Charity Details

Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust

SC011160Registered charity from 21 December 1948

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Charity Information:

Address Mogill Burn
Evnabrek
Levenwick
Shetland

Postcode ZE2 9GY

Is the supplied address a principal office or a trustee address? Trustee - Charity Trustee

Website www.fairislebirdobs.co.uk

Regulatory Type Standard

Link to Companies House https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/

Object:

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.

Operations:

What the charity is set up to do and how it does this:

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 proves full board accommodation and facilities for researchers, general guests and essential workers. It also acts as an tourist information centre and is used by the community

Charity Status: Active

Constitutional Form: Company (the charity is registered with Companies House)

Constitutional Form Date: 21 Dec 1948

Main Operating Location: Shetland Islands

Number of Staff: 3

Number of Volunteers: 1-50

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"

Types Of Activity Undertaken: "It carries out activities or services itself"

Annual Submissions:

Year End	Income	Expenditure	Annual Return Received	Accounts Received	Latest Annual Reports and Accounts
31 Oct 2021	£4,003,144	£128,137	16 Aug 2022	Yes
31 Oct 2022	£1,013,967	£88,364	31 Jul 2023	Yes
31 Oct 2023	£1,321,204	£131,826	15 Aug 2024	Yes
31 Oct 2024	£1,114,390	£151,197	23 Dec 2025	Yes	Published accounts can be found on the Companies House website
31 Oct 2025			No	Annual Information due by 31 Jul 2026
If an annual return has been received on time (within nine months of the Year End Date), the 'Annual Return Received' box is green . If an annual return is late, the box is red .

Income and Expenditure:

Charity Trustees:

First Name	Last Name
No charity trustee information available
From 09 March 2026, OSCR is required by law to publish the names of a charity’s trustees as part of its Scottish Charity Register entry. We are also required to publish each charity’s annual report and accounts as received from this date, which may include the names of certain individuals. The only exceptions to publication are where a charity or one of its charity trustees applies for this information to be excluded, and OSCR is satisfied that publishing it would jeopardise the safety or security of a person or premises. If the charity trustee information on a Register entry appears blank, this may mean that an exemption applies or that the charity has not yet provided the required details to OSCR. Supplying this information will become mandatory as part of future annual submissions.

First Name

Last Name

No charity trustee information available

From 09 March 2026, OSCR is required by law to publish the names of a charity’s trustees as part of its Scottish Charity Register entry. We are also required to publish each charity’s annual report and accounts as received from this date, which may include the names of certain individuals. The only exceptions to publication are where a charity or one of its charity trustees applies for this information to be excluded, and OSCR is satisfied that publishing it would jeopardise the safety or security of a person or premises.

If the charity trustee information on a Register entry appears blank, this may mean that an exemption applies or that the charity has not yet provided the required details to OSCR. Supplying this information will become mandatory as part of future annual submissions.

From 30 June 2025, OSCR began collecting charity trustee information through OSCR Online. Providing this information is a legal requirement for all charities. The names of trustees will be published on the Scottish Charity Register from early 2026 to promote transparency and strengthen public trust in the sector.

The Scottish Charity Register ("The Register") is subject to Crown database right.

The Scottish Charity Register is licenced under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

When you use this information under the OGL, you should include the following attribution: © Crown Copyright and database right 2020. 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.

Charity accounts and constitution – what information do we publish?

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the names of a charity’s trustees (exemptions apply)
its annual report and full accounts, if submitted after 9 March 2026
(Accounts submitted prior to 9 March 2026 will be redacted, or may not be published, depending on the charity’s income level or legal form.)

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Under section 23(1)(a) and (b) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, you have the right to request the following information directly from the charity:

a copy of the charity’s latest statement of accounts
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