Every bird counts – Your observations matter!

Bird migration has fascinated humans for centuries – one minute they’re here and the next they’ve gone, but where do these birds go when they vanish from our skies? Myths and folklore have sought to explain these disappearances. For example, it was once thought that Swallows spent their winters in the muddy sediments of ponds and streams and Cuckoos transformed into Sparrowhawks for the winter. 

Research and observations from people across the world, including you, our supporters, have boosted humanity’s knowledge and understanding of migratory birds and the lives they lead. We now know that both Swallows and Cuckoos in fact undertake huge journeys to Africa to spend their winter months – feats you might consider as, or even more, incredible than the original hypotheses! 

To celebrate World Migratory Bird Day, we’ll explore how individuals and volunteers are helping to expand our knowledge of migratory species and supporting vital conservation work.  

Familiar migratory species, including Cuckoos, Swifts, House Martins and Turtle Doves, have experienced population declines in recent decades in the UK and it’s thanks to high quality, long-term monitoring schemes that we can understand the severity of those declines.  

The BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey is a jointly funded partnership designed to measure changes in the populations of the UK’s more common and widespread breeding birds. The survey takes place on an annual basis with fieldwork conducted by volunteers who visit randomly allocated 1 km squares in spring and summer across the UK, collecting data on the birds they see and hear.  

The results of the Breeding Bird Survey can be broken down by country and to smaller scales and reveal a fascinating level of detail about our avian visitors – in some cases, species are faring better in different parts of the UK. Take the Cuckoo for example. Cuckoo numbers are actually on the rise in Scotland but declining in England. Such information helps us to understand where we need to target our efforts.

The Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) performs a similar role but for non-breeding populations of waterbirds, including the migratory species that spend the winter here in the UK. WeBS is also a partnership between the BTO, JNCC and RSPB. Both surveys rely on the dedication of volunteer surveyors. If you are interested in taking part in either survey, more information can be found here.

The arrival of Swifts and House Martins in spring is a moment for celebration. It’s also a time to record those sightings! Reporting where these birds are nesting enables conservationists to both protect existing nest sites and provide additional places to nest. 

‘RSPB Swift Mapper’ and House Martin Conservation’s ‘House Martin Mapper’ are two simple mapping tools that can be used to record your sightings of nesting Swifts and House Martins. The knowledge that comes from these records really makes a difference.  

It’s not always about counting, keeping a watchful eye out for individual birds is important too.  

Little Terns are small migratory seabirds that travel from their wintering grounds of West Africa to nest on beaches around the UK. Nesting on the ground brings its challenges and the birds can be susceptible to disturbance and predation. Protecting Little Terns is a big challenge, especially on busy, public beaches. So we have dedicated teams of RSPB staff and volunteers who find Little Tern nests and watch over the birds throughout the breeding season at a number of sites, including in Norfolk and Dorset. These volunteer teams are part of the  Species Volunteer Network. 

Keeping an eye out for birds can also include reporting sightings of ringed birds. Bird ringing (placing a lightweight, uniquely numbered metal ring or a combination of coloured plastic rings around a bird’s leg) has been used as an important scientific technique to monitor wild bird populations for over 100 years. When ringed birds are recaptured or resighted in different locations and that information is reported, we can learn more about their movements and their age and survival. Who knows, that colour-ringed Oystercatcher, Curlew or godwit you spot might be 20 or 30 years old, or even older! 

Returning to the Little Tern, birds fitted with coloured rings on nature reserves in England and Wales have been resighted during their migration as far away as Senegal! It goes to show that reporting these sightings can help uncover more about the journeys that migratory species take.  

How to report bird rings and marks.

Helping migratory species doesn’t always need to involve venturing out - people are getting involved from their living rooms. 

The world’s largest garden wildlife survey, Big Garden Birdwatch is a fantastic example of how people are contributing to our knowledge of birds from home. In 2026, more than 650,000 people took part, recording resident and migratory species that visit gardens for the winter – Redwings and Blackcaps for example – and helping us to build up a picture of the birds that use these spaces.  

People are supporting conservation efforts from home in other ways too. Operation Turtle Dove, a partnership between the RSPB, Natural England and Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, is dedicated to working with farmers, community groups and other land managers to help create suitable breeding season habitats for Turtle Doves. Trail cameras are used to monitor how Turtle Dove-friendly habitats are being used, including whether any Turtle Doves are making an appearance. The project’s team of trail camera volunteers comb through thousands of images to review the footage. 

Thanks to this dedication, we know that as well as Turtle Doves, at least 28 different species in total are visiting Turtle Dove habitat, including Red-listed and Amber-listed farmland birds such as Corn Buntings, Greenfinches, Linnets, Yellowhammers and Stock Doves.  

Find out more about the volunteers dedicated to supporting Turtle Dove conservation:

Migratory species cross borders and so too must conservation efforts to help them. 

For example, in northern Ghana we’re working with local people, alongside our partner Ghana Wildlife Society, on a project using sound recording to help us better understand how birds are using the Mole landscape and responding to conservation efforts there. Local communities have been involved in the project through workshops and advise on where to position audio devices to monitor the birds most effectively.  

You can find out more about our work to protect migratory birds internationally here. 

These examples show the immense value afforded by citizen science and how individual contributions play an important part in wider work to understand and better protect migratory birds.  

This month, many of us will be welcoming back Swifts and House Martins. If you are lucky enough to see their nesting sites, be sure to add your observations to Swift Mapper and House Martin Mapper respectively.

Similarly, reporting your records to BirdTrack can help us to understand more about the birds that visit our shores and how we can help them. 

A huge thank you to everyone involved in helping us to learn more about and protect migratory birds in the UK and along their migratory routes. Every bird really does count!

Thanks to our supporters, funders and partners who enable this work to happen.  

Thanks to funds raised by players of the Postcode Lottery, we sent free Big Garden Birdwatch mailings to over 700,000 households across Manchester and Glasgow. Designed to make the Birdwatch more accessible for all, the mailings contained guides and explained that you don’t need a private garden to take part. Instead, people living in urban areas could count from a local park, their favourite café’s window, or even look out from their own balcony. Postcode Lottery players also supported the Manchester Swift City Project to establish much needed nesting habitat for Swifts.  

The bioacoustics work in Ghana is supported by the A. G. Leventis Foundation. 

Thanks to years of partnership projects such as the Little Tern LIFE Recovery Project, LIFE on the Edge, Solent Seascape, Terning the Tide and dedicated teams of volunteers, we have improved site protections, restored nesting habitat and are actively trying to reduce the decline of the Little Tern.