Head of BTO Cymru
Rachel acts as scientific liaison and research lead for Wales. Environmental law and the main drivers of ecological change differ between the Principality and England, and her job is to ensure that Welsh research priorities are reflected in BTO’s portfolio; that Welsh projects are developed and can be managed locally; and that Welsh policy and environmental audiences maintain a good understanding and appreciation of the BTO’s research activity.
Interests & Responsibilities
Rachel takes a lead in developing BTO’s scientific profile in Wales, developing regionally appropriate projects and in managing local projects in the Principality.
Her particular research interests are in the use of long-term ringing datasets to monitor survival in wading birds; biophysical indicators of body and environmental condition in birds; and the use of tracking technology to study individuals’ use of spatially complex landscapes such as upland farmland.
Rachel has a parallel research background in greenhouse gas emission and carbon sequestration modelling in agricultural systems, which helps inform BTO’s work on the wider ecosystem services implications of landscape management for both biodiversity and agricultural production.
Other Information
Active wader, seabird and passerine ringer, and stained glass artist.
Qualifications
- BSc (Hons) Animal Biochemistry, Physiology and Nutrition; Reading University, 1991-1994
- MSc (Distinction) Wildlife Management and Control; Reading University 1998
- PhD ‘Birds using a contemporary Neotropical landscape' (Bangor University and Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), Costa Rica), 2006
Recent BTO Publications
- Hereward, H.F.R., Brenchley, A., Facey, R.J., Hughes, J., Lindley, P.J., Taylor, R.C., Wilson, M.W. & Macgregor, C.J. Status and distribution of Rook Corvus frugilegus in Wales in 2022/23 View at journal website( DOI: )
- Thaxter, C.B., Green, R.M.W., Collier, M.P., Taylor, R.C., Middelveld, R.P., Scragg, E.S., Wright, L.J., Cook, A.S.C.P. & Fijn, R.C. Behavioural responses of Sandwich terns following the construction of offshore wind farms 10.1007/s00227-023-04353-7 View at journal website( DOI:10.1007/s00227-023-04353-7 )
- Gardner, E., Robinson, R.A., Julian, A., Boughey, K., Langham, S., Tse-Leon, J., Petrovskii, S., Baker, D.J., Bellamy, C., Buxton, A., Franks, S., Monk, C., Morris, N., Park, K.J., Petrovan, S., Pitt, K., Taylor, R., Turner, R.K., Allain, S.J.R., Bradley, V., Broughton, R.K., Cartwright, M., Clarke, K., Cranfield, J., Fuentes-Montemayor, E., Gandola, R., Gent, T., Hinsley, S.A., Madsen, T., Reading, C., Redhead, J.W., Reveley, S., Wilkinson, J., Williams, C., Woodward, I., Baker, J., Briggs, P., Dyason, S., Langton, S., Mawby, A., Pywell, R.F. & Bullock, J.M. A family of process-based models to simulate landscape use by multiple taxa 10.1007/s10980-024-01866-4 View at journal website( DOI:10.1007/s10980-024-01866-4 )
- Hereward, H.F.R., Macgregor, C.J., Gabb, O., Connell, A., Thomas, R.J., Cross, A.V. & Taylor, R.C. Modelling population-level impacts of wind farm collision risk on Welsh Red Kites View at journal website( DOI: )
- Kenobi, K., Read, W., Bowgen, K., Macgregor, C., Taylor, R., Cámaro García, W., Hodges, C., Dennis, P. & Holloway, P. Lasso Penalisation identifies consistent trends over time in landscape and climate factors influencing the wintering distribution of the Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2023.102244 View at journal website( DOI:10.1016/j.ecoinf.2023.102244 )