This page provides a selection of resources, including annual breeding trends, research papers and publications, many of which are produced using information collected for the Nest Record Scheme.
Reports on NRS data
Preliminary report on the breeding season
Each Autumn, a preliminary report on the latest breeding season is produced using Nest Record Scheme and Constant Effort Site (ringing) data that have been sent to BTO by 31 October.
The report is published under the Constant Effort Site scheme results.
- View information about Constant Effort Site scheme results or read the latest report.
Latest Nest Record Scheme submission totals
Ringing and Nest Record Scheme phenology figures
This online report uses first egg dates from NRS data together with moult and breeding condition data from Ringing Scheme captures to show, for a selected species, when breeding takes place throughout the year.
- View the latest Ringing and Nest Record Scheme phenology report.
BirdTrends report
Every year, records sent to the NRS are analysed together with data from previous years to produce new figures showing trends in the timing of breeding and productivity of UK bird populations.
These figures are published annually in the BirdTrends report.
- Explore the BirdTrends reports.
Scientific publications
A selected list of publications and newsletters that make use of NRS data.
- Browse the scientific publications.
Books and guides
Nestboxes: Your Complete Guide
Building your own nestbox and watching a pair of birds raise a successful brood will bring pleasure to the whole family. This book provides all you need to know to get started.
Written by Dave Cromack and drawing on the BTO's expertise, this book provides the perfect guide to building and erecting nestboxes for a broad range of bird species. It also contains advice about how to maintain your nestbox and protect birds from predators, and information about nextbox monitoring.
- Nestboxes: Your Complete Guide - more detail
- Buy the guide from BTO
A Field Guide to Monitoring Nests
A 256-page BTO publication containing individual species accounts, with concise notes on nest finding and quick-reference facts and figures, for 145 British and Irish breeding species.
Its combination of expert advice and introductory chapters on the basics makes this guide an ideal field companion for both beginners and experienced nest recorders.
- A Field Guide to Monitoring Nests - more detail
- Buy the guide from BTO
LifeCycle
This bi-annual magazine for nest recorders and ringers contains the latest news and results from the schemes, as well as articles by volunteers on their monitoring projects and activities, and practical tips and advice.
Life Cycle replaces NRS News (as well as the other scheme newsletters), which ran from 1984 to 2014.
