The Seabird Group Grants Program

The Seabird Group has the facility to award small grants each year. These are usually related to research projects or censuses. Priority is given to Seabird Group members working on Atlantic seabirds.

In recent years grants (up to £500) have been given towards ringing studies and census work, including projects in Orkney and Shetland, Caithness, on Sanda, Argyllshire islands in the Firth of Forth, as well as to projects outside the UK such as Portugal and Alaska. Other grants have recently been given towards work such as censusing Storm Petrels and Manx Shearwaters, assessing productivity and survival of Great and Arctic Skuas, and seawatching projects, including the monitoring of Balearic Shearwaters. During major censuses such as SEABIRD 2000, larger grants can be offered to help fund expeditions to help plug gaps in coverage of the coast of the British Isles. In 2001 grants were given to assist with aerial surveys of gulls in some large urban areas.

Applications should be submitted, preferably in electronic form, to the Secretary using the official application form available from the secretary or from this site. Applications should reach the secretary prior to the following dates: 31st October and 31st February. Following these dates, all applications will be circulated round the Committee and decisions taken. Applicants will be informed of the success of their application within a month of these dates. Any excess from the first allocation in October will be distributed at the second in March, so early application is recommended.

Successful applicants will be required to produce a short report on their work for the Seabird Group Newsletter and website. Any publication relating to the project results should state that a contribution to costs was obtained from the Seabird Group. The grant must be used for the purposes stated on the application form. The grant must be returned to the Seabird Group if not used by the applicant for the specific project. Details of expenditure and receipts for major items should be available for inspection if needed.