BTO Garden BirdWatch Free Offer
During this current period of uncertainty, many of us are looking to our gardens to enjoy nature and be outdoors, to learn, and to improve our well-being. BTO Garden BirdWatch (GBW) offers a great opportunity to learn more about garden birds and other wildlife, and to contribute directly to BTO’s important scientific research on the value of gardens for wildlife. The more we know about how wildlife uses our gardens, the more we can make our cities, towns, villages and individual gardens better for nature.
The survey involves simply keeping a list of the birds you see visiting your garden over the course of a week, and then entering this into the BTO's online recording system. You can also record other garden wildlife, such as butterflies and mammals.
GBW is normally membership only, with an annual fee of £17, which includes an ID book and a quarterly magazine. The generous financial support of participants is what allows BTO to carry out its work monitoring garden wildlife and our scientific research.
However, we want to enable more people to get involved in garden wildlife recording under the current circumstances, to discover an enjoyable purpose in garden birdwatching, and to feel part of a community all working on the same project, even though all of us are confined to our own gardens. Therefore, we are offering free membership of the BTO Garden BirdWatch during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The free offer does not include the book or magazines and will be online only. It will include:
- Access to the GBW online recording system.
- A regular e-newsletter with information on recording and identifying garden wildlife.
- Access the BTO's team of wildlife experts, to answer your questions.
The free membership will be valid for one year, after which it will expire or can be renewed at the normal rate. To take part, visit Garden BirdWatch.
Garden BirdWatch is designed to find out how, when and why birds and other animals use our gardens. Participants send in weekly lists of garden birds and other wildlife, which are analysed by scientists working under the BTO's urban and garden ecology research programmes, to investigate the links between changes in wildlife populations and factors such as garden management, food, weather and urban structure.