One hundred new nest boxes for starlings

Made and donated by artists Louise McCurdy and Steve Geliot from the #SaveOurStarlings campaign, the boxes are being fitted on schools and other buildings near where starlings visit.

Six of the boxes have been donated to Friends of Preston Park to be installed in the trees there.

Louise McCurdy (left) and Jessie Thomas with some of the bird boxes (Image: Louise McCurdy)

Ms McCurdy said: "We need homes in our cities, not just for people but for birds too."

Starling numbers are in sharp decline, having fallen by around 87 per cent in the last 30 to 40 years according to the council.

Murmurations, where large flocks of starlings swoop across the sky in different patterns, can be seen around the pier from November to March. 

But starlings are now on the red list for conservation concern, which mean these sightings are at risk.

Mr Geliot said: "UK starlings are disappearing at a rate of 150 an hour, and our Brighton Murmuration has dropped from 100,000 in the early 1980s when I first came to Brighton, to 10,000 two years ago and just 8200 last winter - so we need to take action to help them."

• READ MORE: When is the best time to see starling murmurations?

Brighton and Hove City Council leader Phélim Mac Cafferty said: "The sight of murmurations around Brighton’s piers and over the sea inspire so many of us in the winter months, but they are also a stark reminder of our city’s precarious wildlife and why we must do everything we can to protect biodiversity."
A murmuration above Brighton Palace Pier

Councillor Jamie Lloyd, lead councillor for biodiversity said: "It is inspiring to see our partner organisations coming together to take positive action for nature.

"Collective actions such as putting up starling nest boxes are making a difference, and they offer opportunities for everyone to experience the nature on our doorstep."