Influence of wind on kittiwake Rissa tridactyla flight and offshore wind turbine collision risk

Many new offshore wind farms are planned, but much uncertainty remains in Kittiwake collision risk, which makes decision-making around offshore wind farm development less efficient. Environmental...

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...

Active European warzone impacts raptor migration

Collaborative research involving BTO has examined the effects of the conflict in Ukraine on the migration of the endangered Greater Spotted Eagle.

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

Fidelity and distance to previously visited sites throughout the annual cycle in a trans-Saharan migrant, the Common Cuckoo

Research in collaboration with BTO scientists has used data from satellite-tracked adult male Cuckoos to show that although all birds returned to the same breeding grounds in consecutive years, the...

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...

Leakage of plastics and other debris from landfills to a highly protected lake by wintering gulls

The study, led by the Institut de Ciències del Mar and Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Spain, used diet samples collected in January 2022 at the Fuente de Piedra – an inland lake in Spain...

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...

Multi-scale habitat selection throughout the annual cycle of a long-distance avian migrant

There are several geographical barriers to negotiate and large expanses of inhospitable habitat, such as sea and desert, to cross. In this collaborative study, high resolution GPS tracking data were...

How do offshore wind farms affect seabird behaviour?

Research reveals a crucial link between wind farm design and Sandwich Tern behaviour in the North Sea.

Combining remote sensing and tracking data to quantify species’ cumulative exposure to anthropogenic change

The results showed that although the actual amount of change had been greatest on the breeding grounds, cumulative exposure to changes in direct mortality risk and climate were...

LifeCycle issue 12, Summer 2023

This issue contains articles on Redshank and Dunnock nest finding as well as a feature with advice and guidance on accessing funding to help fund fieldwork. There is also the first of what we hope...

A crowded ocean: the need for demographic and movement data in seabird conservation

To implement effective conservation actions, locally and globally, we need to quantify the importance of the multiple, often interacting, threats to seabird population growth rates. Population models...

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...

LifeCycle issue 11, Autumn 2022

This edition also includes articles on monitoring Knot, Meadow Pipits, seabirds, Blackcaps, Barnacle Geese and Woodcock, alongside articles showcasing how the data ringers and nest recorders collect...

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...

British-breeding Wood Warblers follow a clockwise loop in their annual migratory cycle