Mike Toms

Head of Communications

Mike is responsible for how the BTO communicates with a range of audiences, presenting the BTO's science and monitoring work and promoting the role of its volunteer fieldworkers in the provision of data that support conservation science and inform policy. He oversees the BTO's Communications Team, covering the BTO's press, website and publishing operations.

Interests & Responsibilities

In addition to work on birds and other taxa within the garden environment (Mike was BTO's Head of Garden Ecology for many years), his research interest extends to encompass work on Barn Owl survey and monitoring methods, methods for monitoring mammal species and bird migration. He is a BTO ringer, a Nest Recorder and an active fieldworker. His interests are reflected in both his peer-reviewed papers and more popular books, the latter including Flight Lines (2017) and the New Naturalist volumes on Owls (2014) and Garden Birds (2019).

Recent BTO Publications

Plummer, K.E., Dadam, D., Brereton, T., Dennis, E.B., Massimino, D., Risely, K., Siriwardena, G.M. & Toms, M.P. 2023. Trends in butterfly populations in UK gardens - new evidence from citizen science monitoring. Insect Conservation and Diversity Link to publication View at journal website (DOI: 10.1111/icad.12645)
Turner, R.K., Griffiths, R.A., Wilkinson, J.W., Julian, A., Toms, M.P. & Isaac, N.J.B. 2022. Diversity, fragmentation and connectivity in the UK amphibian and reptile data landscape. Biodiversity & Conservation Link to publication View at journal website (DOI: 10.1007/s10531-022-02502-w)
Jewitt, K. & Toms, M. 2022. Into the Red. British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford, Norfolk ISBN: 978-1-912642-38-0 176pp
Mike Toms & Stuart Newson 2019. Animals of the Brecks: Mammals, Reptiles & Amphibians. Link to publication ISBN: 978-1-908581-98-3
Swallow, B., Buckland, S.T., King, R & Toms, M.P. 2019. Assessing factors associated with changes in the numbers of birds visiting gardens in winter: Are predators partly to blame? . Ecology and Evolution View at journal website (DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5702)

Other Publications

Toms, M.P. 1996. Project Barn Owl: the first full year of this three-year study. The Raptor 23 : 32-36 Edit link: edit



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