Improving acoustic species identification using data augmentation within a deep learning framework

Estimating the distribution of reed Phragmites australis in Britain demonstrates challenges of remotely sensing rare habitat types at large spatial scales

Although the reed plant is an invasive species in much of the world, in Britain reedbed is a relatively scarce habitat, but one that is important for a several bird species. Sending people out to...

New insights into the migration and wintering areas of Scottish-breeding Arctic Skuas

Arctic Skuas breed in dwindling numbers on Scotland’s northern coasts and islands. The Arctic Skua is the fastest declining seabird species in the UK and has been on the Birds of Conservation...

The value of seabird foraging ranges as a tool to investigate the impact of offshore wind farms

The UK’s seabirds have experienced substantial population declines in recent years, thanks to many pressures including overfishing, climate change, severe weather and most recently, Highly...

Synchronous timing of return to breeding sites in a long-distance migratory seabird with ocean-scale variation in migration schedules

Atlantic populations of a declining oceanic seabird have complex migrations and weak migratory connectivity to staging areas

Arctic Skuas are long-distance migrant seabirds that have seen large declines in breeding numbers across areas of the north-east Atlantic. Part of these declines has been attributed to poor food...

Challenges in quantifying the responses of Black-legged Kittiwake to habitat variables and local stressors due to individual variation

During the 2021 breeding season, BTO scientists tracked 20 Kittiwakes, fitted with small GPS devices, from Whinnyfold – part of the Buchan Ness to Collieston Coast Special Protection Area – in...

Behavioural responses of Sandwich terns following the construction of offshore wind farms

Between 2016 and 2019, BTO scientists fitted Sandwich Terns breeding at Scolt Head Island in Norfolk with long-life GPS tags which tracked the birds’ movements over multiple years. When the...

Flight heights obtained from GPS versus altimeters influence estimates of collision risk with offshore wind turbines in Lesser Black-backed Gulls Larus fuscus

As previous BTO research has shown, bird-borne tracking devices are essential for shedding light on seabird flight behaviour. Different methods for gathering flight height information within tracking...

Reduced breeding success in Great Black-backed Gulls Larus marinus due to harness-mounted GPS device

Studies involving fitting animals with bio-logging devices have provided essential information on behaviour, ecology, physiology and ultimately species conservation. Much BTO research in recent years...

Using satellite data to assess spatial drivers of bird diversity

Acoustic monitoring reveals new records for key species

A global biological conservation horizon scan of issues for 2023

Daily, seasonal and annual variation in area use of Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus) related to offshore renewable developments

Thoracic harnesses are not suitable for Kittiwake tagging studies.

Biologging devices including GPS and satellite tags, which attach to individual animals and collect information on their movements, are increasingly deployed in ecology and conservation research....

Connectivity between countries established by landbirds and raptors migrating along the African-Eurasian flyway

Each year, more than two billion birds migrate along the African-Eurasian flyway. The increasing availability of tracking technology, involving attaching very small devices to migrant songbirds, has...

Curlew are highly faithful to a small winter range, a finding which will inform conservation management for this Red-listed species.

In a collaborative study led by the University of Hull, BTO scientists aimed to find out more by establishing the overwinter home range size (the size of the space used by the birds during winter) of...

Exciting research conducted by an international team shines a new light on Swift migration.

Tracking Lesser Black-backed Gull behaviour around wind farms

GPS technology data reveals a detailed picture which may be used to inform future collision risk assessments when new offshore developments are proposed. 

Bailiwick Bat Survey 2021 Report

Development of a weak-link wing harness for use on large gulls (Laridae): methodology, evaluation and recommendations

Better utilisation and transparency of bird data collected by powerline companies

The continued increase in global energy demand requires expanding networks of power supply. High-voltage overhead powerlines, however, pose a collision and electrocution risk to some bird species if...

GPS tracking reveals landfill closures induce higher foraging effort and habitat switching in gulls

During the 20th century, gull populations across the globe increased rapidly in response to human activities, with the availability of waste food in landfill sites a key driver of their success....