The various seasons for birdnest

The typical life span of swiflets is between 15 to 18 years. Not many people are aware that the age of these swiftlets actually determines the quality of the nests. Bird nests from older birds are more tolerant to simmering. Some retailors will use this as a justification to sell these type of birdnests at a higher price.

Bird's nests harvesting are commonly carry out 3 times a year. Each harvesting period is roughly about 3 months. The first period is from January to April then the second period is from May to August and the last period is from September to December.

The best quality of bird nest comes from the first period where the rainfall is particularly high and the environment is suitable for tiny insects and animals as well as plants to thrive. There is abundance of food for the swiflets which promotes the growth and overall well-being of the swiflets and they produce large amount of saliva. Bird nests harvest during this period are the most expensive as they are larger is sizes, thicker in terms of the strands and are cleaner.

The second period is normally the dry season or what we called the summer period.But with the burning of peatlands during the summer periods couple with haze nowadays the quantity of the harvests during summer period is lesser and the quality during this period is more inferior. The bird's nests for this period is generally thin and loose. The shape and the bloating capacity of the nests are inferior to those harvest in the first period.

In the third period, the swiflets are generally weak and their secretion of saliva are low. Their feathers also start to detach easily during this period and the nests during this period will be smaller and contain more impurities.

Indonesia is the biggest producer of bird's nest in the world supplying 80% of the world's consumption, follow by Thailand 10% and Malaysia 7%.