Press Releases - November/December 2006
Item 1

No. 2006/10/55
November 2006

Be Prepared – threats from bird flu

New mapping techniques, revealed in the November issue of BTO News, show how British Trust for Ornithology scientists, working closely with Defra, can provide rapid advice about the risks posed by avian influenza.

Last year, when European outbreaks of avian influenza (bird flu) occurred first in Russia and then in Turkey, Romania, France and elsewhere, BTO migration experts were called upon to assess the risks of transmission to the UK. It was possible to scan through over 650,000 movements of ringed birds within the BTO’s database and to say how many birds of which species had made journeys to and from affected countries in the past but it was hard to look at the timing of probable movements. Defra, and in particular its epidemiological expert Professor John Wilesmith, recognised the huge value of the BTO’s datasets but realised that we needed a more streamlined method of analysing and synthesising the data to help them respond to potentially fast-moving events. Funding from Defra has enabled BTO scientists to develop a migration mapping tool which provides a clear picture of the timing of migration and will significantly improve the quality of the advice ministers receive.

In the article, the authors – Phil Atkinson, Jacquie Clark, Humphrey Crick and Rob Robinson – have used the White-fronted Goose to show how the new ‘migration mapping tool’ works. They have analysed the many hundreds of movements of individual ringed White-fronted Goose into and out of Britain & Ireland to show the direction and timing of migration. If, for instance, there were to be an outbreak of bird flu in Denmark in November then this sort of analysis would provide valuable information to decision-makers in Defra on where they might target their surveillance (i.e. potentially to areas where White-fronted Geese are found in England). Now that the technique has been developed, it can be applied to any species that has been ringed in sufficient numbers.

Dr Phil Atkinson, who took the lead in this research said:
“We were pleased that Defra recognised that we have excellent data about the movements of birds due to the huge efforts of bird ringers, working as part of the BTO’s ringing scheme. We have used this information to develop a ‘migration mapping tool’ to give an easy to understand picture of the timing of migration and the areas from which migratory waterfowl that visit Britain & Ireland originate, or through which they travel. We can now provide much better information to Defra to help them target their surveillance for a potential avian flu incursion, given an outbreak of the disease in another country.”

Dr Humphrey Crick, Senior Populations Ecologist of the BTO said:
“We need to remember that the majority of outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian flu in Asia and Europe over the last 18 months have not been linked to wild migratory birds. However, given that migratory birds have also been caught up in this epidemic, we need to be able to assess the possibility that an outbreak anywhere in Europe or Scandinavia could be brought to Britain. This new technique is a good first step and we hope to continue working with Defra to use our enormous datasets to provide the best possible information.”

Dr Debby Reynolds, Chief Veterinary Officer said:
“Working with the BTO and other expert organisations has helped us take significant steps forward in terms of our Avian Influenza preparedness. This tool is a great example of one such step. If there is an outbreak of bird flu, the migration mapping tool will rapidly provide Defra with key information, which will help to focus surveillance efforts. The fact that this has been achieved through partnership and ground-breaking research makes it all the more exciting.”

Please see over for further information

Notes for editors:

1. BTO News is the membership magazine of the British Trust for Ornithology. It is published six times a year. Please contact press@bto.org to receive a pdf of the article.

2. Volunteer ringers give freely of their time and expertise and also provide a substantial part of the funding for the Ringing Scheme. The Scheme is also funded by a partnership of the BTO and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) (on behalf of English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside Council for Wales, and also on behalf of the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland). The Scheme also receives support from National Parks and Wildlife (Ireland).

3. On average, fewer than one out of every fifty birds ringed is subsequently reported to the BTO, so every report of a ringed bird is of value. To report a ringed bird, phone 01842 750050, write to Ringing Unit, BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU or log on to www.ring.ac

4. Bird photographs are available for use alongside articles. E -mail with your request quoting News Release no. 2006-10-55.

For further information please contact:

Phil Atkinson on 01842 750050 or e-mail:

Humphrey Crick on 01842 750050 or e-mail:

Graham Appleton on 01842 750050 or e-mail:

Images are available to use alongside this release and a pdf of the article can be obtained from

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