A Bristol house-building company is constructing homes across the city using bricks that birds can nest in.
Barratt, which is working on developments including Filwood Park, Company spends millions of pounds building homes and improving roads in Bristol in Yate and Park Farm in Thornbury, is hoping to boost the UK’s swift population.
The company says it is choosing places where swift numbers and nesting sites have been declining most.
Take a look at the new housing development offering cosy interior
Bristol is one of 10 UK cities where the numbers of swifts are dropping significantly, according to the RSPB.
The bricks being used to build the homes are ventilated and match the colour of the houses.
David Thomas, chief executive of Barratt Developments, said: “Our aim is to try and give nature a home, so by installing swift bricks into houses as we build them it is a simple and effective way to do just that.
“Swifts are an iconic bird that used to be seen everywhere. By giving them new nesting sites hopefully it will help give them a boost so we can see more of them.”
There are now 90,000 pairs of swifts in Britain - down from 150,000 pairs two decades ago.
Swifts are an urban species of bird which use spaces in rooftops or in old buildings to make their nests.
But modern building methods can eliminate the swifts’ access to rooftops and as old buildings are demolished reduce available nesting sites.
Company spends millions of pounds building homes and improving roads in Bristol
Swifts are one of the fastest birds in the world and are able to reach up to 70mph, often not touching the ground for up to three years at a time.
Barratt has already installed several hundred of the swift bricks at developments in Aylesbury and Exeter.
Mike Clarke, chief executive of the RSPB, said: “Although their calls can make it seem like there are a lot of them, unfortunately this is a bird we are very concerned about as there are less than half the number we used to see in our skies in the 1990s.
“Housebuilders like Barratt are able to help our swifts, and their commitment to create homes for them as well as people will make a big difference in keeping these amazing birds in our skies.”
The work is part of a corporate partnership between Barratt and the RSPB to support wildlife on new housing developments.
