Press releases
Mixed fortunes for UK’s herons and egrets
February 2024
Surveys show colonising egrets and Spoonbills continuing to increase in many parts of the UK, while breeding Grey Herons seem slow in bouncing back following recent declines...
Travel far, breed hard, die young! The surprising lifestyle choices of Short-eared Owls
January 2024
'Travel far, breed hard, die young' – while this might sound like a hedonistic rock-and-roll lifestyle, a new study by researchers at the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), with collaborators in Iceland and Spain, reveals this is how Short-eared Owls live their lives...
Evidence suggests that protected areas should be extended.
January 2024
A new study, involving BTO and the Wash Wader Research Group, has highlighted the importance of agricultural fields adjacent to The Wash for wintering Curlews...
Declining seabirds on a cliff edge
December 2023
Globally important seabird colonies have suffered catastrophic impacts of avian influenza over the last two years...
Volunteers needed to count winter gulls
December 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE USE The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has put today out a call for volunteers, able to identify our common wintering gull species, as part of an important project to understand and conserve these birds, which are of conservation concern because of their declining breeding populations...
Young birders fly high
November 2023
This year's Martin Garner Spurn Young Birders have been been put through their paces, testing their bird identification and general birding skills at the Spurn Migration Festival, and the winners named...
New partnership to make a positive impact for birds
November 2023
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has announced today that it is forging a long-term partnership with family-run Lincolnshire-based bird-care business Vine House Farm...
New records chart remarkable lives
November 2023
In July 1997, a Black Guillemot chick was ringed in Orkney...
Avian Flu experts urge beachgoers to report dead birds
July 2023
Thousands of threatened seabirds suspected to have died from Avian Influenza are once again washing up on UK beaches...
Thetford-based national bird charity celebrates big birthday
July 2023
Members and supporters of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) came together this weekend to celebrate the leading bird research and monitoring charity’s 90th birthday at its headquarters in Thetford, Norfolk...
Scientists discover why Cuckoos’ clocks can’t adjust to climate change
June 2023
Spring is arriving earlier each year but Cuckoos are unable to shift the timings of their annual migration in response...
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...
