Heligoland Bird Observatory

The Institute of Avian Research " Ornithological Helgoland" ( IfV ) is a research institute at Wilhelmshaven, part of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture. The IfV is also the responsible for northern West Germany ringing.

The Institute of Avian Research was established on 1 April 1910 as a bird observatory Helgoland within the Prussian Biological Institute on Helgoland. His main focus was the study of bird migration on the island. After wartime evacuation of the island of Helgoland in 1947 was the new beginning of the Institute in Wilhelmshaven, the current headquarters. An outstation of IfV is operated again on the Helgoland Oberland, since March 1953. The Institute is concerned primarily with the ornithological basic research and the diverse relationships between birds and their biotic and abiotic environment. Even today, the bird migration research is the main theme of the scientific work. Another outstation of the Institute is located on the north side of the lake Banter in Wilhelmshaven, where since the 1980s, investigations are carried out on a Flussseeschwalbenkolonie to population ecology and physiology of these long-lived seabird.

The IfV was initially housed in a former naval signal station on the former 3rd entrance. Since March 1966, the Heligoland Bird Observatory has its headquarters in a new building on the site of an old fort in the district of Wilhelmshaven Rüstersiel.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Ornithological the special stamp shown on the left was issued on April 8, 2010. The design comes from the design office Elsenbach & Fienbork in Hückeswagen. The multi-color offset printing was carried out in the Federal Printing Berlin.

Management of the Institute

Since the establishment of the following scientists were available to the Institute before: