The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in Britain. 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ...

Activities

The BTO carries out research into the lives of British birds, chiefly by conducting population and breeding surveys, and by bird ringing, all through the activities of a large number of volunteers. Its Garden Birdwatch survey allows large numbers of non- expert birdwatchers to participate, by making a weekly count of the birds they see in their gardens. This article is about British Birds magazine. ... Bird ringing (also known as bird banding) is an aid to studying wild birds, by attaching a small individually numbered metal or plastic ring to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the birds life can be studied by the ability to re_find the same individual later. ... Birding or birdwatching is a hobby concerned with the observation and study of birds (the study proper is termed American origin; birdwatching is (or more correctly, was) the commonly-used word in Great Britain and Ireland and by non-birders in the United States. ...

History

Beginnings

In 1931 Max Nicholson wrote: 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Edward Max Nicholson (Max to everyone who knew him; July 12, 1904 - April 26, 2003) was a pioneering environmentalist and ornithologist; and a founder of the World Wildlife Fund. ...

"In the United States, Hungary, Holland and elsewhere a clearing-house for research is provided by the state: in this country such a solution would be uncongenial, and we must look for some alternative centre of national scope not imposed from above but built up from below. An experiment on these lines has been undertaken at Oxford since the founding of the Oxford Bird Census in 1927 [...]. The scheme now has a full-time director, Mr W.B.Alexander. [...] It is intended to put this undertaking on a permanent footing and to build it up as a clearing-house for bird-watching results in this country." Wilfred Backhouse Alexander (February 4, 1885 - December 8, 1965) was an English ornithologist and entomologist. ...

This led to a meeting at the British Museum (Natural History) in February 1932, which led to the foundation of an organisation to develop the Oxford scheme. The name British Trust for Ornithology was used from May 1933 and an appeal for funds was published in The Times on 1 July.-1... 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Times is a national quality daily newspaper in the United Kingdom. ...

Max Nicholson was the first treasurer, Bernard Tucker the secretary. Harry Witherby was an early benefactor and vice-chairman. Bernard Tucker (1901 - December 19, 1950) was an English ornithologist. ... Henry Forbes Witherby (1873-1943); known as Harry) was a noted British ornithologist, author, publisher and founding editor (in 1907) of British Birds (Magazine). ...

Edward Grey Institute

In 1938 the BTO contributed funds to the new Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology. 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, at Oxford University is an academic body which conducts research in ornithology and the general field of evolutionary ecology and conservation biology, with an emphasis on understanding organisms in natural environments. ...

In 1947, the institute became part of a new department of Zoological Field Studies at Oxford University, and the BTO again concentrated on a programme of volunteer-based surveys. 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The University of Oxford, situated in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...

Beech Grove

In December 1962 the BTO purchased Beech Grove, a large Victorian house in Tring, Hertfordshire, relocating there from Oxford, along with their Ringing Office, which had been at the British Museum. 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Accession to the Throne, June 20, 1837) gave her name to the historic era. ... Tring is a small market town in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England with a population 13,000. ... Hertfordshire (pronounced Hartfordshire and abbreviated as Herts) is an inland county in the United Kingdom, officially part of the East of England Government region. ...

Atlases

In September 1967, inspired by on-going work on the innovative Atlas of Breeding Birds of the West Midlands, produced by the West Midland Bird Club, and in partnership with the Irish Wildbird Conservancy (now BirdWatch Ireland), work began on the first Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. 3,862 10km squares were surveyed The atlas was published in 1976. The West Midland Bird Club is the UKs largest regional ornithology society. ... Birdwatch Ireland (BWI) is the current name of the organisation that used to be known as the Irish Wildbird Conservancy. ...

The New Atlas (1993) updated and refined this huge survey, again with the help of IWC and the Scottish Ornithologists Club. A Winter Atlas and a Historical Atlas have also been published and the groundbreaking Migration Atlas presented the results of almost 100 years of bird ringing, largely undertaken by volunteers. The next Atlas will combine breeding and winter surveys and is now at the planning stage. Bird ringing (also known as bird banding) is an aid to studying wild birds, by attaching a small individually numbered metal or plastic ring to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the birds life can be studied by the ability to re_find the same individual later. ...

The Nunnery

The BTO moved to The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, which had been donated to them, in April 1991. Parts of the medieval Benedictine Nunnery of St George can still be seen on this site. The current Director of the BTO is Professor Jeremy Greenwood PhD (St Catherine's College, Oxford). St Catherines College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ...

External links

• Home Page (http://www.bto.org/)