and 8 feet ceiling height.

The total number of nests inside is 60 after 3 years into operation.

The cost to erect was only RM70,000.

The cost per nest for the first BH is 700,000/15= 46,666.67.

The cost per nest for the 2nd BH is 70,000/60 = 1,166.67.

Look at how much different in cost.

Both BHs has their own problems and the cost to rectify is proportionate to the size.

The larger the size the more expensive it will cost.

To reduce the heat for the first BH runs into 10,000s and I am sure the owner will jump out of his office window if I should tell him.

The cost to insulate the whole walls will run like RM 6 a square foot.

This include the raw materials and labor.

The total surface areas of the walls is about 100'X10'X4 X2 = 8000 plus 28'X10'X4X2 =2240 or grand total of 10,240.

The cost to do all will be RM6 X 10,240 = RM61,000.

Almost the cost of a mini BH.

I am a bit nervous to tell him but I might as well blurt it out so that he will be aware on his costly mistakes.

From this article please try to be more careful when you decide to start a BH.

Call me at least to discuss on what to do and what not to do.

I will help to minimize you risk and maybe cost.

Do not give a second though.  Call this number 017 7551318.