Flamborough Seawatch Observatory
Fund raising to build cliff top observatory to allow safe recording of globally important seabirds and, consequently, aid their conservation.
Jutting eight miles into the North Sea, Flamborough offers an unparalleled location from which to study seabird passage. Unfortunately, many such species are declining due to climate change and additional pressures, such as plastic pollution. To help understand what is happening to our seabirds, we need to monitor their numbers.
Recently, over 40 years of data provided by Flamborough Bird Observatory helped secure the area’s international Special Protection Area designation. However, the vantage points used to gather such information are getting ever more precarious. In addition, studying seabird movements in the worst weather conditions is often untenable. Ironically, it is at such times that passage is at its most intense and it is essential we record numbers during such conditions.
In order to secure the future of seabird recording locally, it was clear a purpose-built shelter was required. Over the last two years, various organisations worked together to identify a suitable site. Subsequently, East Yorkshire Council’s Planning Committee gave the project the green light in spring 2018. The shelter will be sited on the cliff top south of the Fog Station and provide a safe location for locals, visitors and school parties to study passage of birds and cetaceans.
The building’s construction will cost £46,000. Our fundraising efforts got off to a fantastic start when we secured a £26,000 Landfill Tax grant. An additional £8,000 has been pledged by observatory members, so we are now seeking £12,000 from the commercial sector/general public to bring this exciting project to fruition. All contributions will be acknowledged via a plaque within the building and on the observatory’s website. A Just Giving page will be launched at the start of September, whilst further details can be obtained from our secretary: tonyhood74@gmail.com
The building will be named after two of our keenest seawatch regulars of recent years, Brett Richards and the sadly missed Martin Garner. It is hoped that the ‘Garner Richards Seawatch Observatory’ will be constructed in October 2018.
Visual representations of the seawatch observatory can be accessed by clicking on the following links: