OSCR Scottish charity profile

Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust

ActiveCharity number SC011160
Registered21 December 1948
Main locationShetland Islands
Legal formCompany (the charity is registered with Companies House)

01 Identity

Scottish charity record

Snapshot 25 August 2026
OSCR charity number
SC011160
Status
Active
Regulatory type
Standard
Designated religious body
No
Geographical spread
A specific local point, community or neighbourhood
Volunteers
1-50 volunteers
Staff
10
Postcode
ZE2 9GY

02 Purpose and work

What the charity exists to do

Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust undertakes biological monitoring on Fair Isle. Maintaining and collecting long term data on seabirds and migration patterns, and inputting to national datasets. and contributing to research programmes. We operate a Ranger service for the benefit of all visitors to Fair Isle. The FIBO Lodge provides full board accommodation and facilities for researchers, general guests and essential workers. It also acts as a tourist information centre and is used by the community.

Charitable purposes

  • the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science
  • the advancement of environmental protection or improvement
  • the advancement of animal welfare

Beneficiaries

  • Children or young people
  • No specific group, or for the benefit of the community

Activities

  • It carries out activities or services itself

Constitutional objectives

The objects for which the Trust is established are:- For the public benefit in Scotland:- (i) To take over from the Trustees of the existing Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust (with the assistance of such assets as may be made over by those Trustees for this purpose) the responsibility for providing a Bird Observatory on Fair Isle. (ii) To promote ornithological research with particular reference to the study of breeding and migrating birds at Fair Isle. (iii) To provide accommodation on Fair Isle for the primary use of those engaged in such research and others with kindred interests. (iv) To publish reports devoted primarily to the work of the Trust. (v) To provide the requisite administration (whether on or outside Fair Isle) to maintain the work of the Trust. and (vi) To engage in all other activities which, in the opinion of the Trust, may be conducive to the furtherance of the foregoing objects.

03 Annual returns

Income and expenditure history

5 periods
Year endIncomeExpenditureStaffReturn received
31 October 2025£2,494,920£620,946104 August 2026
31 October 2024£1,114,390£151,1971023 December 2025
31 October 2023£1,321,204£131,8261015 August 2024
31 October 2022£1,013,967£88,3641031 July 2023
31 October 2021£4,003,144£128,1371016 August 2022

Figures are those reported by the charity and supplied in the OSCR bulk download. Blank facts remain distinct from zero.

04 Contact record

Principal office or trustees address

Address supplied to OSCR
Mogill Burn, Evnabrek, Levenwick, Shetland
Website supplied to OSCR
www.fairislebirdobs.co.uk
Parent charity
Not supplied

No direct external links on this profile. The official OSCR record and source documentation are available through BritDB’s dedicated source page.

05 Provenance

Source for this profile

© Crown Copyright and database right 2026. Contains information from the Scottish Charity Register supplied by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. BritDB is an independent service and does not claim to be the Scottish Charity Register.