How the swift was won...or, the importance of farm location

NST, 16 Feb 2008

Bio Research Cente Sdn bhd (BRC) not only builds swiftlet houses but also identifies suitable sites for swiftlet farming.

The birdcall is used to determine an established swiftlet farming area, explained the company's managing director, Loke Yeu Loong.

He explained that the birdcall involves playing back pre-recorded sounds of swiftlets, using speakers to attract the birds within a 5km radius from the site of the farm.

Selecting the site On the first and second days of determining an area where swiftlet farming can be established, bird-calls are done over two sessions, the first from 6.30am to 7.30am and the second from 6pm to 7.30pm.

On the third day, a bird-count is conducted to determine the food searching path of swiftlets in order to establish the number of swiftlets flying past the proposed site. This is done without birdcalls.

On the fourth and final day, the birdcall is conducted again, this time to reconfirm the flying path of the swiftlets.

Over the four days when these checks are carried out at the proposed sites, the surrounding areas, within a 30km radius, are searched as well, to determine the food sources.

The three criteria for a good swiftlet farming area, Loke said, are that the site must be located within an area swiftlets are found and can thrive; be along their direct food searching-flying path; and can be surrounded by an ecology that can generate food sources for them, such as forest reserves, mangrove swamps, plantations, rivers and the sea - all within a 50km radius. These are "perfect food sources" for swiftlets, which can fly up to 50km to look for food.

The Perak government, he said, has offered 10 potential sites for swiftlet farming, and after conducting field inspections, BRC selected Manjung and Segari.

Since the first phase of Perak Swiftlet Eco Park@Manjung was launched last year, all 36 units have been snapped up. The project, comprising 26 units of 25ft by 75ft three-stoey terraces priced at RM428,800 each and 10 units of 60ft by 105ft semi-dees at RM678,800 each, will be ready by August and early next year respectively.

Loke said the company, together with the relevant state agencies, will continue to identify more areas suitable for swiftlet farming, and these include Taiping, Parit Buntar, Bagan Datoh and Teluk Intan.

In Johor, aside from the swiftlet eco-parks in Endau and Desaru planned for launch in the middle of this year, the potential areas that BRC is looking into are Mersing, Batu Pahat, Tangkak, Muar, Segamat and Pontian.

The Negri Sembilan state government is also interested in setting up such eco parks, Loke added.