I have been on holidays to Phuket in Thailand. Birding was only an
incidental part of the holiday (lots of Common Mynas and Tree
Sparrows).
However, we took a trip into Phang Na Bay to see the fanastic limestone
outcrops in the Anadaman Sea. We saw one particular island with the
bamboo poles of the bird nest gathers of the Edible-nest Swiflets
prominent on the sheer(and even overhanging) cliffs. Our guide said that
the bird's nests are worth 50,000 baht( $2,500) and they gather 500 kg
per year from this island. This is a fortune in Thailand.
My question is how many nests to the kilo and how do the nest gathers
handle the conservation issues? Obviously it is in their economic
interst to maintain the species and their nesting on the islands they
control but do they do it.
The other interesting question is who was the first person to think to
eat a bird's nest??
Allan Benson
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