Apprentices of the caravan and motorhome manufacturer Swift Group have built 25 nesting boxes to help out its namesake bird.
Swifts are an endangered species and have been negatively impacted by a loss of habitat and especially nesting sites.
The purpose-built nesting boxes will be installed at a number of Parkdean resorts to provide shelter for swifts during the breeding season.
Advice has been provided by the RSPB to ensure the ‘holiday homes’ for the birds meet the requirements of the species.
Swifts spend the winter in Africa, but return to the UK at this time of year to find cosy nooks and crannies, often in old buildings, to establish their nests.
Four Parkdean locations have been selected as a trial to house the bird boxes this year in what is hoped will be a successful and long-term arrangement.
Steve Richards, CEO at Parkdean Resorts, said: “We provide cosy holiday homes in attractive holiday parks for everyone – and this summer, that includes swifts.
“It may take a little time, as swifts mate for life and every year return to the same nesting places,
but in consultation with the RSPB, we think the homes built by Swift and the carefully selected sites will help to meet the needs of these birds on our parks, by providing them with a sustainable alternative summer home for many years.”
Swifts look black in the sky, but their sooty brown plumage can be better seen when they land. Their most distinctive feature is their short, forked tail.
Young swifts start to move around the nesting chamber at around two or three weeks old. They exercise by a move that resembles a press-up on their wings.
Swift Group is based in Cottingham in East Yorkshire and has become the biggest manufacturer of caravans, motorhomes and holiday homes in the UK, having been established in 1964.
