Press releases
New wave of bird flu rips through threatened gull and tern colonies
June 2023
The recent spread of Avian Influenza among threatened gulls and terns is gathering pace, say experts from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)...
And they’re off! 2023’s Cuckoos are tagged and ready to go
June 2023
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has fitted 10 more Cuckoos with state-of-the-art satellite tags, allowing scientists and the general public to track their annual migration to central Africa and back...
The search is on to find the UK’s most knowledgeable young birders!
May 2023
Apply now for this year's Martin Garner Spurn Young Birder competition, held at Spurn MigFest in East Yorkshire from 8–10 September...
Fears grow around new wave of Avian Influenza as disease kills thousands of inland gulls
May 2023
Avian Influenza is killing large numbers of Black-headed Gulls at inland and coastal breeding colonies across central and northern England, prompting fears among scientists that a new wave of the disease could be building...
73 million birds gone since 1970 – but which have vanished near you?
May 2023
The UK is home to 73 million fewer birds today than it was in 1970, according to research from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) published today, International Dawn Chorus Day...
He's back! First tracked Cuckoo of the 2023 makes landfall in the UK
April 2023
The first Cuckoo from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Cuckoo Tracking Project to arrive back in the UK reached his breeding grounds in Wales over the weekend, researchers revealed today...
New report paints a mixed picture for Northern Ireland’s internationally important seabirds
March 2023
The tenth annual Northern Ireland Seabird Report has been published today by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)...
Bird flu report spotlights impact of the disease on UK wild birds
March 2023
Following a meeting of more than 100 experts, a report into the continuing Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI or ‘bird flu’) outbreak has been published by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)...
Act now to save migratory birds, scientists say
February 2023
A new paper by RSPB and BTO researchers calls for the focus to shift from diagnosis to treatment of migrant bird declines Birds that breed in Europe and winter in Africa have declined by more than 25% since 1980, though the reasons why remain unclear Measures including tree planting and protection from hunting are likely to have a positive impact We must act now to stop the long-term declines of birds that migrate between Europe and Africa, argues a new peer-reviewed study by scientists from the RSPB and British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)...
Young birders scoop top prizes at Spurn Migfest
October 2022
The seventh annual Martin Garner Spurn Young Birder event took place at this autumn’s Spurn Migration Festival in East Yorkshire...
Inaugural Youth In Nature Summit Unites Leaders Of Today And Tomorrow
October 2022
More than a hundred young volunteers will join leaders from across the conservation sector this Friday (28 October) at the first ever BTO Youth in Nature Summit...
High-flying conservationists win top national awards
October 2022
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) celebrated the outstanding work of conservation scientists and volunteers in an annual awards ceremony held last night at the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) Natural Eye exhibition at London’s Mall Galleries...
45-year-old seabird highlights impact of avian influenza
September 2022
At 45 years old, a Fulmar recorded on an uninhabited Scottish island is one of the oldest of its kind ever recorded...
Hope soars for UK birds as new partnership signed
September 2022
Three leading conservation organisations have signed a new agreement that will help to secure the future of bird conservation in the UK...
Disease drives decline of another familiar garden bird
September 2022
A parasitic disease is responsible for the severe declines seen in both UK Greenfinch and Chaffinch populations, say scientists in a new open-access paper in Scientific Reports, a Nature Publishing journal...
Rare seabirds disturbed by Scottish marine traffic
September 2022
New research undertaken by the British Trust for Ornithology has shown that some seabirds that spend the winter months in inshore Scottish waters are highly sensitive to disturbance by marine traffic...
Link revealed between climate change and decline of a threatened UK migrant bird
August 2022
Researchers from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) have used data gathered by volunteers to uncover how the decline in one Red-listed species is linked to climate-induced changes in its breeding behaviour...
Hope for endangered British bird as head-started young fly the nest
August 2022
The fortunes of 37 young Curlews, rescued as eggs from RAF airfields and reared in captivity, are being followed by scientists from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)...
Record summer for ‘hummingbirds’ in UK gardens
August 2022
Data from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Garden BirdWatch survey, carried out by volunteers across the UK, show a fourfold increase in the number of gardens recording a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, making 2022 a record year...
Find a feather – a seaside treasure hunt
July 2022
At this time of year, most British Shelduck migrate across the North Sea to find a safe place to moult...
Bowie the Curlew flees from fire – but has his luck run out?
July 2022
Scientists from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and University of East Anglia have tracked a Curlew on an amazing journey that recorded his close shave with a huge wildfire in central Portugal...
Some Don't Like it Hot
July 2022
New research from BTO implicates rising temperatures in the steep decline of the Willow Warbler, one of the UK’s most tuneful harbingers of spring...
Star speakers announced for 2022 Spurn Migfest
July 2022
Top ornithologists Martin Collinson and Alex Lees will give the headline talks at this year’s Spurn Migfest, taking place at East Yorkshire’s Spurn Bird Observatory between 9 and 11 September...
Farewell to PJ the super Cuckoo
June 2022
When scientists from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) attached a satellite tag to a Cuckoo in Suffolk back in 2016, they had no idea that it would still be providing them with information on the amazing movements of these birds in 2022...
Search begins for the Martin Garner Spurn Young Birder
May 2022
The BTO and the Spurn Bird Observatory Trust are once again on the lookout for the UK’s best young birders...
Time to help monitor the birds you love
April 2022
Your birdwatching skills can really help in the conservation of the UK’s birds...
Can citizen science provide a solution for bat-friendly planning?
April 2022
A new study, published in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning, has used a novel ‘citizen science’ approach to deliver much-needed information on bat distribution and activity, information that can be used to support planning decisions and effective mitigation measures...
New study offers hope that conservation can help nature adapt to climate change
April 2022
A new study, reviewing a suite of published scientific research, provides evidence that conservation action can help species adapt to a changing climate...
Herons and Scottish Islands
March 2022
The British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO) Heronries Census is one of the longest running bird surveys in the world but there are knowledge gaps for Grey Herons on some of the Scottish Islands and BTO needs help to fill them...
Britain’s BirdTrack birdwatchers share vital non-bird observations with national iRecord
March 2022
BirdTrack, organised by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) as a birdwatcher’s online notebook, has just submitted over a quarter of a million observations of other wildlife to iRecord, a national wildlife data collection website operated by the Biological Records Centre( BRC), providing information that is vital in helping to understanding the health of all of our wildlife, not just birds...
