Lekir BH : Five Years With Only 1.5 Nests !!!

(Located somewhere in Lekir Manjung)

Visited and inspected this BH located somewhere at Lekir Manjung Perak.

The owner wanted to know why after 5 years into operation and only produced 1.5 nests.

The BH dimension I estimated to be around 20 feet wide by 60 feet long and two stories.

It uses this monkey house design for its main entrance hole.

After almost 40 minutes of inspection I listed a few observations that might be the main reasons why this BH is not doing as per its designed purposes:


1) The most critical was the nesting room brightness.  On both floors the nesting rooms brightness failed to meet my 2 feet apart test. I told the owner to stand two feet in front of me and asked him "Can you see my face?".  He answered yes.  I told him that BH nesting rooms must be dark enough that when two person stand two feet apart are not able to see each other's face.

2) The air flow inside this house was more or less stagnant.  Main culprit might be due to those ventilation holes design.  The ventilation holes were located on only two walls, the front and back but not the length.  Beside this poor design the way the holes were covered using those special pipe covers might block the air flow.  The mouth of extension pipes were randomly shut.

3) The main entrance hole that was opened on the monkey house extension was not proper and not facing the right direction.  It was facing the West and not the East.  At the same time the flying path from the outside into the nesting room seems to be like those birds will need to turn 180* to enter their nests.

4) The window size was a bit too small and not properly positioned.

3) There was no hexagonal tweeter on the monkey house roof.  The sound from the main entrance hole only push the external sound to the West and non to the East, North and South.

4) The tweeter arrangements at the main entrance hole was incorrect,

5) There were two types of tweeters used and the entrance hole.  Only one out of 5 tweeters were working.  I think the unit that was running must be the least resistance.

6) The bright light that pollute the nesting rooms seems to be from the evening sun.  This happened when the sun ray entered the main entrance hole and hit the wall.  The light reflected into the nesting room since there was nothing to block the light.

7) There were quite a number of bird shit spots on both floors especially below the internal sound tweeters.  However these bird shit spots have this peculiar characteristics. They looked like those birds are staying for many months but they refuse to pay their rental fee.  My conclusion was that there were birds staying but due to the bright light they refuse to proceed with nest building.

8) The internal sound was not working during my inspection.  I took some time to check the thumb drive and the amplifier.  Finally decided to copy "Superbabyking" sound to replace the old thumb drive.  The old sound seems to produce a weird jumping sound when back into operation mode.

9) The external sound was an old sound and I think they have never change the sound before.  I did not change it because of my own personal reasons.

10) The main internal sound tweeters were wrongly installed.  I told the owner that he need to be a bit more kind to those birds.  If they like to hang onto the tweeter let them be.  Current installation was a bit too drastic.

11) Beside those tweeters on the nesting planks I saw a few rows of tweeters on the walls of the nesting room.  I inspected one of them and I was surprised that they were with internal sound.

12) The BH nesting planks need some cleaning and perhaps apply with some aroma.  After 5 years they seems to have some dust on the surface.

13) The nesting planks seems to be at least 10" in width.  A very unusual size which is only recommended for BHs that are located at higher altitude with cold air.  The crossing woods were not with a straight line.

14) This BH floor was never cleaned before.  I told the owner to clean them up before any renovation works and again after the renovation operation.  New BH or BH after being revamp need to be cleaned so that you can easily check for any new tenants and apply the NKS operation.

15) The BH was with no humidifier in operation.  The owner showed me a unit situated below the monkey house area but was not operational.

16) The BH after 5 years into operation seems to be very dry.  I told the owner that his BH need to be cleaned and wet.

17) There was not a single fake nest found inside the BH.   I explained the reasons why he should installed them and when to remove them.

18) During the visit I can feel that this BH is a bit too hot.  Looking at the ventilation holes from the inside and compared with the outside you know that this BH is with two layers.  However I might want to suggest that the walls be protected from the outside.

19) The water pond around the BH seems to be dried up and I told the owner its purposes.  It can prevent ants or other crawlers from swimming across.   He should fill up the drain but remember to put some fish inside.

Let me share some of those pictures taken:

Let me inspect your BH and tell you what exactly is wrong with your BH.

For this BH I planned to reorganize all the needful including re positioned the main entrance hole to face the morning sun and etc.

Rompin BH : Cleaned And Apply 2X Super Pheromone On Those Nesting Planks !!!

I have decided to apply those Pheromone 2X concentration of some of those nesting planks.

At first I thought of applying after they were installed but why not before?

Due to limited volume of pheromone I applied only on those nesting planks on the 2nd floor and mainly those inside one of the two VIP room.

First I need to choose the right planks.

They must be those red colored planks and long enough.

Once selected I will clean them with mild salt water.

Let them dry by a rotating fan.

Once dried applied the pheromone using a wide brush.

Those planks that are install at the side walls will be applied on one surface while those that will be placed in the middle will be applied on both surfaces.

I put a red tape marker to make sure my workers put them properly.

After allowing them to dry up my workers installed them as per my prescription.

They look fined and I hope this room will be the preferred area.

This is just a research to check if the birds found in the area like the pheromone or attracted to the pheromone.

Let me monitor the rooms after a few months into operation.

Have a look at these pictures:

Rompin BH: Started The Renovation Of An Empty BH !!!

After my arrival at Rompin with my two worker I met the owner for a short meeting.

"Let my workers settle down with their staff and will start work first thing in the morning tomorrow" I told him.

During my session with the owner I reminded him on a couple of things will happened once the house revamp starts.

"You are going to start a new chapter of your life once your BH is revamped and put into operation" I told him.

He thought that having a BH is a big plus but I told him that he will soon find out that there will be a lot of new things that he need to get ready.

"Pak Harry can you explain what do you meant by that" he asked.

I listed a list of things that will happened inside or outside his BH.

Good examples:

1) Your BH will be attacked by owls.

2) Your BH one day will be burglarized.

3) Your BH will have "Tokek" harassing your young birds.

4) Your BH will be flooded (the land area is actually a low area).

5) Your BH will soon have a lot of ants.

6) Your BH might be flooded due to loose water hose connection.

7) You BH will be very dry and you will find a lot of cracked nests.

8) Your BH will be attacked by Hornbill.

9) Your BH might be attacked by civet.

10) Nesting planks with fungus.

11) Nest suddenly stop growing.

12) Nests turning yellow.

13) Cannot find buyer for raw nests.

14) Neighbor is giving problem to your BH.

And etc etc etc.

Later on the next day he told me that he could not sleep over my gentle reminders.

He begin to feel that he will face a lot of things that he might not know how to solve.

I assured him that my telephone line is opened and he can call to find solutions if they should arise.

By 5:00 pm in the evening I told him that the developer of the BH is asking my workers to be moved out.

This should be his first problem and I did not include on the list of problems.

He pleaded with the developer but they were adamant and warn him that they have the right to bar him from entering or do anything with his BH.

"Pak Harry how to solve this problem and sorry that I am back in Singapore"  he whattapp me.

I told him to talk to the developer to be a bit kind and let my workers stay inside the BH at least for the night.

I will find a place for them to stay somewhere near to the location.

He managed to get the green light after a lengthy negotiation and I secured a small house near by.

This was his first lesson from owning a BH.

I look at it as a very common issue where the developer say yes and then says no.

The Manager gave us the green light but later when the higher level boss of his knew he backed out.

Anyway I kept the bad news away from my workers until the end of the day.

They were unaware of the issue but once I told them that I have found a place for them to move to plus the transportation arrangements they were fined.

After two days they finished the installation of nesting planks on the second floor ceiling.

Today they planned to install those cross woods and corner covers.

Their plan is to complete the second floor first before dismantling the movable ladder to the 3rd floor.

I have to meet someone in Manjung and drove home last night.

Will be in Rompin this Monday March 2nd 2015.

You all are welcome to come and see how to revamp a new BH.

Call me at 0177551318 if you wish to join the trip with me this Monday.

Remember this is something unusual to be invited to see how a new BH is decorated.

Have a look at some pictures taken during the time there:

Bukit Selambau Relong BH: The external sound Test Result Is Very Promising !!!

(Bukit Selambau BH now with a Hexagonal Tweeter)

(It used to be bare and not attractive to those wild birds)

Just came back from Sungai Patani and something nice to share with all.

While celebrating my Chinese New Year with families I spared some time to drop at Bukit Selambau Relong BH.

What this BH owner wanted me to do was to check on his BH revamp progress and at the same time do some tests with my external sounds.

Well I was at Bukit Selambau town very early and waited for the owner to fetch me to the BH.

He arrived at about 11:00 am and we proceeded to the BH.

After reaching the BH the BH keys were not with him but with the contractor he employed to upgrade his BH.

So waited for another 20 minutes until he arrived.

By the time we entered the BH it was about 12:00 noon.

I was telling myself that at this low peak hour there won't be any bird if I conduct the external sounds.

Anyway I did some check with the way those tweeters were installed.

The hexagonal looks very well placed however I instructed the contractor to connect the cable direct with those external sound tweeters installed at the main entrance window.

My next observation was the installation of cover over the external sound tweeters.

These tweeters came with a plastic cover on its front.

I instructed him to remove all of them and he did.

