Bird observatory
Encyclopedia
A bird observatory is a centre for the study of bird migration
and bird
population
s. They are usually focused on local birds, but may also include interest in far flung areas. Most bird observatories are small operations with a limited staff, many volunteers and a not-for-profit educational status. Many bird observatories conduct bird ringing
.
in the Welsh island of Skokholm
. This is a list of members of the Bird Observatories Council of Britain and Ireland
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
and bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
s. They are usually focused on local birds, but may also include interest in far flung areas. Most bird observatories are small operations with a limited staff, many volunteers and a not-for-profit educational status. Many bird observatories conduct bird ringing
Bird ringing
Bird ringing or bird banding is a technique used in the study of wild birds, by attaching a small, individually numbered, metal or plastic tag to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the bird's life can be studied by the ability to re-find the same individual later...
.
Australia
- Barren Grounds Bird ObservatoryBarren Grounds Bird ObservatoryThe Barren Grounds Bird Observatory was situated in the Barren Grounds Nature Reserve on the escarpment of the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. It was opened in 1982 by Birds Australia as Australia's third bird observatory, in order to provide a base for the study and enjoyment of...
, New South Wales - Broome Bird ObservatoryBroome Bird ObservatoryBroome Bird Observatory is an educational, scientific and recreational facility located 24 km from Broome in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It began operating in 1988 under the auspices of the non-profit organisation Birds Australia in order to provide a base for the study and...
, Western Australia - Eyre Bird ObservatoryEyre Bird ObservatoryEyre Bird Observatory is an educational, scientific and recreational facility in the Nuytsland Nature Reserve, Western Australia.Cocklebiddy is the nearest locality on the Eyre Highway 49 km to the north....
, Western Australia - Rotamah Island Bird ObservatoryRotamah Island Bird ObservatoryRotamah Island Bird Observatory was established in 1979 on Rotamah Island in the Gippsland Lakes National Park in eastern Victoria, Australia, by Birds Australia as Australia's second bird observatory, in order to provide a base for the study and enjoyment of the birds of the area...
, Victoria
Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom's first bird observatory was established in 1933 by Ronald LockleyRonald Lockley
Ronald Mathias Lockley was a Welsh naturalist and author who spent much of his later life in New Zealand. He wrote over fifty books, including The Private Life of the Rabbit , which played an important role in the plot development of Richard Adams' famous book Watership Down...
in the Welsh island of Skokholm
Skokholm
Skokholm is an uninhabited island off the coast of south west Pembrokeshire in Wales, lying south of the neighbouring island of Skomer. The whole island is a Site of Special Scientific Interest as is Skomer. The surrounding waters are a marine reserve, all part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National...
. This is a list of members of the Bird Observatories Council of Britain and Ireland
- Bardsey Bird and Field ObservatoryBardsey Bird and Field ObservatoryBardsey Bird and Field Observatory is a bird observatory on Bardsey Island, off the Welsh coast.It was founded in 1953 by a group of ornithologists from the West Midland Bird Club , the West Wales Field Society, and local people.Bardsey is the only fully accredited bird observatory in Wales. It is...
- Calf of ManCalf of ManCalf of Man, sometimes known as the Calf of Mann , is a island , off the southwest coast of the Isle of Man. It is separated from the Isle of Man by a narrow stretch of water called the Calf Sound. Like the nearby rocky islets of Chicken Rock and Kitterland, it is part of the parish of Rushen. It...
(Isle of ManIsle of ManThe Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
) - Cape Clear (IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
) - CopelandCopeland IslandsThe Copeland Islands is a group of three islands in the north Irish Sea, north of Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland consisting of Lighthouse, Mew and Copeland Island.-Area of Special Scientific Interest :...
- Dungeness
- Fair IsleFair IsleFair Isle is an island in northern Scotland, lying around halfway between mainland Shetland and the Orkney islands. It is famous for its bird observatory and a traditional style of knitting.-Geography:...
- FileyFileyFiley is a small town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the borough of Scarborough and is located between Scarborough and Bridlington on the North Sea coast. Although it started out as a fishing village, it has a large beach and is a popular tourist resort...
