Bird Conservation Targeting Project

The Bird Conservation Targeting Project is an exciting joint project organised in partnership between the British Trust for Ornithology, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage.

The project collects bird records from many sources, including your BirdTrack records, county bird clubs and other national surveys. The results help to target valuable resources towards important bird sites which are identified by mapping the distributions of farmland and woodland birds of current conservation concern. In this way, we can all help to influence how millions of pounds in grant payments is distributed through agri-environment and woodland schemes.

You can really see the value of this project (and your sightings) by looking at the key species below. As we add more records, these maps will improve and give a better picture of the distribution of these particular species. Note that not all the maps are up to date because of changes to which species are on the BCTP list; the latest full results are available here

Woodlark by Derek Belsey
Wood Lark 
As this species continues to spread, it will be interesting to see how this map changes over time.
 
Tree Pipit by John Bowers
Tree Pipit
Note the hot-spots for this species and also how it may have disappeared from some areas in southeast England.
 
Ring Ouzel by Chris Mills
Ring Ouzel
The restricted breeding distribution of this enigmatic species is nicely shown, with birds restricted to certain habitats.
 
Marsh Tit by Jill Pakenham
Marsh Tit
Marsh Tits have been steadily declining, reflected by a more patchy distribution, particularly in the east of England.

 

To see some maps of results for your country / region, click on the links below. All species and regions are available here.

 

Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales
South West England
South East England
West Midlands
East Midlands
East of England
Yorkshire and the Humber
North West England
North East England