Hugh is a Senior Research Ecologist in the Terrestrial Ecology team working primarily on urban birds and demographic data.

Hugh has a background in avian urban ecology having undertaken a PhD on urban birds at the University of Reading. His research primarily focuses on urban ecology and avian demography using long and short-term citizen science surveys alongside novel field surveys. He has a particular interest in the impacts of and human-wildlife interactions around garden bird supplementary feeding, first started during his PhD and continued at BTO.

Hugh was responsible for the coordination of BTO Project Owl during 2018/19 including leading the design and analysis of two Tawny Owl surveys and he is also the organiser of the 2024/25 Blackbirds in Gardens survey.

Other Information

Prior to undertaking his current role and following his PhD, Hugh spent a summer as a RSPB Research Assistant working on Corn Bunting breeding success and Swift survey projects. He started bird ringing at a young age and currently holds a BTO S permit with extensive experience of ringing throughout the UK and abroad from the Tropics to the Arctic Circle. Since moving to start work at BTO HQ he has got involved in a number of local ringing activities both through BTO work projects and as a volunteer.

PhD “Unintended Consequences: How Human Intervention Affects the Ecology of Urban Birds”, People and Wildlife Research Group, University of Reading 2014-2017.

MRes Environmental Biology, University of St Andrews 2012-2013.

BSc Zoology (Hons), University of St Andrews 2008-2012.

S permit bird ringer.