Every year we hold at least one practical training course on how to carry out a survey. In addition there are some great training videos published by the BTO, a selection of which are shown below.
Upcoming events
The Breeding Bird Survey 2027
Likely venues below (dates still to be confirmed). If you are interested please e-mail Penny (surrey.bto@waxwing.me) so she can let you know the date(s) once confirmed
1. At Heather Farm which is near Woking led by Penny Williams Penny knows the Heather Farm site well as it is where she carries out one of her breeding bird surveys. Heather Farm has parking and a café (opens at 9 am). If you want to come by train Penny can collect you from Woking railway station
2. At Ashtead Common. Any training here will start near Ashtead railway station. There is free parking close to the railway station on a Sunday morning and also a café close by too (opening at 8am).
The training is about how to participate in the Breeding Bird Survey. It involves walking part of a 1KM transect (and then back again). To start with you will learn about mapping a route and Penny will explain what you record and how to record it and go through the recording form. Then walking the route working out the 200m sections and, on the way back, everyone practices recording the birds. The course itself does not aim to teach bird ID but we will be identifying the birds that are present.
Afterwards there is an optional trip to the café. Hopefully there will be an empty table. Whilst there Penny can use a short PowerPoint demonstration to show different types of habitat. It can also include a demonstratation on how to enter results online. Expect this to take about 30 minutes. Alternatively this could be done via a zoom call if preferred.
Feedback from similar courses run in the past has been excellent.
Penny provides some of the training materials before each session with the rest at a session.
The BTO Atlas 2027-2031 training
Some will be provided but whether practical or via Zoom (or both) is still to be decided.
BirdTrack training 90 minutes via Zoom
The BTO kindly agreed to give training about BirdTrack to the Surrey region. The talk was recorded so you can listen at your leisure (and pause it at any point) The talk covers a basic introduction to what BirdTrack is, how to add a place and record via the website and how to use the App. The talk will also cover looking at your own records and Recent Sightings to see what is in your area. To view the recording please contact ray@btosurrey.co.uk
BTO Videos
Below is a selection of videos produced by the BTO and hosted on YouTube. Click the videos to watch them here, most are just a few minutes long. Some are ‘playlists’ which will run through a series of short videos on a common theme. Use the menu at the top right of the video to pick a particular video from the playlist.
Bird Identification
There’s a great library of identification videos. Each of these videos is around 5 minutes long and focusing on tips to distinguish between a pair of similar species. As well as visual identification guides there is a separate playlist to help with recognising Bird Songs. Being able to tell birds apart by their songs is especially helpful if you plan to take part in a survey like the Breeding Birds Survey (BBS).
Training on Surveys
Garden Birdwatch
Garden Birdwatch is a great way to get started from the comfort of your own home, and is free to all. It runs throughout the year and provides the BTO with an invaluable wealth of information on trends in species visiting gardens.
Breeding Birds Survey (BBS)
The Breeding Birds Survey runs over the spring & summer months and is carried out in randomly selected 1km grid squares. If you are interested in taking part then take a look at this map to see if there any vacant squares in your neighbourhood. You can also get more information on our BBS survey page or contact Penny at penny@btosurrey.co.uk. Penny runs a BBS Practice Course once a year where a detailed explanation of the survey is given and you then get an opportunity to put into practice what you have been told. Feedback from previous courses is that it is very helpful. The 2024 course is taking place on 6th April 2024 so please contact Penny if you would like more details.
Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS)
The Wetland Birds Survey is carried out one Sunday per month in designated wetland areas. The survey records all waterbirds that you see. If you are interested in taking part please go to our WeBS survey page for more information or contact us. You can also go to the BTO’s map of the Surrey and South-West London to see the WeBS sites in the region (clicking on the site shows whether it is vacant).
Nesting Neighbours
Nesting Neighbours allows you to record nest boxes and nesting birds in your garden, and log what birds are using them and how many chicks they raise.
BirdTrack
BirdTrack provides an app and online website to record all your birdwatching. This can either be ‘complete’ lists from a walk or ‘casual’ observations of more unusual species spotted. All this information is fed into the BTO’s research so, in using BirdTrack, you are contributing vital data.