What does WBBS involve?
WBBS volunteers undertake two counting visits between April and June, one before and one after mid May. The survey may require as little as 4–5 hours' fieldwork per year. On these visits, volunteers record all the birds they encounter, as well as the habitat along their survey transect.
If you are already familiar with standard Breeding Bird Surveys, you can expect to record many more birds in your WBBS section! Waterway birding is often busy and exciting and can sometimes provide the utterly unexpected.
Many WBBS sites are on the middle or upper sections of rivers. Some may require a good level of physical fitness, though others, such as canals and lowland rivers, might be perfectly level and with a good footpath!
To take part, you will need to be confident about recording bird species on your stretch by both sight and sound.
- To enquire generally or informally about taking part, please email wbbs@bto.org.
Breeding Wader visits to WBBS stretches
Breeding wader populations in the UK have declined dramatically in recent decades. Breeding Wader Visits aim to collect vital data about these species’ breeding success and to inform wader conservation measures.
We did not run any Breeding Wader Visits in 2024.
- If you are not an existing Breeding Wader Visits volunteer but would like to take part, please check back here in spring 2025 for updates.
- If you have previously volunteered for the Breeding Wader Visits, look out for an email from us about the change.
If you have any questions, or would like an informal chat about participating in the survey, please email waders@bto.org.
Where does WBBS take place?
WBBS operates mainly on pre-selected sites, many of which are on the middle or upper sections of rivers. More than 500 sites have been selected randomly for WBBS coverage. These lie in all parts of the UK.
Each site is referred to using a nominal one-kilometre grid reference, which might be a few km from the survey itself. If a site has not previously been surveyed, the full waterway stretch from which a survey can be selected is defined by a 'primary map'.
Most are now uploaded onto BBS Online but a handful are held by the survey's National Organiser, James Heywood.
Find a WBBS site to monitor
To find out if there are any WBBS sites near you, please visit the interactive map to see roughly where sites are available and to complete a short form. This will put you in touch with your BTO WBBS Regional Organiser, and we can take it from there.
Annual timeline
- February – March: Forms sent or downloaded, depending on individual preferences stated on BBS Online
- March: Optional reconnaissance visit to check access and routes, and to record habitat data
- Early April – mid May: Early season WBBS visit
- Mid May – late June: Late season WBBS visit, at least four weeks after Early visit
- End of August: Data entry deadline via BBS Online, or via paper forms sent to your Regional Organiser
Resources, forms and data entry
Before starting your survey
Health and safety: WBBS participants are asked to bear in mind that rivers and canals can be particularly dangerous environments, especially in flood conditions. You should read BTO's guidance for volunteer fieldworkers before any fieldwork is started.
BTO Code of Conduct: All volunteers and staff are expected to abide by the BTO Code of Conduct. You should read this before you start volunteering.
Download WBBS resources and forms
The following information and forms for WBBS are available for download.
Request printed forms
If you would like printed copies of the forms below, contact your BTO Regional Organiser or wbbs@bto.org to request them. We can also supply you with a letter of introduction to landowners if required.
Return your data
The easiest way to send us your survey data is to use BBS Online. We have a guidance document for volunteers to help you use this tool.
If you are not using BBS Online to send us your data, please return completed paper forms to your BTO Regional Organiser or by post to BTO HQ in Thetford.