The status of our bird populations: the fifth Birds of Conservation Concern in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man and second IUCN Red List assessment of extinction risk for Great Britain

Commonly referred to as the UK Red List for birds, this is the fifth review of the status of birds in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, published in December 2021 as Birds of Conservation Concern 5 (BOCC5). This updates the last assessment in 2015. Using standardised criteria, experts from a range of bird NGOs, including BTO, assessed 245 species with breeding, passage or wintering populations in the UK and assigned each to the Red, Amber or Green Lists of conservation concern. 

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Spatial and temporal differences in migration strategies among endangered European Greater Spotted Eagles Clanga clanga

A new collaborative research study involving BTO has used GPS to track the movements of one of Europe’s rarest birds of prey, the Greater Spotted Eagle, shedding light on the pressures this species faces outside of the breeding season.

GPS tracking reveals landfill closures induce higher foraging effort and habitat switching in gulls

New research from a collaboration between BTO, Natural England and researchers at the University of Exeter has used GPS-tracking to investigate the movement behaviour of Lesser Black-backed Gulls in response to landfill closures. Gulls were found to increase their foraging effort and switch to alternative habitats following the loss of this important food resource.

Setting priorities for climate change adaptation of Critical Sites in the Africa-Eurasian waterbird flyways

Better utilisation and transparency of bird data collected by powerline companies

New BTO research has examined the extent to which data on avian electrocutions and collisions are collected by companies responsible for high-voltage powerlines across Europe, and made recommendations to develop best practice.