The Breeding Bird Survey of the United Kingdom

Turtle Dove, by Graham Catley / BTO

Author(s): Massimino, D., Baillie, S.R., Balmer, D.E., Bashford, R.I., Gregory, R.D., Harris, S.J., Heywood, J.J.N., Kelly, L.A., Noble, D.G., Pearce-Higgins, J.W., Raven, M.J., Risely, K., Woodcock, P., Wotton, S.R. & Gillings, S.

Published: December 2024  

Journal: Global Ecology and Biogeography Volume: 34

Article No.: e13943

Digital Identifier No. (DOI): 10.1111/geb.13943

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Good quality information on species’ population trends is essential for successful conservation action. In this paper, the dataset of the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is made publicly available, along with details of how the data can be used to calculate bird population trends. This will help to further inform bird conservation in the UK and beyond.
BBS data have been widely used in research over the past three decades, and they have always been available upon request. However, with this publication, over seven million records are made freely and openly available. In this, the BBS becomes one of few structured national recording schemes for birds anywhere in the world which makes the information collected by its volunteers wholly available to anyone who wishes to access it.

Abstract

Motivation: Information on species’ population trends is essential to assess species’ conservation status, make informed environmental decisions, and ultimately reduce biodiversity loss. Robust population trends require a long-term monitoring programme, often using citizen scientists, that ideally generate representative and unbiased data from the study area. Here we present the dataset of the Breeding Bird Survey, the main scheme for monitoring the population changes of common and widespread breeding birds in the United Kingdom, which achieves this through a randomised sampling scheme and defined field methodology. We also describe the modelling approach used to calculate the population trends, which are the main output of the survey.

Main types of variable contained: The main published dataset contains 7,070,577 records detailing counts of 217 bird species in 7,010 grid cells over 30 years. Data for 78 species that are currently regarded as too sensitive to be released at fine resolution are omitted. As an illustration of the main use of this dataset we provide population change estimates for 119 bird species.

Spatial location and grain: Grid squares (1 x 1 km) are randomly selected using a stratified sampling scheme throughout the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. Data in a grid square are collected along two 1-km long transects which are subdivided into 200-m long sections.

Time period and grain: Data have been collected every year since 1994, with two major disruptions in 2001 and 2020, when people’s movements were nationally restricted. Grid squares are surveyed twice a year during the main breeding season (April to June). Here we present the data collected from 1994 to 2023.

Major taxa studied and level of measurement: Bird species.

Software format: Data are supplied as comma-separated text files.

Notes

The BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey is a partnership jointly funded by the BTO, RSPB and JNCC, with fieldwork conducted by volunteers. The production of this data paper was funded through this partnership. BTO’s contribution to the Breeding Bird Survey is supported by funding from Gifts in Wills, for which the Trust is extremely grateful. The authors would like to thank all the volunteers who spent their time in the field collecting the data for this publication. Without their efforts, the BBS would not be possible.
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