Fonds GB0210 SKOISL - Skokholm Island chatty logs

Skokholm Island was the UK’s first bird observatory, established in 1933 by Ronald M. Lockley. In 1948 the West Wales Field Society (of which Lockley was a founder, now known as the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales) took over the lease of the island, which is located off the coast of south-west Pembrokeshire. The bird observatory itself had been re-opened two years earlier following evacuation of the island during the Second World War, but lost its status in the mid-1970s and the ringing of birds ceased. However, since 2006, Skokholm Island’s future was secured by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales when the island was purchased from the Dale Castle Estate. It was designated as a National Nature Reserve in December 2008 and its status as a bird observatory was officially reaccredited in January 2014.