The promoter is the General Directorate of Libraries, Archives, and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Sports, with architect Santiago Esteban Hernán Martín drafting the project. The total budget for the work is 72,000 euros (VAT included).
The project defines the actions necessary for the partial restoration of the walls around the north sector of the convent and their adaptation to have nesting boxes for the lesser kestrel colony that lives there -- all part of the conservation actions included in the LIFE ZEPAURBAN Project for the Management of Urban SPAs in Extremadura. This activity is part of Action C1, "Adaptation of nesting sites in buildings of heritage value in urban SPAs of Extremadura".
The La Visitación Convent of Puebla de Alcocer is a complex of great heritage richness (both cultural and natural heritage) and it is located in several protected areas (SPA, SAC, and Regional Interest Area). The state of ruin of this property in recent decades has made it easier for one of the most important lesser kestrel colonies in Extremadura and the Iberian Peninsula to have settled in its crevices and putlog holes, with more than 40 pairs currently living there. For this reason, actions will be undertaken to partially strengthen the property, increasing the number of nesting sites for the species and adapting the available spaces so that they are not accessible to other species. In addition, the building has almost fifty stork nests located at the tops of the walls.
The main aim of the actions is to the recovery and restoration of greatly deteriorated walls by building new walls with prefabricated rammed earth partitions that will include artificial putlog holes to facilitate the nesting of the lesser kestrel, as well as the conditioning of existing putlog holes in the stonework for the lesser kestrel and the common swift. This action will contribute to improving and adapting the nesting sites of the lesser kestrel colony that inhabits said property, as well as to the recovery of deteriorated or missing construction elements to facilitate the restoration and progressive consolidation of the convent for future cultural use.
