In the process of building my standalone BH, I couldn't wait for its completion to gain hands on experience. An opportunity arose and I acquired an existing shop unit BH. I was buying time in a way, rational was to prepare myself prior to the new BH start up.
Photo taken before realizing it was for sale.
It was a neglected 3 storey BH. Sound system had broken down, humidifiers were not running!
The previous owner was superstitious too, there were deities at corner on ground floor with red electric candles and a "cosmetic powder kit" next to it... huh, (female?) spirits residing there or what?
It was really bizarre! Imagine the eerie feeling when walking there in darkness! Later on even renovation workers dared not remove it for fear of bad omen. That was not the real "scary" experience. Even I don't believe in ghosts, still a bit scared when in there alone. Ever heard of haunted house converted to BH? :o)
Birds were residing on the 2nd storey only, non on other levels. Reasons were obvious, internal layout was simply BAD among others.
It had to be renovated. Question was what and how much to change?
My friends cautioned me not to be drastic to minimize impact on resident birds. But I decided otherwise. It was a bold decision to disregard advice from the experienced. Looking back I had only "half-baked" knowledge then.
My heart sank soon as the renovation works began. All juveniles were gone! The empty feeling was scary as I inspected the work in progress each day, wondering how many adult birds may remain upon completion. The point of no return crossed - putting my beliefs to test and come what may!
I may not know exactly how many birds did not return.. but now almost 2 years on the nests count has more than doubled. Other floors are well populated now. Had I not proceed with necessary changes, I doubt this would be the outcome.
No big deal to brag about really, at least know I "bite the bullet" and did the right things. The BH is still imperfect and shall continue to enrich my learning.
Believe me, in the process I also took risks putting to test the significance of several factors. It was an invaluable learning experience neither books, seminars nor forum discussions can provide. What has become general knowledge are quoted and repeated by everybody. Nobody ranks their significance.
There is little to learn from the "public domain" after a while. Not that I know everything, there are more hypes promoting products and services out there than the kind of knowledge I am after.
Most people seek "quick remedies" like bird sounds and aroma to improve their BH yields. That's perfectly understandable. IMHO there are more to that.
Perhaps those "in-the-know" would agree tacitly. Can we count to hear from them? Good luck.
No comments:
Post a Comment