The Heligoland Bird Observatory ( Vogelwarte Helgoland in German ), one of the world's first ornithological observatories, is operated by the Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Helgoland e.V., a non-profit organization which was founded in 1891 to support research on the fauna of Heligoland , a small German archipelago , comprising the islands of Heligoland and Düne, in the Heligoland Bight of the North Sea . The principal research focus is on bird migration through banding studies. Over 400 species have been recorded. OAG Helgoland produces an annual bird report.
4-476: Heligoland is on a major migration route for birds crossing the North Sea; for centuries, both those on migration and those breeding there, were an important source of food for the islanders. In the early 19th century Heligoland also became a source of bird specimens for collectors and museums. Ornithologist and artist Heinrich Gätke first visited the island in 1837 and moved there permanently in 1841 as secretary to
8-611: A baker, he was sent to study commerce in Berlin but became a painter. In 1837 he travelled to the island of Heligoland for the first time. From 1841 he decided to live there and from 1843 he studied birds on the island. He studied ornithology and made a collection. In 1891 a station was established in Heligoland and the Prussian government acquired his collection for the North sea museum. The collection
12-591: The " Heligoland traps " he developed. 54°11′N 7°53′E / 54.183°N 7.883°E / 54.183; 7.883 This article about an organisation based in Germany is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Heinrich G%C3%A4tke Heinrich Gätke (born 19 May or 19 March 1814 in Pritzwalk – died 1 January 1897 in Heligoland) was a German ornithologist and artist. The son of
16-494: The British Governor. He began collecting specimens of rarities for both artistic and scientific purposes. He spent most of the next 60 years studying the birds and coined the term "Vogelwarte", producing a book ("Die Vogelwarte Helgoland") on his research in 1891, with an English translation published in 1895. The modern observatory was established in 1910 by Hugo Weigold with a systematic trapping and banding program using
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