The Bird Observatories Council co-ordinates and promotes the work of the Bird Observatories at a national level.  Individual Observatories are accredited to the Council when they meet specified criteria relating to activities and facilities.  Click here to see what is required for accredited status.

A bird observatory's primary purpose is to conduct long-term monitoring of bird populations and migration.

Individual Observatories are located at prime migration points, where a daily census is taken and other standardised methods of data collection are used in a defined recording area. 

An integral part of observatory work is bird ringing, undertaken within the national scheme which is licensed under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and coordinated by the British Trust for Ornithology.  This provides data for guiding conservation policies of such bodies as  English Nature, the Countryside Council for Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage and their counterparts in Ireland. 

The Observatories enable and encourage volunteers to participate in scientific studies of birds and the environment.  The results of these studies and more general information are made freely available to researchers and to the public who are welcome to visit Observatories.

All the accredited observatories are listed left.  The links open a new window and take you either to the observatory's own website or a page with further information on this site.

For information about the Bird Observatories Council contact the secretary

Peter Howlett  

c/o  Dept of BioSyB, National Museum Wales, Cardiff.  CF10 3NP. WALES

Tel.  ++ 44 (0)29 2057 3233

E-mail: here

Click here for contact details for individual observatories.