I am down here in Samut Sakhon.  We've got some buildings that were recently built across the river that are 5-6 stores tall.   No windows, and no lights.

 

A few years back,  we went down to Cha Am and took the backroads closer to the bay than hwy 35,  and there were multitudes of them throughout the countryside.

 

    Are these things built for swallows to nest?   I just can't fathom the expense of building these structures for swallow nest soup.   Am I delirious,  or are these structures built solely for swallows?

Have you got a picture?

 

It is the lime green one

Edited May 22, 20197 yr by samuttodd
yes

I vaguely recall watching something about urban wildlife in Thailand (and seeing something similar) and I think it might be something to do with bird's nest soup.  (But I'm probably completely wrong)

That is what we heard too,  but out in the countryside between samut sakhon and Cha Am there are these buildings all over the place.    I can see a few here and there.   There is one on this side of the river as well... right down the street.     It is the same size and construction as the lime one.    The birds are really loud too...  Sometimes it sounds like the day of the triffids around here.

8 minutes ago, samuttodd said:

That is what we heard too,  but out in the countryside between samut sakhon and Cha Am there are these buildings all over the place.    I can see a few here and there.   There is one on this side of the river as well... right down the street.     It is the same size and construction as the lime one.    The birds are really loud too...  Sometimes it sounds like the day of the triffids around here.

Yes, they're for nesting swallows.  Those houses often have a sound system that plays a recording of the same swallows to attract more of them.

The one down the street used to play the recording so loud that it was total bird anarchy.   It was driving people crazy.    They finally toned it down to about 50% of what it used to be.

 

There must be pretty good money in the product... I bet it mostly goes to china.

 

I am cool with any animal that eats mosquitoes.

Edited May 22, 20197 yr by samuttodd

Wow, that is something I would never think of about and something I do not understand really. I thought it's some maket for people living but somewhat later and now it appears that no, so please take care about them then, if you can make a photo with some life inside;) 

Well they're not swollows they're swiftlets. Nests are used for bird's nest soup. If I remember correctly 1 kg goes for around Bt200,000.

So let me get this right.  At 200k Baht / Kilogram,  this stuff is worth $182.92/oz!

 

That is some serious scratch.

10 minutes ago, samuttodd said:

So let me get this right.  At 200k Baht / Kilogram,  this stuff is worth $182.92/oz!

 

That is some serious scratch.

200k + Birds nest soup is very very expensive.

Made from edible bird nests, called the “Caviar of the East,” bird's nest soup is extremely rare and extremely valuable. The main ingredient, the nest of the swiftlet bird, costs anywhere from $2,500 to $10,000 per kilogram, resulting in a single bowl ofsoup that will set you back anywhere from $30 to $100.Feb 21, 2018

Ok,  I'm going to keep blowing my nose into the soup pot and selling it to those chinese tourists.   They seem to like it so much.

14 hours ago, samuttodd said:

No windows, and no lights.

It appears to have windows. And lights.

Beats the old method of scaling down cliffs and into caves on ropes to collect the nests.

From Wikipedia:

"The nests were formerly harvested from caves, principally the enormous limestone caves at Gomantong and Niah in Borneo. With the escalation in demand these sources have been supplanted since the late-1990s by purpose-built nesting houses, usually reinforced concrete structures following the design of the Southeast Asian shop-house ("rumah toko"/"ruko").^[7] These nesting houses are normally found in urban areas near the sea, since the birds have a propensity to flock in such places. It has become an expanding industry as is evident in such places as the province of North Sumatra or the Pak Phanang District in Thailand. From those places the nests are mostly exported to the markets in Hong Kong, which has become the centre of the world trade, valued at around HK$2 billion per year,^[8] although most of the final consumers are from mainland China. China is the world's largest consumer of birds' nests, accounting for more than 90 percent of consumption."

15 hours ago, samuttodd said:

That is what we heard too,  but out in the countryside between samut sakhon and Cha Am there are these buildings all over the place.    I can see a few here and there.   There is one on this side of the river as well... right down the street.     It is the same size and construction as the lime one.    The birds are really loud too...  Sometimes it sounds like the day of the triffids around here.

Yeah! Even I saw these buildings. 

7 hours ago, dinsdale said:

200k + Birds nest soup is very very expensive.

Made from edible bird nests, called the “Caviar of the East,” bird's nest soup is extremely rare and extremely valuable. The main ingredient, the nest of the swiftlet bird, costs anywhere from $2,500 to $10,000 per kilogram, resulting in a single bowl ofsoup that will set you back anywhere from $30 to $100.Feb 21, 2018

...costs anywhere from $2,500 to $10,000 per kilogram, resulting in a single bowl ofsoup that will set you back anywhere from $30 to $100.

 

That dosen't sound like good business ense.

How do they get rid of all that swallow sh*t. The atmosphere in one of those structures must require life support equipment for the nest gatherers.

 

Incidentally, it is not the actual nest that is used to make the soup but the bird spittle which binds it together.

 

When you think of all those jars of Essence of Birds Nest that are handed out patients there is a demand to satisfy.

No doubt a farang will soon be along to moan about knee-deep guano covering his lawn since they built one of these monsters next door.

They have armed guards protecting the nests near Kho Samui.

5 hours ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

How do they get rid of all that swallow sh*t. The atmosphere in one of those structures must require life support equipment for the nest gatherers.

I'd imagine that it's still safer than cave harvesting.

14 hours ago, dinsdale said:

If I remember correctly 1 kg goes for around Bt200,000.

 

Time to chuck the wife out and board up the doors and windows. 

 

6 hours ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

Incidentally, it is not the actual nest that is used to make the soup but the bird spittle which binds it together.

The nest is the spit. The spit is the nest. They are indeed one of the same. No twigs, leaves etc. just swiftlet spit.

I'd like a bowl of bird's spit soup please.

Certainly.

How much?

Bt1500.

Here's a video from 2007.

" The small Thai town of Pattani has gone to the birds -- literally. The town's economy is booming after residents started collecting bird saliva. Sea Swift nests, used to make birds' nest soup and made from hardened saliva, sell for $2,000 a kg. A few years ago, the birds inexplicably started colonising Pattani. Now, all the residents have got in on the act. As one resident states: "We used to live here. But now we're going to move to make space for the birds."