Anyone can tell us about sick and diseased wildlife found in gardens and greenspaces through the Garden Wildlife Health project.
How to sign up
To report dead or diseased wildlife (birds, amphibians, reptiles or mammals) in your garden, please sign up for the project.
You will need to register (so you can log back in to add new disease reports, view post-mortem findings, etc.) and to provide some simple information about your garden (so we can see if different diseases occur more often in particular types of garden or in particular regions).
If you already have a MyBTO account:
- Log in to MyBTO
- Then look for Garden Wildlife Health under "Sign Up for Projects" and click "Register".
If you don't have a MyBTO account:
- Create a free MyBTO account
- Then look for Garden Wildlife Health under "Sign Up for Projects" and click "Register".
How to report dead or diseased wildlife
Once you have registered and filled in the information about your garden, you will be able to log reports of dead or diseased wildlife and (if you wish) offer carcasses for post-mortem examination by the project's vets.
Information for existing Garden BirdWatch volunteers
BTO Garden BirdWatch participants provide additional systematic information through their weekly observations of garden wildlife and of sick and diseased wildlife entered through the new HEALTH TAB added to GBW Online. The information entered through the health tab provides the backbone for the new project.
- If you report dead or diseased wildlife through the health tab, please also go on to submit additional information (including photographs if you wish) through the Garden Wildlife Health system. You will need to register for the Garden Wildlife Health project to do this.
The Garden Wildlife Health system also provides an opportunity for suitable carcasses to be requested by the project vets, providing you with additional information on how the bird or animal died.
The two components (Garden BirdWatch and Garden Wildlife Health) bring together systematic weekly observation with more opportunistic reporting of individual disease incidents.
Further information
All participants are expected to abide by the BTO Code of Conduct.
More information on the project, including information on wildlife diseases and best practice advice, can be found on the project website (www.gardenwildlifehealth.org).
If you have any issues, please ring us on 01842 750050 or email gbw@bto.org.
No internet access?
If you have further queries or are seeking information for a friend or relative who does not have internet access, please call the Garden Wildlife Health vets on 0207 449 6685.
The phone line is manned during normal office hours and the team will reply to voice-mail messages as soon as possible. Please bear in mind: we are not a veterinary clinic and cannot establish a duty of care for any wild animal.
If you have an urgent inquiry about a wild animal please contact a wildlife rescue organization, your local vet or an animal welfare organisation.