Taking part in the Winter Bird Survey

Taking part in the Winter Bird Survey

Find out how you can get involved in the Winter Bird Survey. 

Sign up to BBS first (via MyBTO), then request a square in the BBS app.

What skills do I need to take part?

You need to be able to identify all the bird species that are likely to be encountered in your 1-km survey square during the non-breeding season. You also need to be comfortable in your ability to estimate the numbers and species composition of potentially large flocks, particularly of passerines on farmland.

The Winter Bird Survey methodology is based on that of the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey. In essence, it involves counting all of the birds that you see or hear (including adults, juveniles and birds in flight) while walking two 1-km lines across the square. 

You can record any live mammals sighted during your survey visits, but this component of the survey is optional. If you wish to record mammals, you will need to be confident of your ability to identify various deer species, Red Fox, Rabbit, Brown Hare, etc.

Guidance and support

All Winter Bird Survey volunteers will have access to resources on survey methodology, data entry and visit planning. 

We also have a range of Bird ID videos which cover potential ‘confusion species’, including winter finches, buntings, thrushes, birds of prey and more.

How much time does it take?

You will need to undertake up to four survey visits over the winter period: 

  • Visit 1 – in late September or October
  • Visit 2 – in December
  • Visit 3 – in January
  • Visit 4 – in February

Ideally, you will make all four visits to your survey square. However, we welcome participation from volunteers who are only able to do two or three visits,  provided those visits cover at least Visit 1 and one of Visit 2 or Visit 3.

Survey sites are pre-selected from a list of random 1-km squares, so it is likely that you will need to drive to your square. 

A full winter season will require approximately 12–14 hours of time, for travel, surveying and data entry: 

  • Each visit, not including travel time, should take somewhere between 90 minutes to 2 hours.
  • Assuming 45 minutes total travel and around 45 minutes of data entry, the total time commitment per visit is around 3–3.5 hours. 

How do I get involved?

The Winter Bird Survey will take place on existing Breeding Bird Survey squares. Volunteers wishing to take part need to sign up (via MyBTO) and then request an available survey square. 

We will be opening survey square requests in two phases: 

Phase 1 – current Breeding Bird Survey volunteers

If you are an existing Breeding Bird Survey volunteer, you will have the opportunity to book your square(s) for Winter Bird Survey participation in August by updating your preferences in BBS Online.

You will also have the opportunity to inform us if, for any reason, your square should not be made available for the public square booking system.

BBS volunteers should be assured that their BBS allocation and participation will not be influenced by the Winter Bird Survey.

Phase 2 – all volunteers

Any remaining squares will be available to request on the Winter Bird Survey square-request map from the beginning of September. This map will be available to anyone wishing to take part. 

You will be able to make a request against a 10-km square, and a member of the Regional Network or BTO Head Office will suggest appropriate squares within that area.

Once you have agreed on a square to survey, but before you can be formally allocated to it, you will need to register with ‘BBS Online’. Once registered, please advise your Regional Organiser of your username and the allocation can be completed. BBS Online is the web portal which we use for several surveys, including the Winter Bird Survey. You will use this to view and enter your survey data, access lots of helpful resources and find contact details for your Regional Organiser.

Sign up (request a square)

If you already have a MyBTO account:

  • Log in to MyBTO
  • Then look for the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) under “Sign Up for Projects” and click “Register”.
  • Winter Bird Survey volunteers will use the Breeding Bird Survey web application for data entry.
  • After you have signed up, use the BBS app to request a square.

If you don't have a MyBTO account:

Collecting data from your survey square

What to record

While walking the two transects through your survey square, you should record: 

  • All birds – juveniles and adults – that you see and hear, against one of three coarse distance bands (0–25m, 25–100m and >100m). Birds in flight are recorded separately.
  • Simple habitat information, focused on measuring farmland habitat.
  • Optionally, sightings of live mammals.

You will be able to download and print forms for survey recording, or request paper copies to be sent to you via post.

Submitting your data

We encourage volunteers to enter their own counts using the BBS Online web application. Guidance and support are available to help you with this if needed.

Exploring data

Participants will be able to view previous counts on their square (from the 2018/19 survey) via the BBS Online web application.

Resources

Forms, instructions and guidance

Essential reading for volunteers

We acknowledge that some squares in remote or mountainous areas will simply not be possible to survey, especially in the winter months. However, for anyone considering it, we recommend reading these guides on safety in the mountains, particularly in winter:

Requesting a square

Planning your visit

What to consider before your first Winter Bird Survey site visit.

Plan your visit

Recording

How and what to record on your survey visits, plus survey forms, instructions and guidance.

What to record

Submitting your data

Guidance and support for Winter Bird Survey data entry, including how to use BBS Online.

How to submit your data
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