Cape Clear Bird Observatory
Cape Clear Bird Observatory was founded in 1959 to study bird migration, given the island's ideal location. It moved into the current house in the North Harbour in 1962. More details about the history of Cape Clear can be found here.
Cape Clear is one of the best places to watch seabird migration in Europe, especially during the late summer months. Spring and autumn bring large numbers of song birds moving to and from their breeding grounds, amongst which there are usually one or two strays from North America and Siberia. Combined with resident birds like Chough which can be very hard to see elsewhere in Ireland, Cape Clear is well worth a visit throughout the year for anybody with an interest in birds or wildlife in general.
We offer hugely popular Wildlife Courses at the observatory, covering a variety of topics ranging from Beginners' Birding to Seabirds & Migration. These have proved to be very popular and tend to book out early.