- FlamboroughFlamborough HeadFlamborough Head is a promontory of on the Yorkshire coast of England, between the Filey and Bridlington bays of the North Sea. It is a chalk headland, and the resistance it offers to coastal erosion may be contrasted with the low coast of Holderness to the south...
- Gibraltar PointGibraltar PointGibraltar Point National Nature Reserve is an area of approximately in Lincolnshire, England.The reserve is owned by Lincolnshire County Council and East Lindsey District Council and is administered by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust...
- Holme
- Isle of MayFirth of ForthThe Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
- LandguardFelixstoweFelixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK...
- North RonaldsayNorth RonaldsayNorth Ronaldsay is the northernmost of the Orkney Islands, Scotland and with an area of is the fourteenth largest.-Geography:North Ronaldsay lies around north of its nearest neighbour, Sanday at . The island is around long along its length and is defined by two large sandy bays; Linklet Bay on...
- PortlandIsle of PortlandThe Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
- Sandwich BaySandwich BaySandwich Bay is a long sweeping inlet of the sea between Ramsgate and Deal, on the east coast of Kent, England. The coastal area consists of sand flats with their associated salt marshes and coastal sand dunes. The Sandwich Flats stretch for about five miles along the coast...
- SkomerSkomerSkomer is a 2.92 km² island off the coast of southwest Wales, one of a chain lying within a kilometre off the Pembrokeshire coast and separated from the mainland by the treacherous waters of Jack Sound....
/SkokholmSkokholmSkokholm is an uninhabited island off the coast of south west Pembrokeshire in Wales, lying south of the neighbouring island of Skomer. The whole island is a Site of Special Scientific Interest as is Skomer. The surrounding waters are a marine reserve, all part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National... - SpurnSpurnSpurn Point is a narrow sand spit on the tip of the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that reaches into the North Sea and forms the north bank of the mouth of the Humber estuary. It is over long, almost half the width of the estuary at that point, and as little as wide in places...
- WalneyMorecambe BayMorecambe Bay is a large bay in northwest England, nearly due east of the Isle of Man and just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of 310 km².-Natural features:The rivers Leven,...
Canada
Observatories belonging to the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network- Rocky Point Bird Observatory
- Vaseaux Lake Migration Monitoring Station
- Mackenzie, British Columbia|Mackenzie Nature Observatory
- Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory
- Beaverhill Bird Observatory
- Inglewood Bird Sanctuary
- Last Mountain Bird Observatory
- Delta Marsh Bird Observatory
- Thunder Cape Bird Observatory
- Whitefish Point Bird Observatory
- Long Point Bird Observatory
- Haldimand County, Ontario|Haldimand Bird Observatory
- Toronto Bird Observatory
- Prince Edward Point Bird ObservatoryPrince Edward Point Bird ObservatoryThe Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory is a bird observatory located in the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area, located on Prince Edward Point in the south-east corner of Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada. The National Wildlife Area was established in 1978 covering 560 hectares...
- Innis Point Bird Observatory
- Observatoire d'oiseuz de Tadoussac
- Point Lepreau
- Brier Island Bird Migration Research Station
- Atlantic Bird Observatory
- Gros Morne National Migration Monitoring Station
- Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory
- St. Andrews Banding Station
- McGill Bird Observatory / Observatoire d'Oiseaux de McGill
Germany
- Heligoland Bird ObservatoryHeligoland Bird ObservatoryThe Heligoland Bird Observatory , one of the world's first ornithological observatories, is operated by the Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Helgoland e.V., a non-profit organization which was founded in 1991 to support research on the fauna of Heligoland, a small German archipelago, comprising...
- Rossitten Bird ObservatoryRossitten Bird ObservatoryThe Rossitten Bird Observatory was the world's first ornithological observatory. It was sited at Rossitten, East Prussia , on the Curonian Spit on the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea...
(the world's first, now in RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's Kaliningrad OblastKaliningrad OblastKaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of The oblast forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, but it has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then the...
