Garden BirdWatch is not just about the weekly recording that we carry out. A national network of observers provides us with an excellent opportunity to address other questions concerning how birds and other creatures use gardens and garden resources. Here are some of the projects we have carried out since Garden BirdWatch was launched in 1995.
Active projects
Garden Wildlife Health
This collaborative project monitors the health of birds and other garden wildlife, informing us of the disease threats that they face.
Big Garden Beak Watch
We are keen to receive reports of birds with beak deformities so we can better understand this phenomenon and its causes.
Abnormal Plumage Survey
The BTO Abnormal Plumage Survey is a project to find out about birds with unusual plumage in gardens.
Completed projects
Shortest Day Survey
This completed study took place in 2004 and provided information on the arrival patterns of birds at garden feeding stations.
Early Bird Survey
Running in January 2014, thus study collected information on the effect of artificial lighting on the foraging habits of garden birds.
Garden Roosting Survey
This study examined which bird species roosted in garden nest boxes and roosting pouches during winter 2010/11.
Blackcaps in gardens
BTO Garden BirdWatch data have been used to identify why growing numbers of Blackcaps now winter in Britain.
Sparrowhawk predation
Garden Bird Feeding Survey data have been used to study possible effects of Sparrowhawk predation on their prey species.
Tawny Owl calling survey
We surveyed calling Tawny Owls in 2005/06 and 2018/19, to improve understanding of their behaviour and distribution.
Garden mammal trends
This study examined how Garden BirdWatch mammals data could be used to produce trends in garden use for these species.
Garden Nesting Survey
This study stablished which birds were nesting in gardens across Britain and Ireland, repeating an earlier piece of work.
Birds and Berries Survey
This study ran from September 2012 to March 2013 and helped us understand how birds use garden berries.
Garden Rook Study
This study examined the behaviour of Rooks in gardens, notably: feeding, caching, tolerance, play, and vocalisation.
Garden Redpoll Study
In spring 2011, we asked householders to let us know if they had Redpolls in their garden or provided nyjer seed.
Goldfinch Feeding Study
This study set collected additional information on the numbers and behaviour of Goldfinches visiting garden feeding stations.
House Sparrow Productivity
Weekly GBW records for House Sparrows were used to investigate the role of productivity in House Sparrow population trends.
Big Garden Weigh-in
This study examined the structure of garden bird communities and how this varied with location, garden size and habitat.
