--- title: "Putting Britain’s Birds on the Map: Digitising a Landmark Citizen Science Project" description: Discover how the British Trust for Ornithology is digitising historic maps from the Common Birds Census to preserve fragile records and unlock valuable data on UK bird populations. image: https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hubfs/British-Trust-For-Ornithology-Winners-Icon-2.jpg --- [![TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked.png?width=260&name=TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked.png)](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/) [![TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked.png?width=260&name=TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked.png)](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/) [![USE QUOTE CALCULATOR](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2351684/56d4945e-1152-47db-9f08-37cd61531382.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2351684/56d4945e-1152-47db-9f08-37cd61531382) - [Digitisation](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/) - [Bound Volume Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/bound-volume-collections/) - Registers, guard books, journals, diaries and more - [Archive Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/archive-collections/) - From index cards, maps, posters and reports to letters - [Photograph Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/photograph-collections/) - All 35mm slides, glass plates, transparencies & photos - [Film Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/film-collections/) - Including aperture cards, microfilm and microfiche - [Audio Visual Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/audio-visual-collections/) - From Betamax, compact audio cassette and CD to VHS - [3-Dimensional Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/3-dimensional-collections/) - Including 3D and 2D object photography and VR tours - [Data Capture](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/) - [Audio Visual Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/audio-transcription/) - Make audio searchable by transcribing content to text - [Handwritten Text Recognition](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/handwritten-text-recognition-htr/) - Make handwritten text searchable through automatic text recognition - [Optical Character Recognition](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/ocr-scanning-service/) - Make typed text searchable with accurate data capture - [Data Entry](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/data-entry/) - Make ambiguous records fully searchable with data entry - [Handwritten Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/metadata-transcription-service/) - Make handwritten text searchable through transcription - [Publishing](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/publishing/) - [Digital Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/archive-management-software/pastview/welcome-to-pastview) - Manage, publish and share digital collections online - [Digital Records](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/archive-management-software/chronicle-cemetery-management/) - Reimagine the digital management of cemetery records - [Virtual Tours](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/virtual-reality-tour/) - Bring internal spaces to life digitally with a VR Tour - [Industry](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/) - [Academic](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/academic/) - Futureproof education with digitally enabling online resources - [Bereavement Services](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/bereavement/) - Counter operational costs with digital control and management - [Business and Corporate](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/business-and-corporate/) - Protect brand value & discover the power of digital management - [Cultural Heritage](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/cultural-heritage/) - Harness the value of collections with financial autonomy - [Public Sector](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/public-sector/) - Combat damage and loss with robust digital duplicates - [Military](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/military/) - Respectfully and globally mark significant figures and conflicts - [About](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about) - [Our Vision & Mission](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#vision-mission) - Supporting collections to thrive in the digital landscape - [Our Values](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#values) - Integrity, Empathy and Truth – Our commitment to you - [Meet The Team](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#team) - Dedication with a personal touch – names and faces! - [Careers](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/recruitment/) - Passionate about culture and heritage? Join the team! - [TWA Digitisation Grant History](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation-funding-grant/grant-history/) - From our very first winners to our latest success stories - [Partners](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/partners) - Trusted organisations offering associated services - [Our Work](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/our-work) - [Blog](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/) - [Contact](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/contact/) [![USE QUOTE CALCULATOR](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2351684/56d4945e-1152-47db-9f08-37cd61531382.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2351684/56d4945e-1152-47db-9f08-37cd61531382) [![TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked.png?width=260&name=TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked.png)](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/) - [Digitisation](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/) - [Bound Volume Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/bound-volume-collections/) - Registers, guard books, journals, diaries and more - [Archive Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/archive-collections/) - From index cards, maps, posters and reports to letters - [Photograph Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/photograph-collections/) - All 35mm slides, glass plates, transparencies & photos - [Film Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/film-collections/) - Including aperture cards, microfilm and microfiche - [Audio Visual Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/audio-visual-collections/) - From Betamax, compact audio cassette and CD to VHS - [3-Dimensional Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/3-dimensional-collections/) - Including 3D and 2D object photography and VR tours - [Data Capture](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/) - [Audio