Twenty-one nest boxes for endangered swifts are being installed on social housing as a result of a partnership between Dacorum Borough Council and the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.
The nest boxes are being installed by construction company Osborne as part of the social housing renovation plan.
Tim Hill, Conservation Manager at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, said: “These iconic birds have been suffering great declines and it’s great to see what partnerships such as this one can achieve. We are optimistic that Hemel Hempstead’s swifts will benefit greatly from these nest boxes and are looking forward to working together even closer in the future.”
Annie Smith, Dacorum Borough Council lead for the Hertfordshire Year of Culture 2020 campaign, said: “Hertfordshire Year of Culture is delighted to support this project, which demonstrates the cross-sector partnership working that Dacorum Borough Council is involved in to help make projects such as this happen.”
Councillor Alan Anderson, portfolio holder for environmental services, said: “This project demonstrates our commitment to increasing biodiversity. I’m grateful that the Council, our housing maintenance partner Osborne and the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust have found an effective, practical way of doing this, as it is so important that we do what we can to help struggling wildlife species.”
Swifts are a summer migrant to Britain, arriving in May then spending just three months with us breeding before heading back to Africa in August.
They have seen a drastic decline in populations – decreasing by 53 per cent between 1995 and 2016 – which is mainly due to a loss of suitable nesting places.
In the past, many buildings had open eaves, loose tiles and holes in roofs, all of which provided both nesting and roosting habitats for bats and birds.
Modern renovations are resulting in many former nesting holes being sealed up and thereby leaving the swifts excluded, without a place to nest, resulting in devastating negative effects on their populations.
The Trust is working with councils, community groups and residents across Hertfordshire to improve and create habitats for swifts.
In Hemel Hempstead, all tenants were very positive towards the installation and were delighted to be playing their part in providing homes for these threatened birds.
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