The BBC reports conservationists are hoping to turn Edinburgh into a sanctuary for swifts after a drastic decline in the bird’s population. Numbers fell by more than 50% in the UK between 1995 and 2016, when the estimated average population dropped from 125,500 to 59,000.

One of the biggest challenges that the species faces is the loss of nesting sites in older buildings, which are often blocked off during renovation work or lost when buildings are demolished.