BTO Blog

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The BTO blog offers comment and perspective from a wide range of BTO staff and supporters, giving context and inviting discussion on various aspects of BTO's work. Read our series of posts by Young Birders and our seasonal migration blog posts. Don't forget to visit the Demography Blog (Demog Blog) for Ringing and Nest Recording stories, and follow our Cuckoo Blogs (part of our Cuckoo Tracking Project).
Spotted Flycatcher. Liz Cutting
Featured blog post

Migration blog (7th – 13th May)

07 May 2021

At last there is a forecast of warm southerly airflow for this weekend, a rare thing indeed this spring. This should unlock the floodgates and we should see a mass arrival of summer visitor and the exodus of any remaining winter visitors — it could be a busy weekend.

Blog Series

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Migration blog (30th April – 6th May)

Another week dominated by cool weather was interjected by a spell of lighter winds at the start of the week that provided a scattering of common and scarce migrants, mainly along the south coast.

29 Apr 2021

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Migration blog (23rd – 29th April)

Spring migration has so far been a slow and steady affair, and with the weather being dominated by clear skies and northerly winds it has meant reports of some species have been much lower than would be expected for the time of year.

23 Apr 2021

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Migration blog (16th – 22nd April )

BirdTrack organiser, Scott Mayson, and Media Manager, Paul Stancliffe, reveal what species have been on the move over the last month and what we can expect for the week ahead. 

16 Apr 2021

Copeland Islands view. Katherine Booth Jones
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What’s the score for Copeland’s symphony of seabirds?

Northern Ireland Seabird Coordinator Katherine Booth Jones describes her love for the wild coastal habitats of Northern Ireland and the charismatic seabirds that inhabit them.

19 Mar 2021

BTO Surveyor. Jill Tardivel
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Our volunteers: the beating heart of BTO data

Head and Principal Ecologist, David Noble, shares why volunteer-collected data are so important for an organisation like BTO. 

17 Dec 2020

Juliet at Bempton Cliffs
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First impressions from a CEO

Our new CEO, Juliet Vickery, reflects on her first 45 days as CEO.

16 Dec 2020

Aerial photo of Thetford, Simon Gillings
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The urban sprawl

BTO's Head and Principal Ecologist, Gavin Siriwardena, explains how the urban landscape is affecting our wild bird populations. 

20 Nov 2020

BTO Podcast episode 2 - Greg Palmer, Juliet Vickery and Andy Clements
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Meet the CEOs: in conversation with Juliet Vickery and Andy Clements

Youth Advisory Panel member Greg Palmer talks to Juliet and Andy, new and outgoing BTO Chief Executive Officers respectively, about their careers, ideas and plans for the future.

02 Nov 2020

Starling, Harriet Day
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Free as a bird through lockdown

On World Mental Health Day, BTO volunteer Harriet reflects how even an urban environment can provide opportunities to connect with nature and improve our wellbeing during periods of isolation.

10 Oct 2020

Pripyat river. © Daniel Rosengren / Frankfurt Zoological Society
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BTO in Belarus: the Polesia project

Adham Ashton-Butt explains how BTO is involved in a cross-organisational project in Polesia, one of the last remaining wildernesses in Europe.

11 Sep 2020

YAP in February
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International Youth Day

This International Youth Day, get to know some of our Youth Advisory Panel.

11 Aug 2020

Mya Bambrick
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Where are the young women in birding?

As we continue to work on making birding more inclusive, how do young women perceive birding? Five young birders share their experiences.

05 Aug 2020

Jamey in Suffolk
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Diversity in birding: why it matters

BTO's Jamey Redway reflects on diversity in birding, and how organisations like BTO play a role in making birding more inclusive.

29 Jun 2020

River Cam, Andy Clements.
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Leading through a crisis

BTO's CEO, Andy Clements, reflects on how the organisation is adapting to life under lockdown.

21 May 2020

Goldfinch on feeder - Steven Whitcher / stock.adobe.com
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Garden BirdWatch - 25 years of monitoring garden birds

We have been collecting garden bird lists for 25 years, but why does this matter? Kate Risely explains what we can learn from GBW data.

01 May 2020

IWD Women
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The women who inspire

Four women from across BTO share their stories of the women who inspire them for International Women's Day 2020.

05 Mar 2020

View westwards from the Clift Hills, South Mainland, Shetland
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Citizen Science in Shetland

BTO volunteer Hugh Tooby shares his journey through Shetland as part of the Upland Rovers scheme.

25 Feb 2020

Turtle Dove - mzphoto11 / stock.adobe.com
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BirdTrack — a Swiss army knife in BTO’s toolkit?

BTO’s Ecological Statistician Philipp Boersch-Supan explains the insights BirdTrack records can provide.

13 Feb 2020

Attendees and staff of the 2019 Bardsey Young Birders’ Week - Steve Stansfield
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Volunteering at a Bird Observatory

Louis Driver shares his experiences of volunteering at Bardsey Bird Observatory, supported by the Young Bird Observatory Volunteer programme.

29 Jan 2020

Short-eared Owl tagging. Chris Wernham
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Tracking Short-eared Owls: Notes from the field

Why would anyone choose to spend a winter’s night out on a cold Orkney moor? Ben Darvill gives an insight into the dedication of Short-eared Owl fieldworkers, and their amazing discoveries.

28 Jan 2020

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Our future - in your hands

Our future - in your hands

We are developing our youth engagement programme to find and nurture our surveyors of the future. With your help we can provide resources to educate, engage and empower.

Find out more

Blogs on specific topics

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