Develop your skills

A BTO training course. Jamie Murray-Grant

Sharpen your birding and surveying skills with BTO

Become a better birder with our guides on basic birding and surveying skills, and browse our range of training courses and bird identification videos.

Birding Basics

Stumped on what binoculars you need or which bird guide to choose? Take a look at our advice on birding basics.

Survey Essentials

Resources and general guidance for surveyors and fieldworkers.

Bird Identification

Build your bird ID confidence with our breakdown of the principles and techniques of identification, and tackle confusion species in our bird ID videos.

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Identifying Ruff

Ruff, with their variable size and plumage, often present identification issues. However, by learning how to recognise Ruff in their various guises through this video, you’ll be able to pick them out with confidence, and have a great reference point for identifying other similar-looking waders.

Recent articles

Herring Gull. Photograph by Edmund Fellowes

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Identifying Common & Herring Gull

Build up your gull ID skills by learning to recognise two ideal reference species: Common Gull and Herring Gull.

Corn Bunting. Photograph by John Harding

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Identifying farmland buntings

Yellowhammer, Cirl and Corn Bunting all breed in farmland in the UK, and can all present identification challenges.

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Identifying winter buntings

Brown, streaky buntings can be an ID headache! This video tackles four species that can be found in coastal areas in winter: Reed, Little, Snow and Lapland Buntings.

Develop your skills

Birding Basics

Survey Essentials

Bird Identification

Identifying Ruff

Recent articles

Identifying Common & Herring Gull

Identifying farmland buntings

Identifying winter buntings

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