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Welcome to the BTO/JNCC/RSPB

Breeding Bird Survey

The primary scheme for monitoring the UK's
common and widespread bird species

Little Egret  © John Harding
Will we cover enough squares next year to produce BBS trends for Little Egret? To help boost the numbers, sign up for a BBS square now!
 

The BBS is the main source of population trend information about the UK’s widespread birds – an important indicator of the health of the countryside. We can only produce trends for birds found on 40 or more BBS squares, so the more squares covered, the more species we can monitor. With just a small increase in BBS coverage, we should be able to produce BBS trends for birds such as Little Egret, Peregrine and Barn Owl, among others.

Taking part is easy – just visit a local square twice during the breeding season, and record all birds you see or hear. If you would like to take on a BBS square in 2009, click here to register.

 

Scottish Woodlands.
We are trying to increase BBS coverage in under-represented habitats, and are enhancing coverage in Scotland with Scottish Woodland BBS squares, in partnership with Scottish Natural Heritage and the Forestry Commission. If you live in Scotland, and you’d like to help, click here to contact your BBS Regional Organiser.

Survey Butterflies on your BBS Square!

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey, a joint project between BTO, Butterfly Conservation and CEH.

Online options If you'd like to survey butterflies on your BBS square, email bbs@bto.org or click here for further details. Free ID guides are provided.

Enter your counts on BBS-Online
You can enter your BBS counts directly to BBS-Online from your field recording sheets. Click here to find out how to get set up for next year.

BBS and the Atlas

Your BBS records will automatically be passed
to the Bird Atlas 2007-11 in the form of Roving Records. However, if you confirm breeding for a locally scarce species whilst carrying out the survey it would be worth reporting the record online at www.birdatlas.net, or on a Roving Record form available from BTO.

Go to Atlas home page

 

FREE bird call CD!
A CD of the songs and calls of over 70 British species is available free of charge to new BBS volunteers – just ask your Regional Organiser. Volunteers surveying upland squares will also receive a second CD of upland bird songs and calls.

Download latest BBS Report here2007 BBS Report available!
Latest BBS figures show that woodland birds continue to decline, while species such as Stonechat, Buzzard and Nuthatch are increasing. Over 3,600 BBS squares were surveyed in 2007, allowing us to produce UK population trends for 104 of our breeding bird species. For many of these we can also produce population trends for the separate countries in the UK, and even in different regions of England, allowing us to compare local and national trends. Click here to download the full report.

If you covered a square in 2008, you'll receive a copy of the 2008 BBS Report when available.

ONLINE STATUS: View any reported problems.
AOL Users click here for important details....

To contact the BBS National Organiser email
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BTO Home | JNCC Home | RSPB Home
The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) monitors terrestrial birds throughout the UK to
provide information that underpins the conservation of species and habitats.
The BBS is organised by the BTO on behalf of BTO, JNCC and RSPB
Email: bbs@bto.org
Last updated 2 June, 2009

BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU, UK.
Registered Charity Number 216652 (England & Wales) SCO39193 (Scotland)
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