Many BTO Garden BirdWatchers have a keen interest in other types of wildlife, which is why we also enable participants to records observations of visiting mammals, butterflies, dragonflies, bees and a few other species. The resulting data for these species provide some of the best information on garden use by these taxa in the UK.
Butterflies
Private gardens are recognised as potentially important refugia for butterflies, yet little is known about how gardens might be contributing to butterfly conservation. This is because garden habitats are not well-represented in traditional monitoring schemes. Garden BirdWatch butterfly data are being used to produce long-term butterfly trends for UK gardens, as described in this scientific paper by Kate Plummer.
Reptiles and amphibians
BTO Garden BirdWatch data on reptiles and amphibians sit within a wider landscape of recording schemes covering these species. We have examined the nature of the reptile and amphibian recording landscape as part of a PhD study, resulting in a scientific paper, and Garden BirdWatch data on Slow-worms are also being used for one of the PhD's chapters.
Separately, and working in partnership with colleagues at Froglife, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation and ARGUK, we have studied the factors that influence the presence of different reptile and amphibian species in UK gardens. This highlighted the importance of having permeable boundaries (hedges rather than fences) and other wildlife-friendly features within a garden. The results of this work were published as a BTO Research Report.
Mammals
The ability to use Garden BirdWatch mammal data to identify meaningful trends in certain UK mammal populations was examined soon after we added other taxa recording to the project, resulting in this scientific paper. Much as for birds and butterflies, Garden BirdWatch provides us with the ability to report on both seasonal and longer-term trends in a number of mammal species.
Separately, Garden BirdWatch Hedgehog data have been used in research, both BTO-led and external, examining the changing fortunes of this declining mammal.
Dragonflies and damselflies
Garden BirdWatch data for dragonflies and damselflies have been used by the British Dragonfly Society, including in the Atlas of Dragonflies in Britain and Ireland.
Bumblebees
Bumblebee recording in Garden BirdWatch was developed through discussion with Professor Dave Goulson and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. The data have been used by PhD students at the University of Sussex.