BTO

Love birds? Love drawing? The British Trust for Ornithology’s summer project gives families a great reason to watch garden birds together, and the chance to win a pair of compact binoculars for the best garden bird drawing! Garden BirdWatch (GBW) is a scientific project that monitors birds in gardens, but it’s also a great activity for families to do together. The project involves watching, counting, drawing and writing, and is open to children aged 5 to 11.

The latest Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) report, covering population trends for the UK’s bird species, is released today. This report is a celebration of the dedication of the volunteers who give up their time and take part in bird surveying; collectively they walked 14,996km whilst actively surveying in 2019.

In 1995 the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) launched a weekly garden bird survey: Garden BirdWatch (GBW). Today the project is still going strong, having received over eight million lists of birds and other wildlife from a total of more than 50,000 British gardens, and giving us a unique insight into the changes at our bird feeders over that time.

A new study by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the University of Turin shows how to minimise impacts of urban growth on bats at a time when the need for new housing often hits the headlines.

This study highlights how the contribution of citizen scientists can really make a difference in research projects. The volunteer-based data collection approach allowed us to get a clear view of urban habitat exploitation by bats in Norfolk, and provides practical suggestions for urban development and woodland management.”