BTO Research Reports are scientific papers that have been self-published by the BTO. The following is a full list of the published BTO research reports. Most are free to download, and links to Abstracts are included where possible.
Numbers missing from the list are those allocated but which were never produced or which have not been published. BTO recognises that, particularly in respect of commercially sensitive cases, a period of confidentiality is appropriate for some projects. However, in the interests of scientific development and dissemination of information, we encourage clients to permit publication as soon as it is reasonable to do so.
- If you wish to purchase a physical copy of a report please contact researchreports@bto.org.
- More information about our Annual Service reports to JNCC 1992-2005.
Assessment of recent Hen Harrier population trends in England through population modelling
This study uses a population modelling approach to explore the effects of changes in rates of productivity, survival, and settlement on population growth in the English population of Hen Harriers.

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Breeding bird population trends during 2013–2019 inside and outside of European Badger control areas in England
Author: Ward, C.V., Heydon, M., Lakin, I., Sullivan, A.J. & Siriwardena, G.M.
Published: 2022
It is important to evaluate the ecological impact of severely depressing the population of a widespread predator within large areas of the country.
15.08.22
Papers
The effects of a decade of agri-environment intervention in a lowland farm landscape on population trends of birds and butterflies
Author: Redhead, J.W., Hinsley, S.A., Botham, M.S., Broughton, R.K., Freeman, S.N., Bellamy, P.E., Siriwardena, G., Randle, Z., Nowakowski, M., Heard, M.S. & Pywell, R.F.
Published: 2022
Food production and wildlife conservation are often thought of as incompatible goals, and it is rare that conservation studies consider both economics and long-term changes in ecology. However, a decade-long study at a commercial arable farm in Buckinghamshire has found that agri-environment schemes significantly increased local bird and butterfly populations without damaging food production, offering hope for the UK’s farmland birds and butterflies.
01.08.22
Papers

Mismatches in scale between highly mobile marine megafauna and marine protected areas
Author: Connors, M.G., Sinnon, N.B., Agamboue, P.D., Atkinson, P.W., Bayliss, A., Benson, S.R., Block, B.A., Bograd, S.J., Bordino, B., Bowen, D., Brickle, P., Bruno, I., Carman, V.G., Champagne, C.D., Crocker, D., Costa, D.P., Dawson, T.M., Deguchi, T., Dewar, H., Doherty, P.D., Eguchi, T., Formia, A., Godley, B.J., Graham, R.T., Gredzens, C., Hart, K.M., Hawkes, L.A., Henderson, S. Henry, W., Hückstädt, L.A., Irvine, L., Kienle, S., Kuhn, C.E., Lidgard, D., Loredo, S.A., Mate, B., Metcalfe, K., Nzegoue, J., Oliwina, C.K.K., Orben, R.A., Ozaki, K., Parnell, R., Pike, E.P., Robinson, P.,. Rosenbaum, H., Sato, S., Shaffer, S.A., Shaver, D.J., Simmons, S.E., Sisson, N.B., Smith, B.J., Sounguet, G.P., Suryan, R., Thompson, D.R., Tierney, M., Tilley, D., Young, H.S., Warwick-Evans, V., Weise, M.J., Wells, R.S., Wilkinson, B.P., Witt, M.J. & Maxwell, S.M.
Published: 2022
Marine Protected Areas are designated to protect marine fauna, such as whales, sharks, turtles and seabirds, but are we getting them right? Tracking data provide valuable information on the movements and space use of species, so can these be used to help us plan and deliver better protected areas for marine magafauna and their habitats?
20.07.22
Papers

Loss of breeding waders from key lowland grassland sites in Northern Ireland
Author: Booth Jones, K.A., O’Connell, P., Wolsey, S., Carrington-Cotton, A., Noble, D.G., McCulloch, N. & Calladine, J.R.
Published: 2022
Between the mid-1980s and 2018–2019, Northern Ireland’s lowland wet grasslands saw a 73% decline in their breeding wader populations, from 1,296 to 354 pairs across 74 surveyed sites.
18.07.22
Papers

Transatlantic spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 by wild birds from Europe to North America in 2021
Author: Caliendo. V., Lewis, N.S., Pohlmann, A., Baillie, S.R., Banyard, A.C., Beer, M., Brown, I.H., Fouchier, R.A.M., Hansen, R.D.E., Lameris, T.K., Lang, A.S., Laurendaeu, S., Lung, O., Robertson, G., van der Jeugd, H., Alkie, T.N., Thorup, K., van Toor, M.L., Waldenstrom, J., Yason, C., Kuiken, T. & Berhane, Y.
Published: 2022
Highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected in poultry and a free-living gull in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, in 2021, raising concerns about the potential for a new outbreak and questions about the likely origins of the virus.
11.07.22
Papers
