We harness the skills and passion of birdwatchers to advance our understanding of ornithology and produce impartial science - communicated clearly for the benefit of birds and people.
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David Noble takes a sober look at the latest State of Nature Report.
State of Nature 2019 presents an overview of how the country’s wildlife is faring, looking back over nearly 50 years of monitoring to see how nature has changed in the UK, its Crown Dependencies and O...
The review panel concluded that the BTO has had a remarkable impact on policy and practice given its size and resources. The panel found BTO’s main strengths to be its volunteer base, rigorous in...
Henrietta Pringle reveals the work behind a recent paper on gamebirds and predation.
Every year, 41-50 million non-native gamebirds (Pheasant and Red-legged Partridge) are released in the UK. Fewer than half these birds are shot, meaning there is potentially a large food resource avai...
Thanks to the BTO's Cuckoo Tracking Project we are learning more about Cuckoo migration. There are still important questions to answer, so we have fitted four more Cuckoos with satellite tags thi...
BTO science contributes to our understanding of future scenarios, and informing policies and conservation management strategies to help species adapt.
Together, the UK’s gardens cover a larger area than all National Nature Reserves combined and arguably form our most important nature reserve. As towns and city become more densely populated and...
The study’s authors extracted information from advertising in the RSPB’s Birds magazine over a 40 year period to show how the number and variety of bird food products has risen during this time. These...
The latest BTO/RSPB/JNCC Wetland Bird Survey report has been published, covering the period July 2017 to June 2018. Explore all the data and trends, including waterbird totals for all WeBS sites – fro...
Answer a quick series of simple questions to tell us more about the widlife in your garden for this partnership project with BBC Springwatch.
Andy Clements, BTO Chief Executive, sets out BTO’s position regarding the current debate about wildlife licensing.
The new BBS report shows the impact that severe 2018 weather may have had on some of our birds. The Beast from the East hit some of our smaller resident birds whilst strong desert winds hampered sprin...
Phil Atkinson explains the technology behind tracking.
The work gives revised population estimates for 98 different species that winter in Great Britain, using data collected by many thousand birdwatchers to calculate either the average peak winter popula...
BTO research is helping to shape the modern farmed landscape by informing agri-environment schemes.
One of our most treasured songbirds, the Spotted Flycatcher, is disappearing. Once considered a common garden nesting species, the Spotted Flycatcher is now a bird that many people are willing to trav...
It has been argued, however, that wildlife-friendly farming might be more appropriate away from tropical deforestation ‘frontiers’. In the UK, for example, some species which depend on large areas of...
Can we move and inspire people with passionate, powerful communications without compromising our impartiality and scientific credentials?
The reasons underlying these changes have been a mystery. However, we are now in position to begin to understand them; with further research we will be able to work towards securing their future. T...
The first breeding atlas – the first national bird atlas anywhere in the world - conducted during 1968–72, was described at the time as “a huge step forward in our knowledge of the distributions of Br...
Steve Portugal explains why and how birds undertake long and perilous migratory journeys.
The Cuckoo Tracking Project has been revealing new discoveries about how British Cuckoos migrate, and the challenges they face. Follow and support this ground-breaking project.
Discover how art and the written word are increasing engagement with migrant birds and the challenges that they face
Whether you record the birds in your local park or when you go birdwatching further afield you can add them to BirdTrack and see how your records develop over months and years. You can add casual reco...
Henrietta is part of the Terrestrial Ecology team, researching and analysing impacts of land-use on bird distributions and ecology.
David is responsible for the strategic development of BTO’s monitoring programme and associated research, is the main contact for biodiversity indicators, surveys of taxa other than birds, and for conservation initiatives such as BAP and Birds of Conservation Concern.