)
United States
- Alaska Bird Observatory, Alaska
- Biocore Prairie Bird Observatory, Wisconsin
- Black Swamp Bird Observatory, Ohio
- Braddock Bay Bird Observatory, New York
- Cape May Bird ObservatoryCape May Bird ObservatoryThe Cape May Bird Observatory was founded in 1975 in Cape May, New Jersey, United States. The purpose of the Cape May Bird Observatory is to conduct research, encourage conservation, and organize educational and recreational birding activities...
, New Jersey - Cape Romain Bird Observatory, South Carolina
- Chipper Woods Bird Observatory, Indiana
- Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory, Virginia
- Derby Hill Bird Observatory, New York
- Golden Gate Raptor ObservatoryGolden Gate Raptor ObservatoryThe Golden Gate Raptor Observatory is a non-profit organization whose mission is to study migrating birds of prey along the Pacific coast and to inspire the preservation of raptor populations in California...
, California - Great Basin Bird ObservatoryGreat Basin Bird ObservatoryThe ' is a 1997 ornithological organization based in Reno, Nevada that publishes the journal Great Basin Birds....
, Nevada - Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, Texas
- Hawk Mountain SanctuaryHawk Mountain SanctuaryHawk Mountain Sanctuary is a wild bird sanctuary in Albany Township and East Brunswick Township, located along the Appalachian flyway in eastern Pennsylvania. The sanctuary is a prime location for the viewing of kettling and migrating raptors with an average of 20,000 hawks, eagles and falcons...
, Pennsylvania - Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory, Minnesota
- Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory, Texas
- Idaho Bird Observatory, Idaho
- Klamath Bird Observatory, Oregon
- Manomet Center for Conservation SciencesManomet Center for Conservation SciencesThe Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences is a non-profit scientific research organization with headquarters in Plymouth, Massachusetts.Manomet Center scientists and researchers work with a broad spectrum of industry, nonprofit and governmental partners to create a more sustainable world...
, Massachusetts - Point Reyes Bird Observatory, California
- Powdermill Avian Research Center, Pennsylvania
- Rio Grande Valley Bird Observatory, Texas
- Rocky Mountain Bird ObservatoryRocky Mountain Bird ObservatoryRocky Mountain Bird Observatory, or RMBO, was first founded in 1988 to address bird conservation needs in the Western United States. RMBO's headquarters are located in Barr Lake State Park, just east of Brighton, Colorado. The RMBO office is approximately 15 miles northeast of Denver...
, Colorado - Rouge River Bird Observatory, Michigan
- San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, California
- Sand Bluff Bird Observatory, Illinois
- Sandy Hook Bird Observatory, New Jersey
- Southeastern Arizona Bird ObservatorySoutheastern Arizona Bird ObservatoryThe Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory is a nonprofit membership-supported scientific and educational organization founded in 1996 in Bisbee, Arizona, USA...
, Arizona - The Institute for Bird PopulationsThe Institute for Bird PopulationsThe Institute for Bird Populations, based in Marin County, California, is a non-profit organization dedicated to studying and monitoring bird populations, and providing land managers and policy makers with information needed to better manage those populations....
, California - Whitefish Point Bird ObservatoryWhitefish Point Bird ObservatoryThe Whitefish Point Bird Observatory is located in Chippewa County, Michigan, USA, adjacent to the Whitefish Point Unit of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. It operates as a non-profit, affiliate education and research facility of the Michigan Audubon Society. The Society and the WPBO together...
, Michigan
External links
- Alaska Bird Observatory, Fairbanks, Alaska USA
- Rouge River Bird Observatory, University of Michigan-Dearborn, USA
- Bird Studies Canada
- The Bird Observatories Council of Britain and Ireland
- Great Basin Bird Observatory, Nevada, USA
- Klamath Bird Observatory, Ashland, Oregon, USA
- Point Reyes Bird Observatory, Point Reyes, Marin County, California, USA
- San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, Alviso, California, USA
- Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory, Bisbee, Arizona, USA
- The Institute for Bird Populations, Point Reyes Station, California, USA
- Anthikythira Bird Observatory, Greece