
Cooper's Island is part of the chain which makes up
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an ...
. It is located in
St. George's Parish, in the northeast of the territory.
The 77-acre (31 hectare) island is located in the northeast of
Castle Harbor. Due to reclamation work, it is now joined physically to
St. David's Island as a southeastern peninsula. For most purposes, it is still considered as though it were a separate island. Its most notable feature is the expanse of
Annie's Bay, which stretches along much of the island's east coast.
The island has been used by many
United States government
The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States.
The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
agencies, having been leased to the US Army, US Air Force and US Navy from 1942, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, to 1995. It also is home to a
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
space tracking station, recently renovated in 2018.
Until 1995, access was restricted, but it is now open to the public.
Most of Cooper's Island is owned by the Bermudian government. It is preserved as the Cooper's Island Nature Reserve, which has been under active restoration since 2009. Swimming, walking, picnicking, bird watching and snorkelling are all permitted within the reserve.
Important Bird Area
With the adjacent Castle Islands Nature Reserve, Cooper's Island has been identified as an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...
, principally because of its importance as a breeding site for
seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...
s.
[BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Cooper's Island and Castle Islands. Downloaded from on 2012-02-20.]
References
External links
Cooper's Island Nature Reserve
Islands of Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an ...
St. George's Parish, Bermuda
World War II sites in Bermuda
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