Copeland Bird Observatory

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Copeland Bird Observatory Copeland Bird Observatory is Northern Ireland's only bird observatory and was established in 1954. The Observatory runs from late March to the end of October.

The manning and administration of the Observatory is carried out entirely by volunteers. Volunteers visit the island from April to October to record migrant and breeding birds. Common migrants include Swallow, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest an Meadow Pipit. The islands also hold important populations of breeding seabirds, in particular Manx Shearwater and Arctic Tern. The islands have the only Manx Shearwater colony in Northern Ireland.

We are in the midst of reviewing how our Black Guillemots have done this year, and we are pleased to have monitored over...
28/09/2026

We are in the midst of reviewing how our Black Guillemots have done this year, and we are pleased to have monitored over 40 nests and ringed 17 chicks 🐣🐤

Our monitoring includes a colour ringing project, which tracks the survival and movement of these amazing auks on Lighthouse Island alongside their cousins in Bangor🐧

One of our volunteers, Adam, is keeping a keen eye on the Bangor birds, and they are already back, eyeing up potential nest sites 👀

A huge thank you to all the staff in Bangor Marina for organising and operating their boat in Bangor for the monitoring, the Thallon family for looking after the 'Tysties' at the "Guillemot Hotel", and to Shane Wolsey for his support and for handing over the monitoring in Bangor, that was so carefully started by Julian Greenwood.

Autumn migration is fully underway with large flocks of Linnets moving through. It will be interesting to see if we rece...
22/09/2026

Autumn migration is fully underway with large flocks of Linnets moving through.
It will be interesting to see if we receive many recoveries (ringed birds that are re-trapped in other locations) on their journey to their wintering grounds in Europe.

(All ringing carried out under license).

📸 Credit: Stephen Magennis

It's that time of year when our Manx shearwater fledglings are starting to leave the colony on Lighthouse Island and hea...
03/09/2026

It's that time of year when our Manx shearwater fledglings are starting to leave the colony on Lighthouse Island and head out to sea before their migration.

During this time, it's easy for them to become disoriented by the lights from coastal communities, meaning they can become 'grounded' and turn up all over the place, from back gardens to roadsides.

If you find a grounded shearwater, you can contact one of our representatives (listed in the poster below), who will collect the bird and help get them back out to sea.

Thanks for all your help in conserving our shearwaters 💙

Did you see our puffins on BBC News NI? 🐥We're absolutely delighted about this year's puffling success on Lighthouse Isl...
17/08/2026

Did you see our puffins on BBC News NI? 🐥

We're absolutely delighted about this year's puffling success on Lighthouse Island.
For the first time in the Observatory's history, we've been able to prove that our puffins are producing offspring! This was discovered by using wildlife cameras, which showed the pufflings emerging from burrows at night 🌙

As outlined in our BBC article, with our very own Adam Ringland, we have deployed 'decoy' puffins to attract these seabirds to new breeding areas. We also use a 'caller' to draw puffins in from further afield.
The breeding habitats in these areas are managed carefully using scythes to maintain an open space around the burrows.
(All of this activity is carried out under license).

You can read the full article here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c980r0e7ng3o

None of this work would be possible without our members and volunteers, who dedicate so much time and energy to the love of birds. Thank you for all of your hard work and continued support! 💚

If you are not already a member with us, you can support this incredible conservation work by signing up through our website:
https://www.thecbo.org.uk/joincbo/



Amazing news! 🐥We're delighted to share some footage of a puffling's first steps outside its burrow on Lighthouse Island...
09/08/2026

Amazing news! 🐥
We're delighted to share some footage of a puffling's first steps outside its burrow on Lighthouse Island.

Over the past few years, some of our members and visitors have captured excellent photographs of adult puffins carrying sand eels into burrows, which is evidence that adults have chicks to feed! So we have known that puffins have been breeding on the island for a little while, but this is the first time that we have managed to record evidence of a fledgling!

These wildlife cam videos show:
1. Adult puffins carrying nesting material into a burrow in June.
2. Puffins congregating outside burrows in the evening and showing courtship behaviour.
3. An adult puffin carrying food (sand eels) into a burrow to feed a chick (or chicks!).
4&5. A puffin fledgling taking its first steps outside the burrow!

Each year, our volunteers use scythes to cut back the bracken on the island, which keeps the slopes open around the burrows, and encourages the puffins to breed. It's great to see everyone's hard work paying off 💚

Even though Lighthouse Island is surrounded by seabirds, we always like to do what we can for the other species that als...
16/05/2026

Even though Lighthouse Island is surrounded by seabirds, we always like to do what we can for the other species that also share the island... 🐠🪶🐣🦅🐛

Through the Small Grants Scheme delivered by Live Here Love Here, we were able to partner up with the Holywood Men's Shed to install boxes for insects and for nest boxes for birds.
We've even installed nest boxes for Stock Doves, which is a rare breeding species in Northern Ireland.
Unlike most pigeons, Stock Doves will nest in cavities, such as holes in ancient trees, or on cliffs. This species is Amber listed in the UK and is Red-listed in Ireland due to severe population declines.
Fingers crossed that these new boxes will offer suitable nesting sites for them to give them a helping hand.

A huge thanks to Live Here Love Here for funding this project through their Small Grants Scheme and to our friends in the wonderful Holywood Men's Shed for making and helping us to install the boxes.
lovehere






We've got a 'spring' in our step at CBO as we get to work with some early season habitat management work.Our volunteers ...
15/04/2026

We've got a 'spring' in our step at CBO as we get to work with some early season habitat management work.

Our volunteers have been getting busy with refurbishing one of the heligoland traps, keeping pathways open with scything and mowing, and providing attractive and accessible nesting spaces for our seabirds, including Arctic Tern, Manx Shearwater and Puffin!

Many thanks to our members and friends, who dedicate so much time and energy to this essential work, such as the recent visit from Strangford Lough and Ards Peninsula National Trust Volunteer Team - thank you for all of your hard work!



Had a great day at Ballynature Day
28/02/2026

Had a great day at Ballynature Day

Thanks to everyone who came out to see us at Ballynature Day!We love hearing your enthusiasm about protecting species, b...
28/02/2026

Thanks to everyone who came out to see us at Ballynature Day!

We love hearing your enthusiasm about protecting species, bird ringing and getting involved in nature conservation.

This year, some of our representatives delivered a talk about the history of Lighthouse Island and the various projects and initiatives that we run, such as Manx Shearwater ringing and other species recording, such as moths, rare plants and marine organisms.

Thanks to the organisers for another great year!

We are delighted to announce that CBO is returning to Ballynature Day for another year! 🐦Come say hello to us at our sta...
12/02/2026

We are delighted to announce that CBO is returning to Ballynature Day for another year! 🐦

Come say hello to us at our stall and hear about our scientific research, bird ringing and life on Lighthouse Island (we'll have some merch for sale too)!

You can also hear from our wonderful representatives, Adam Ringland and Steven Fyffe, who will be delivering a talk on the 'Past, Present and Future' of CBO from 2pm.

See you there!

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Lighthouse Island, Copeland Islands

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