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. These large, colourful insects are often mistaken for hummingbirds because of the way they hover over flowers and use their...
Off to the seaside this summer? Scientists from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) want people to help protect one of our most colourful ducks by looking out for their distinctive feathers on beaches around UK estuaries. At this time of year, most British Shelduck migrate across the North Sea to find a safe place to...
New research from BTO implicates rising temperatures in the steep decline of the Willow Warbler, one of the UK’s most tuneful harbingers of spring. The study, published in the journal IBIS, shows that Willow Warblers are doing better in Scotland, where temperatures are cooler. Evidence is building to suggest the population in southern Britain is a casualty of recent anthropogenic climate change.
Wading birds in the UK have shown severe declines over the last 25 years, with many of them still struggling, according to a new report.