Spring is arriving earlier each year but Cuckoos are unable to shift the timings of their annual migration in response.
He’s back! First tracked Cuckoo of the 2023 makes landfall in the UK
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. The bird, named JAC, arrived near the Welsh town of Llangollen, marking the end of an extraordinary 12,000 km round trip between the UK and the rainforests of central Africa, where JAC and the other BTO Cuckoos spent the winter.
Act now to save migratory birds, scientists say
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...
UK set for mass arrival of rare berry-loving birds
Large numbers of rare and beautiful Waxwings are heading towards the UK in what could be the first major arrival for a decade, say researchers from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). These pinkish, Starling-sized birds have swooping crests, orange, grey and lemon-yellow tails, and wing feathers with waxy red tips. They breed in coniferous forests from Scandinavia to eastern Russia and usually spend the winter further south.