Scilly Isles become a rat-free zone to benefit seabirds

Manx shearwater 

The nests of rare seabirds on Scilly will be better protected this year since the successful removal of two of the islands’ rat populations. The Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project (IOSSRP) has not recorded a single rat on either St Agnes or Gugh in the past 20 weeks and everyone is cautiously hopeful that rare nesting seabirds will now be able to flourish free of predation from rats.

Following the world’s largest community-based rat eradication project, the aim is to keep St Agnes and Gugh ‘rat-free’ – a status that can only be officially declared two years after the last sign of rats. The UK is internationally important for seabirds, but many species are declining in numbers. Among the many challenges they face, the greatest land threat is predation of eggs and chicks by brown rats. Of the rich array of seabirds nesting in Scilly, the two that are likely to benefit from the project the most are the Manx shearwater and the storm petrel that nest in holes and burrows. 

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