A project to underground electric cables in Oxfordsire over a decade ago has helped to boost the bird population of a nearby nature reserve.

In 2005, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) carried out works to bury cabling that ran across part of the Standlake Common Nature Reserve and used the old poles that had held the overhead lines to house three nesting boxes for the reserve's Barn Owl and Kestrel population. Over the years, the boxes have helped provide homes for new generations of birds and are currently hosting a pair of Barn Owls, which it's hoped will hatch more owlets in the coming weeks.

Wear and tear over the years had left the Kestrel box in need of replacement, but the height it needed to be installed on the pole was proving tricky for the wardens to reach, so - while working in the area - engineers from SSEN took the opportunity to reinstate the reserve's newly built box to the correct height.

Chelsie Bickford, Customer Community Advisor for the area said: "The original undergrounding project helped us to strengthen the surrounding area's electricity supply and by using the old overhead line poles to house the bird boxes, we hope we've also helped to bring more nesting birds to Standlake Common Nature Reserve. As we were already working nearby, we were happy to step in and help replace one of the boxes that had seen better days and we hope it'll provide a home to a nesting pair of Kestrels in the very near future."

Lucy Cullen, Lower Windrush Valley Project Manager added: "We would like to thank SSEN for stepping in to help us install the replacement Kestrel box at Standlake Common Nature Reserve. One of two nature reserves in the Lower Windrush Valley, the site is a haven for wildlife with over 170 bird species recorded. We hope that the new nest box will be used by Kestrels for many years to come."

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks is investing over £15m in a project which will see the undergrounding of 90km of overhead lines in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Parks and National Scenic Areas in the north of Scotland and central southern England.

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