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The BTO blog offers comment and perspective from a wide range of BTO staff and supporters, giving context and inviting discussion on various aspects of BTO's work. Read our series of posts by Young Birders and our seasonal migration blog posts. Don't forget to visit the Demography Blog (Demog Blog) for Ringing and Nest Recording stories, and follow our Cuckoo Blogs (part of our Cuckoo Tracking Project).

Blogs on specific topics

Demography Blog

BirdTrack Migration Blog

Young Birder Blog

Scott Mayson

Featured blog post

BirdTrack migration blog (24–30 March)

24 Mar 2023

Spring has certainly sprung in the last week, as summer migrants have taken advantage of warmer weather with a funnel of south-westerlies aiding their arrival.

Blog Series

Great Crested Grebes on nest, Sarah Kelman

Amazing nesters: a journey through the bird breeding season

Hazel McCambridge takes us through the bird breeding behaviours to watch out for this spring, and how to get started with nest monitoring.

16 Mar 2023

View with the sea stacks Drangarnir in the distance, Lesley Hindley

Ken Williamson's Faroe Islands Diaries: From Thetford to Tórshavn (and back)

BTO Archivist Lesley Hindley on her travels to the Faroe Islands to digitise the wartime diaries of Kenneth Williamson.

10 Mar 2023

BirdTrack migration blog (Mid-February — Mid-March)

With the songs of Great Tit, Song Thrush and Dunnock starting to fill the air, it feels like spring is just around the corner.

24 Feb 2023

Fionnuala McCully

Finding my place(ment): taking a break from a PhD

PhD student Fionnuala McCully reflects on her placement with the BTO Communications Team, and the benefits she experienced while stepping back from her studies.

25 Jan 2023

Curlew. Annie Shadrake

My BTO volunteering journey: surveying breeding waders in the Yorkshire Dales

Volunteer Annie Shadrake writes about her first year taking part in BTO surveys.

17 Jan 2023

BirdTrack migration blog (mid January–mid February)

With everything from arctic blasts to torrential rain, this winter has certainly been a testing time for birds visiting Britain and Ireland.

13 Jan 2023

Smew. Sarah Kelman / BTO

BirdTrack migration blog (mid-December - mid-January)

With plummeting temperatures across Britain and Ireland, there is little doubt that winter has arrived - and although the main migration periods are over for this year, the recent icy conditions have resulted in some cold weather movement.

14 Dec 2022

Mistle Thrush. Edmund Fellowes / BTO

Garden birds in winter

Discover how birds survive in the cold, which thrushes might visit your garden in an icy spell, and how you can help your garden birds when the weather turns.

12 Dec 2022

Whooper Swan. Sarah Kelman / BTO

Scotland’s winter visitors: why and how do they migrate?

From geese and swans to thrushes and warblers, discover the secrets of our winter birds' migration.

22 Nov 2022

BirdTrack migration blog (November–December)

With November upon us, the focus for many birdwatchers shifts away from autumn migration and towards winter birding.

04 Nov 2022

The southern shores of Lough Neagh, Oxford Island. Sorrel Lyall

Introducing Ripple NI: BTO’s community-based engagement project

From young birder, ringer and Youth Advisory Panel member to BTO Project Officer, Sorrel Lyall’s journey into conservation takes her to Northern Ireland.

02 Nov 2022

BirdTrack migration blog (28th October - 3rd November)

As the nights draw in and trees take on the colours of autumn, the pace of migration slows and fewer species are on the move. Late October is still a great time to look for migrant birds, however, and for some species, this is the prime time of year to see them.

26 Oct 2022

Youth in Nature Summit

Why we built the Youth in Nature Summit

BTO Youth discuss the environmental sector's failure to consistently engage with young people, and set out their goals for the first ever BTO Youth in Nature Summit.

25 Oct 2022

Fieldfare. Liz Cutting / BTO

BirdTrack migration blog (21st-27th October)

With a switch to easterly winds, a flood of migrants was seen along the East coast, much to the delight of those able to get out and witness it.

20 Oct 2022

BirdTrack Migration Blog (14th - 20th October)

With birds arriving from all points of the compass, the last week continued where the previous week left off: a mix of ultra-rare species and scarcer migrants arriving alongside more commoner species.

13 Oct 2022

Greater Mouse-eared Bat. Sergey Ryzhkov / stock.adobe.com

BTO goes batty: how our Acoustic Pipeline project is contributing to bat conservation in some of Europe’s most threatened landscapes

Through the Endangered Landscapes Programme, scientists using the BTO Acoustic Pipeline to support biodiversity monitoring are making some amazing discoveries.

10 Oct 2022

Snow Bunting. Paul Hillion / BTO

BirdTrack migration blog (7th - 13th October)

Migration continues at a pace with some exciting rarities on our shores alongside our commoner species moving en masse to their wintering grounds.

06 Oct 2022

Into the Red. BTO

The Making of Into the Red

When 140 artists and writers come together, united by a common goal: to raise funds for the UK's most vulnerable birds.

04 Oct 2022

Redwing, Edmund Fellowes

BirdTrack migration blog (30th September - 6th October)

As we reach the peak of Autumn migration many millions of birds are on the move across the globe.

30 Sep 2022

BirdTrack migration blog (23rd-29th September)

Given the seemingly unfavourable conditions over the past week, it has been a pleasant surprise to see such a diverse range of species on the move.

21 Sep 2022

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Scotland’s winter visitors: why and how do they migrate?

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