CBO Facebook feed

They that go down to sea in ships…Since the founding of CBO in 1954 we’ve been very fortunate in being able to draw on a skilful and experienced group of local boatmen to deliver us safely to Lighthouse Island and then drop us back to the landing steps at Donaghadee pier. It can be said of a good boat skipper that ‘they don’t need to know where the rocks are, but where the rocks aren’t’, and this certainly held true in the early days of the observatory as the craft was carefully and skilfully positioned alongside a rudimentary landing area and everyone jumped off! With time, and through several iterations, we’ve developed two landing stages – East and South (Gavney) – and can now land bruise free and (relatively) dry at either High or Low tide. ‘North Landing’ is marked on our maps as an important Manx shearwater sub-colony, but the name reflects its history as one of the early drop-off stages. Today, NL is visited mainly in the hours of darkness by shearwater ringers, but anyone who makes the trek down to the adjoining promontory should pause to reflect, with a certain awe, on those early days when a boat made the tentative run into the narrow channel flanked by high sided rocks and the Copeland pioneers made the leap and scrambled up the ravine. Commencing with Andy White in 1954, CBO has used many Donaghadee (and Bangor) boatmen. We hope we haven’t missed anyone from: Andy White, John Trimble, William Lennon, Quinton Nelson, Trevor Barrons (Groomsport), William Angus, Brian Meharg (Bangor), Philip McNamara. ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
On the shoulders of Giants...This year, Copeland Bird Observatory is celebrating its 70th Anniversary and we are thinking of all those who have passed across our landing stages down the years. Our 1954 annual report references the very first official CBO trip..."At last the great day arrived, when we were to go and take over the island. February 27th 1954 dawned cold and clear and by 10.30 a.m. quite a number of members had collected on the pier at Donaghadee. Half an hour later our loaded lorry arrived and we proceeded to unpack it and stow all kinds of gear into Andy White's motorboat."As part of our celebrations we are looking for any old photos relating to the observatory's history - especially any from 1954. If you can help, or can help identify anyone in these two photos taken in 1955 (we think), do please get in touch. Also, remember its our 70th Anniversary dinner on 27th April in the Malone Hotel. You can get your tickets at www.eventbrite.com/e/copeland-bird-observatory-70th-anniversary-dinner-tickets-785749697497?aff=o... ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
Everyone welcome to visit our stand at Ballynature 2024. Look forward to seeing you! Starts at 10am. ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
Copeland Bird Observatory Winter meeting at the MBC Tuesday 6th February, 7:30pm at the Queen's University MBC Building in the North Lecture Theatre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast (Parking is Free).Manx shearwaters at CBO over seven decades: ringing, trends and the role of ocean storms in population demographics.Niamh Esmonde has recently completed her PhD analysing 70 years of Manx shearwater ringing records from the Copeland Bird Observatory estimating population size and trajectory, trends in migration arrivals and departures and determining how ocean storms impact survival and recruitment in these long-lived migratory seabirds. Niamh will be presenting a whistle-stop summary of her findings Also, perhaps it’s the superb offshore lighting and the wealth of subjects - birds, flowers, sunrises & seals - which makes Lighthouse Island such an appealing subject for photographers. Matthew McCartney is a local amateur photographer specialising in landscapes and nature and in 2023 he was a regular visitor to CBO. Matthew will present some of his best CBO images and explain why he finds the island such a special place.Everyone is welcome, Tea and Coffee will be provided with an admission of £2.00. ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook