At the AGM of the Bird Observatories Council on 4 February, the application for Lundy to be re-admitted to the bird observatories network was successful. This recognises Lundy as an important site for monitoring bird migration as well as its value for breeding seabirds and long-term ornithological research.

Lundy was part of the bird observatories network from the formation of the LFS in 1946 until 1973, when financial pressures meant that the LFS was no longer able to fund its critical support for the bird observatory warden and membership ceased.

During his time as warden, Dean Jones enthusiastically started the process of regaining accreditation for Lundy as a bird observatory, crucially restarting a regular daily bird census over a fixed route on the south of the island. This, along with a regular programme of bird ringing, is an essential requirement for becoming a bird observatory. On Dean's departure, the initiative was taken up by Rosie Ellis and Stuart Cossey, with support from the Lundy Company management and advice from Tim Jones, Tim Davis and Chris Dee.

The new Lundy Bird Observatory will be run by the Lundy Company conservation team, with LFS representation on its organising committee. The LFS is pleased to have been able to offer start-up funding and to continue to provide ongoing financial support for bird ringing on the island. We wish the observatory every success in encouraging more bird monitoring and research on Lundy and look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.

More details about the UK Bird Observatories Network can be found here.