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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).

Blogs on specific topics

Demography Blog

Our Demog blog features latest news and stories from the BTO’s Ringing and Nest Recording teams, along with some fascinating contributions from blog followers.

Migration Blog

Spring and autumn are exciting times of year as migrant birds arrive in and depart from Britain. In the Migration Blog, we make predictions about when to expect interesting migrant arrivals.

Young Birder Blog

A series of blogs were we invite young birders to share their experiences of birding and participating in BTO surveys.

Scott Mayson

Featured blog post

Migration blog (20th-26th May)

19 May 2022

Like the temperatures across Britain and Ireland, the pace of migration has soared in the last week as more and more birds arrive to breed or stop off on their way to breeding grounds further afield.

Blog Series

BBS Volunteer. David Tipling / BTO

Sustainability and citizen science: estimating the carbon footprint of the Breeding Bird Survey

BTO Data Scientist Simon Gillings explores the results of BTO's investigation into the carbon footprint of biodiversity monitoring.

18 May 2022

Grey Squirrel. John Harding / BTO

Tackling invasives: unpicking the definitions

BTO's Head and Principal Ecologist David Noble breaks down what we really mean by 'invasive species'.

16 May 2022

Birdtrack migration blog (13th-19th May)

A change in weather in the last week has seen migration ramp up with more birds arriving for the summer across Britain and Ireland.

12 May 2022

Silver-washed Fritillary. Liz Cutting / BTO

More than birds: a butterfly story

Steve Oates, a BBS volunteer, writes about his journey into butterfly conservation.

05 May 2022

Wind turbines, Melanie Kocheva/stock.adobe.com

Achieving global targets for renewable energy

BTO's Aonghais Cook discusses the challenges associated with an environmentally sensitive, socially just transition to global renewable power.

21 Apr 2022

BirdTrack migration blog (Mid-April - May)

With winter behind us, spring migration has begun to gather pace over the last few weeks. Summer migrants are arriving, while winter visitors depart for their breeding areas.

12 Apr 2022

Tree Sparrow. Philip Croft / BTO

Using bird ringing data to help target conservation management

Amidst widespread declines, how can we ensure conservation is targeted and effective? Analysis of ringing data may be key to answering this question.

04 Apr 2022

Hen Harrier. Alicia Hayden

Exploring Birds through Art

Alicia Hayden, BTO Youth Advisory Panel member, writes about her love of birds and art, and how they coalesce in her growing portfolio.

21 Mar 2022

Cetti's Warbler. Tony Cox

26 Years as a BBS Volunteer

As 2022's BBS approaches, volunteer John Gibson reflects on his journey into BTO and the 26 years of BBS at his local patch in Wigan which followed.

14 Mar 2022

Tajo Figuras. Reproduced from Breuil & Burkitt (1929 Rock Paintings of Southern Andalusia. Oxford University Press)

A Word with Tim Birkhead

BTO Youth Rep Jasmine Canham sits down with Tim Birkhead to talk about the inspiration and ideas behind his new book, Birds and Us.

01 Mar 2022

Sunflowers. Nicholas Watts

Six Decades of Farming for Nature

Our CEO Juliet sits down with Vine House Farm founder Nicholas Watts to unpack his passionate support for wildlife-friendly farming.

25 Feb 2022

Marsh Harrier. Photograph by Sarah Kelman (Bird Photographer of the Year image)

Birding 101 challenges young people to explore birds through written art

BTO Youth’s online training programme Birding 101 is a series of free, virtual sessions for young people to learn all about birding in the UK. It has been a huge success so far, with over 100 young people from across the UK engaging in multiple sessions. These sessions have provided a safe space for young people to celebrate their passion for birds, share their experiences and develop their knowledge and skills.

25 Feb 2022

Seawatching on the Isle of May. Steve Willis

A Haar Day's Month: Gull Tracking on the Isle of May

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a seabird ecologist? BTO scientist Daniel Johnston shares his first experience catching and tagging gulls to collect valuable data about their behaviour.

21 Feb 2022

A kingfisher perched on a branch

My Patch: A Lockdown Gift

One year on from the third national lockdown, BTO volunteer Harriet Day writes about discovering the joy of birding closer to home during times of restricted travel.

25 Jan 2022

Gethin walking along a snowy riverbank

Out in the Field

BTO Youth Rep Gethin Jenkins-Jones shares his experience surveying the River Usk to collect data on Cormorant and Goosander populations.

20 Jan 2022

Migration blog review of 2021

Whilst 2021 was a stop start year for many of us the same could be said for migrating birds, but for very different reasons.

16 Dec 2021

Migration blog – Winter

As we get ever closer to the end of autumn the pace of migration steadily slows, and as the daylight hours shorten so does the variety of birds on the move.

12 Nov 2021

Long-tailed Tit on feeder. Tommy Holden

Supplementary bird feeding – a conservation balance

Dr Kate Plummer and colleagues discuss the delicate conservation balance of providing additional food for birds.

09 Nov 2021

Migration blog (22nd – 28th October)

Many bird watchers have been lamenting on what a poor autumn it has been so far for migration, with numbers of common, scarce, and expected rare species down on what would normally be expected.

22 Oct 2021

Long-eared Owl. Edmund Fellowes

Migration blog (15th – 21st October)

Changeable winds over the coming week could herald the first big arrival of Dark-bellied Brent Geese.

15 Oct 2021

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Related content

BBS Volunteer. David Tipling / BTO

Sustainability and citizen science: estimating the carbon footprint of the Breeding Bird Survey

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Get the best bird data to inform Ecological Impact Assessments

meadow pipit photograph by steve gantlett

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This course involves three weekly online sessions of 100 minutes, with a trainer:participant ratio of about 1:30. Participants' microphones are muted during the sessions but there is a large interactive component,...