The next thing that I wanted him to do was to lower two sets of external sound tweeters at the door frames.

It was installed at the top most of the frame corners but I prefer them to be above 1 foot below the corners.

I quickly connect the positive and negative cable to the external sound amplifier and tested the first sound.

It was doing well however those tweeters install inside the BH was connected to the same line.

I told the contractor to separate the lines.

The external sound volume at the main entrance area can now be louder while the sound inside can be a bit lower.

The first two external sounds were not very attractive.

The third sound went pretty well.

The BH owner was observing the number of birds that came to the window areas and he was so excited that about 15 birds responded.

All the 15 or so came to the window and all entered in and out of the window.

Well since the external sound wiring inside the BH was not ready those birds entered the monkey house area and soon after they flew out.

If the external sound tweeters inside the BH were connected, I am sure they will enter the nesting rooms.

I took some time to provide the precise method to install those internal sound tweeters.

Set one of internal sound tweeters.

Instructed the owner's son to learn how to set the second unit.

From the way the bird's responded to the external sound at 12:30 pm I think this BH will do well.

The only big problem will be those owls.

The electrical shock wires should be installed by today.

Have a good look at this video clip:

If you think you wanted some help with your BH please call this number 017 7551318

I visited this BH a couple of weeks ago after delivering my talk in Penang.

This BH owner attended the talk and quickly asked my help to view his sick BH.

After obtaining my visit report he quickly engaged a contractor to revamp to my recommendations.

I think within the next few weeks you will hear something positive from him.

Will keep you all posted.

Steel Plate : Collected Them And Ready To Use !!!

My first batch of stainless steel plates about 100 pieces was collected yesterday.

I never knew that they were heavy to carry around.

Before making the final payment I inspected the plates.

They looked fined but I would be happier if the total length is a bit longer.

What I ordered was 7" long by 5.45" wide.

I hope it will be long enough to cover those corners.

Attached are some pictures taken.

The top surface will be the one with the countersunk holes facing up.

How to use them?

My main objective is to reduce the number of 90* shape raw nests in my BH.

What I planned to do with these plates will be as follows.

I will allocate about 20 pieces for 5 of my BHs and will try to install them at those corners with are currently occupied with corner nests.

Once these nests are selected, I will harvest the raw nest and cover the corner with one of the plate.

Once that is done will take some photos before and after.

Check what happen after a few weeks later.

My prediction is that the tenant of this specific corner will return to the spot but will start building their nest on the plate and the wood.

Yes they will move their nest nest to the plate's borders.

Half of their nest will be on the nesting plank wood and the other half shall be on the steel plate.

The shape of their new nest will be 180* and no longer 90*.

This steel plate exercise will reduce the 90* corner shape nests and it will increase the 180* shape nests in my BH.

Remember the 90* shape nests is lower in price as compared to 180* shape nests.

Each kilogram of 90* nests will be about 20% to 30% cheaper.

If you can reduce the 90* shape nests to zero, you will safe a lot of money.

Say your BH have about 1000 corners and they are not covered with any plates like the one I recommended.

If your BH is full of nests all these corners will be their preferred spots.

This would mean that every time you harvest you will collect about 1000 90*shape nests.

You will easily lose about 2500 ringgit.

So try this technique and you will gain more as compared to leaving it at it is or using other methods.

Getting Ready At Rompin BH !!!

Yesterday Feb 16th 2015, I was in Rompin and ordered the necessary items for the BH revamp operation.

This is mainly due to the fact that this coming Thursday CNY will see that most of those hardware shop will close for a few days.

After calculating the number of wood and cement boards required hurriedly ordered the items.

After receiving all the ordered good came back to Kuala Lumpur.

The total travelling time was 10 hours up and down.

My two workers will be ready to move this Monday Feb 23rd 2015.

Very excited to move and get the revamp operation started.

My proposal to the owner was to do up two of the 4 floors and see what happened.

If the two converted floors does well then he should look into the other two floors.

The total number of days required will be about 20-25 days starting from Feb 23rd 2015.

There will be some problems with this BH.

The ceiling height of the top floors are way above 12 feet.

The ground floor is even taller about 16 feet.

This high ceiling will make the nesting planks installation slow.

The use of specially made rack might solve some of the issue.

However I still believed that the ceiling height of a BH should not be too high.

Minimum requirement is 7 feet.

My best recommendation is to go around 8-9 feet.

Much easier to install any thing on the ceiling and safer during harvesting or maintenance.

Main concern is the climbing up of those ladder up and down to pick those nests on installation of tweeters or fake nests,

If the owner should climbed the ladder and for some reason he fell down.  That it.

He has very little chance of survival.