Shepton Mallet has witnessed an unusual flock of birds migrate to its streets this autumn.

As a result of the cancellation of the usual floral hanging baskets in its town centre due to the coronavirus pandemic, Shepton Mallet Town Council decided to commission a different kind of display instead.

The council approached the team of artists behind the Art Bank community hub and café, and asked them to design a public art trail for the High Street.

The creative team behind the Art Bank are renowned for their championing of art made from recycled and reclaimed materials – also known as the Rubbish Art Project.

This not-for-profit organisation takes waste materials from local businesses, charity shops and individuals, and helps local artists and residents transform them into thought-provoking art.

For the Shepton Bird Trail, the team approached seven local artists and asked them to create a large-scale, three-dimensional bird to be displayed across the town.

Rather than looking to the exotic and unusual, the artists focused on birds that locals are likely to encounter in their everyday lives here in Somerset - a seagull, a heron, a blackbird, a curlew, a buzzard, a kingfisher and a barn owl.

The Somerset Wildlife Trust partnered with the town council and creative team at the Art Bank to advise on messaging and how residents can do their part to protect the natural habitats in which these birds thrive.

The art trail also highlights the fact that urban areas, parks and gardens are all home to birds. Birds and other wildlife in Somerset rely on different types of habitats such as wildflower meadows, wet grassland, woodland, calcareous grassland, and heath.

Pippa Rayner, engaging with nature co-ordinator at Somerset Wildlife Trust, said: "Everyone can get involved in helping wildlife in Somerset – gardens and public green spaces provide real havens for wildlife in towns and villages – even a window box can help and for those without gardens there are ways to help on our nature reserves or in local community spaces."

For more information on Somerset's wildlife and how you can get involved with helping wildlife in the local area visit www.somersetwildlife.org.

The art trail will be on show from now until December 2020 and is free of charge for all to enjoy. The trail starts at the bottom of Town Street and carries on through the High Street around the Market Place.

The artists who have created the birds are Mandy Mckenna, Angela Morley, Eleanor Wdowski, Fiona Campbell, Melanie Deegan, Jackie Adams and Sarah Meikle.

More information can be found on the Shepton Mallet Town Council website: https://sheptonmallet-tc.gov.uk/2020/10/07/the-shepton-bird-trail/