Visual Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/audio-transcription/) - Make audio searchable by transcribing content to text - [Handwritten Text Recognition](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/handwritten-text-recognition-htr/) - Make handwritten text searchable through automatic text recognition - [Optical Character Recognition](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/ocr-scanning-service/) - Make typed text searchable with accurate data capture - [Data Entry](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/data-entry/) - Make ambiguous records fully searchable with data entry - [Handwritten Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/metadata-transcription-service/) - Make handwritten text searchable through transcription - [Publishing](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/publishing/) - [Digital Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/archive-management-software/pastview/welcome-to-pastview) - Manage, publish and share digital collections online - [Digital Records](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/archive-management-software/chronicle-cemetery-management/) - Reimagine the digital management of cemetery records - [Virtual Tours](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/virtual-reality-tour/) - Bring internal spaces to life digitally with a VR Tour - [Industry](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/) - [Academic](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/academic/) - Futureproof education with digitally enabling online resources - [Bereavement Services](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/bereavement/) - Counter operational costs with digital control and management - [Business and Corporate](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/business-and-corporate/) - Protect brand value & discover the power of digital management - [Cultural Heritage](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/cultural-heritage/) - Harness the value of collections with financial autonomy - [Public Sector](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/public-sector/) - Combat damage and loss with robust digital duplicates - [Military](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/military/) - Respectfully and globally mark significant figures and conflicts - [About](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about) - [Our Vision & Mission](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#vision-mission) - Supporting collections to thrive in the digital landscape - [Our Values](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#values) - Integrity, Empathy and Truth – Our commitment to you - [Meet The Team](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#team) - Dedication with a personal touch – names and faces! - [Careers](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/recruitment/) - Passionate about culture and heritage? Join the team! - [TWA Digitisation Grant History](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation-funding-grant/grant-history/) - From our very first winners to our latest success stories - [Partners](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/partners) - Trusted organisations offering associated services - [Our Work](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/our-work) - [Blog](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/) - [Contact](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/contact/) [Home](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/) » Putting Britain’s Birds on the Map: Digitising a Landmark Citizen Science Project ## Subscribe to the TownsWeb Archiving blog Curated articles, news and advice on digitisation, archives and creating open access to digital cultural heritage. [Subscribe Here](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/email-newsletter-sign-up-form/) --- ### Share this article: - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/putting-britains-birds-on-the-map-digitising-a-landmark-citizen-science-project) [X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/putting-britains-birds-on-the-map-digitising-a-landmark-citizen-science-project) [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/putting-britains-birds-on-the-map-digitising-a-landmark-citizen-science-project) # Putting Britain’s Birds on the Map: Digitising a Landmark Citizen Science Project | **Published By:** [April Mathie-Dowling](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/author/april-mathie-dowling) **Published:** July 15, 2026 **Last Updated:** September 23, 2026 | | --- | ![British-Trust-For-Ornithology-Winners-Icon-2](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hs-fs/hubfs/British-Trust-For-Ornithology-Winners-Icon-2.jpg?width=805&height=279&name=British-Trust-For-Ornithology-Winners-Icon-2.jpg) ## **Putting Britain’s Birds on the Map: Digitising a Landmark Citizen Science Project**  The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) holds around 250,000 Common Birds Census (CBC) maps from nearly 1,500 sites, recording UK bird population data collected by citizen scientists between 1962 and 2000. In 2023, a TownsWeb Archiving Digitisation Grant supported BTO in digitising maps and habitat notes from a single site — a pilot project laying the groundwork for digitising the full collection, potentially ahead of BTO's centenary in 2033. In 2023, we were delighted to award a TownsWeb Digitisation Grant to support the British Trust for Ornithology to digitise one of the UK’s most important historical bird monitoring resources: the Common Birds Census maps. These fragile archival maps record decades of observations by citizen scientists and provide a unique dataset on **UK bird populations** from 1962 to 2000. By undertaking digitisation, BTO preserved this invaluable resource while making it widely accessible for researchers, conservationists, and the public. We spoke with Lesley Hindley, BTO Archivist, to understand more about the material. Running from 1962 to 2000, the CBC monitored the numbers of common breeding birds across the UK through a nationwide network of dedicated volunteers. Each year, birdwatchers visited their chosen site ten times during the breeding season, carefully recording what they saw and heard. Using detailed 1:25,000 maps, observers plotted the location of each individual bird and recorded species codes alongside notes on behaviour and activity. Over time, these observations built a remarkably detailed picture of bird populations across the country. *“These maps form a unique resource which provides the only national information about the UK's birds over the period 1962 to 2000.”* *- Lesley Hindley, BTO Archivist * Today, the British Trust for Ornithology holds approximately 250,000 CBC maps from nearly 1,500 sites**,** making the archive one of the most significant long-term datasets on British bird populations. ### Why Digitisation Was Needed Digitisation was needed because the CBC maps are large-format sheets drawn on fragile tracing or thermal paper, viewable only at BTO's Thetford headquarters, putting them at ongoing risk of damage through handling. Despite their value, the physical maps presented significant challenges for preservation and access. Many of them are large-format sheets created on tracing or thermal paper - materials that become fragile over time and are vulnerable to damage through handling. “The maps are large and can only be viewed at our headquarters in Thetford, Norfolk. As well as being unwieldy, they were drawn onto tracing or thermal paper which makes them fragile and puts them at significant risk of damage through handling.”  *- Lesley Hindley, BTO Archivist *  Digitisation offered a way to both protect these important materials and unlock the data within them. For this project, the BTO team chose to digitise the maps and accompanying habitat notes from a single site, creating a representative sample of the wider collection. Working with a smaller subset allowed the organisation to test the most effective approach to capturing and managing the information contained within the maps. ### Laying the Foundations for a Bigger Project While the initial digitisation focused on a single site, the knowledge gained from the process is already shaping a much more ambitious vision for the future of the CBC archive. The long-term aim is to digitise and open up the wider CBC collection - potentially in time for BTO’s centenary celebrations in 2033. ### A Collaborative Process The project was carried out in collaboration with TownsWeb Archiving, with close communication throughout the process. Shortly after the grant was awarded, a member of the TownsWeb team visited BTO’s headquarters in Thetford to review the materials and discuss the logistics of digitisation. The maps were then delivered for digitisation at the start of 2024, with regular updates provided throughout the project. “We were kept updated by email throughout the digitisation process, and appreciated the communications checking on conventions for naming files or before taking action such as removing staples.”  *- Lesley Hindley, BTO Archivist *  Once completed, the original materials were returned and the digitised files delivered to the team, ready to begin the next phase of work. ### Unlocking the Potential of the CBC Archive Perhaps most importantly, the project has helped to refocus attention on the enormous potential contained within the CBC collection. With BTO’s centenary approaching, the organisation is now exploring funding opportunities and developing plans for a much larger initiative to digitise the collection and unlock the data it contains. The goal is to unlock these data to address nationally important questions about how and why bird populations have changed over time - insights that are increasingly vital in the context of biodiversity loss and environmental change. What began as a small-scale digitisation project has become the starting point for reimagining a unique scientific resource for the digital age. [![](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hubfs/TWA%20March%202019/Images/phone-small-icon.png)CALL US 01536 713834](tel:01536%20713834) [tel:01536%20713834](tel:01536%20713834) [![](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hubfs/TWA%20March%202019/Images/quote-small-icon.png)REQUEST A FREE QUOTATION](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/contact/) [![](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hubfs/TWA%20March%202019/Images/calculator.png)USE OUR ONLINE QUOTE CALCULATOR](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation-quote-calculator-sign-up/) ### Explore recent articles ## Keep up to date Sign up to our newsletter and be the first to know about the latest cultural heritage news and updates. [![TownsWebArchiving](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked.png "TownsWebArchiving")](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/) ![RSQS Registered](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/FSQS-Logo.png) ### Our Services - [Digitisation](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/) - [Data Capture](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/) - [Publishing](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/publishing/) ### Quick Links - [About Us](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us/) - [Contact Us](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/contact/) - [Our Partners](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/partners/) - [Careers](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/careers) - [Digitisation Grant](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation-funding-grant/) ### Contact Information - The Barn, Rothwell Grange Farm, Rothwell Rd, Kettering, NN16 8XF - 01536 713834 - hello@townswebarchiving.com - [![](https://www.townswebarchiving.com//wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ara-associates-logo.png)](https://www.archives.org.uk/) [![](https://www.townswebarchiving.com//wp-content/uploads/2022/09/iccm-associates-logo.png)](https://www.iccm-uk.com/) [![](https://www.townswebarchiving.com//wp-content/uploads/2022/09/fbca-associates-logo.png)](https://www.fbca.org.uk/) [![](https://www.townswebarchiving.com//wp-content/uploads/2022/09/aim-associates-logo.png)](https://aim-museums.co.uk/) [![](https://www.townswebarchiving.com//wp-content/uploads/2022/09/collections-trust-associates-logo.png)](https://collectionstrust.org.uk/) [![](https://www.townswebarchiving.com//wp-content/uploads/2022/09/afhap-associates-logo.png)](https://ahfap.org.uk/) [![](https://www.townswebarchiving.com//wp-content/uploads/2022/09/cilip-associates-logo.png)](https://www.cilip.org.uk/) - [Cookie Policy](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/cookie-policy/) - [Terms & Conditions](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/terms-conditions/) - [Privacy Policy](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/privacy-policy/) - [Site Map](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/sitemap_index.xml) © TownsWeb Archiving 2022, all rights reserved ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "April Mathie-Dowling", "url" : "https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/author/april-mathie-dowling" }, "dateModified" : "2026-09-23T14:16:46.870Z", "datePublished" : "2026-07-15T09:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Putting Britain’s Birds on the Map: Digitising a Landmark Citizen Science Project", "image" : [ "https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hubfs/British-Trust-For-Ornithology-Winners-Icon-2.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/putting-britains-birds-on-the-map-digitising-a-landmark-citizen-science-project", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hubfs/TWA%20-%20PV%20Logos.png" }, "name" : "TownsWeb Archiving" } } ```