Taking part

Taking part

Taking part in BirdTrack is easy and fun. You simply sign up, then send us some information about the sites where you go birdwatching, when you go birdwatching and most importantly, the birds you identify! 

How to sign up

To take part, you will need to register with BirdTrack. This allows you to enter and explore your observations.

If you already have a MyBTO account: 

  • Log in to MyBTO
  • Then look for BirdTrack under "Sign Up for Projects" and click "Register".

If you don't have a MyBTO account: 

After you have registered, you can use your MyBTO log in details to access the BirdTrack online portal or log in to the BirdTrack mobile app. 

To download the BirdTrack mobile app, visit Google Play (for Android) or the App Store (for Apple) on your mobile device, search for BirdTrack, and select 'Install'. 

Birdwatching with BirdTrack

Go birdwatching and note all the species that you see. Either during your birdwatching or afterwards, record your observations in the BirdTrack app* or in the BirdTrack online portal:

  • Enter the location of your chosen site(s) or select from a popular site.
  • Enter the date and time of your visit and the site you visited.
  • Record the species you saw or heard on your visit.

*To download the BirdTrack mobile app, visit Google Play (for Android) or the App Store (for Apple) on your mobile device, search for BirdTrack, and select 'Install'. 

Explore your data 

We hope that you will have great fun participating in BirdTrack and that you will return to the website frequently to enter more data and to find out what's happening in your area and around the country. 

  • National and regional summaries updated every night throughout the year.
  • View all of your own records and compare them with the regional figures.

View and explore all your BirdTrack data in the BirdTrack online portal.

Health and safety

Although BirdTrack is not a structured survey, BTO's health and safety information for volunteer fieldworkers contains relevant advice.

Code of Conduct

Volunteers must follow BTO’s Code of Conduct. This code applies to our staff, our members, and volunteers, including surveyors and participants in the Ringing and Nest Record Schemes, (hereafter referred to collectively as ‘staff and supporters’). It applies to all BTO activities, whether online (including meetings and events, telephone, letter, and email) or offline (any face-to-face interaction). We've also written some guidance for volunteer fieldworkers, which will help beginners in particular.

Important note about auto-ID tools

We recognise the growing popularity of auto-ID tools that use audio or image inputs to provide species identification, but we currently ask volunteers not to solely rely on these tools when submitting data to us.

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