RSPB Scotland seeks wall for mural of endangered bird as part of swift city project

RSPB Scotland is looking for a home for a new mural to celebrate swifts in the city and are searching for a building that could host a stunning image as part of a project.

The swift spends most of the year in the skies above west, central and south-east Africa, and in summer they return to breed in Europe.

The Edinburgh Swift City project aims to turn the Capital into a sanctuary for swifts, to protect the existence of the endangered bird which is the fastest recorded at level height and evolved when the T-rex died out 60 million years ago.

It spends most of the year in the skies above west, central and south-east Africa, and in summer they return to breed in Europe.

After a ten-month long flight of at least 6,000 miles, swifts annually return to Edinburgh in May.

Common swift Apus apus, group in flight

They mate for life and faithfully return to the same nest, and very much become a part of the local community.

As a legacy of the endangered species an artist will create a swift mural which will be the heart of the project and will eventually link into a self-led swift cycle route through the city.

The charity is looking for an unused wall of a building in Edinburgh, which can be on a community centre, personal home, public or private sector business.

It must have the consent of the building owners and local community members must want to have the mural and there is hope that the local area would be a swift hub, with many local people or groups empowered and engaged to protect and enhance swift populations.

The charity aims to incorporate nest boxes in the mural so there are several ecological and practical conditions needed for the site to be appropriate for swifts.

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