The Pete Dunn Heligoland Trap Memorial Fund
Donation protected
Peter was a dear member of the Naturetrek family. He led our tours for nearly 20 years, sharing his love of birding and wildlife with many hundreds of our clients, leaders, staff and locals alike, from Yorkshire to both ends of the Earth … and a great many places in between. We will always remember him as a deeply knowledgeable, kind, generous and patient colleague, tour leader and friend to us all.
Peter was also one of the founding members of the Filey Bird Observatory, as well as a pioneer of bird ringing studies in Filey. He established a wide variety of ringing methods within the bird observatory, many of which are still being used to collect data today, and many of the ringers now operating at Filey were trained by Peter. All this ringing data helps to build a larger picture of bird migration, longevity, and survival, which in turn helps determine national trends and establish where conservation efforts and funding should be focused.
One of Peter’s dreams was to build a Heligoland trap within the observatory. A Heligoland trap would greatly increase the flexibility of the small ringing team and allow data to be collected when conditions are unsuitable for using mist nets (which is often the case in Filey!). It would increase the number of birds, and the diversity of species, on which data is collected, helping to further bird conservation and strengthen the observatory’s scientific observations.
Filey Bird Observatory is a small, self-funded organisation with around 150 members, and projects of this magnitude are usually out of reach. Peter's family has set up a fundraiser in his memory, hoping to raise enough funds to turn Peter’s dream into a reality; a fitting tribute to the legacy of all that he helped to create and build in Filey. We, at Naturetrek, have created this page to support their fundraiser, so that together we might offer a small token of thanks from all of us who were lucky enough to have worked, travelled and birded with Peter over the last 20 years.
Peter and fellow leaders in Spitsbergen
With the Naturetrek group in Baja California
Picnic time in Coto Donana
With the expedition team in Antarctica
With his protégés in Monterey Harbour
A picnic stop to refuel whilst searching for Iberian Lynx
The ringing gang at Filey
Peter was also one of the founding members of the Filey Bird Observatory, as well as a pioneer of bird ringing studies in Filey. He established a wide variety of ringing methods within the bird observatory, many of which are still being used to collect data today, and many of the ringers now operating at Filey were trained by Peter. All this ringing data helps to build a larger picture of bird migration, longevity, and survival, which in turn helps determine national trends and establish where conservation efforts and funding should be focused.
One of Peter’s dreams was to build a Heligoland trap within the observatory. A Heligoland trap would greatly increase the flexibility of the small ringing team and allow data to be collected when conditions are unsuitable for using mist nets (which is often the case in Filey!). It would increase the number of birds, and the diversity of species, on which data is collected, helping to further bird conservation and strengthen the observatory’s scientific observations.
Filey Bird Observatory is a small, self-funded organisation with around 150 members, and projects of this magnitude are usually out of reach. Peter's family has set up a fundraiser in his memory, hoping to raise enough funds to turn Peter’s dream into a reality; a fitting tribute to the legacy of all that he helped to create and build in Filey. We, at Naturetrek, have created this page to support their fundraiser, so that together we might offer a small token of thanks from all of us who were lucky enough to have worked, travelled and birded with Peter over the last 20 years.
Peter and fellow leaders in SpitsbergenWith the Naturetrek group in Baja CaliforniaPicnic time in Coto DonanaWith the expedition team in AntarcticaWith his protégés in Monterey HarbourA picnic stop to refuel whilst searching for Iberian LynxThe ringing gang at FileyOrganizer and beneficiary
Naturetrek Wildlife Holidays
Organizer
Ian Robinson
Beneficiary