A bid to rid two islands of rats to allow rare bird populations to flourish has been declared a success after conservationists spotted chicks for the first time in living memory.
Manx shearwater chicks were seen outside their nest burrows on St Agnes and Gugh in the Isles of Scilly following the first year of a project to remove rats.
Although Manx shearwaters have bred on these two islands for decades, eggs and chicks were always eaten by rats while they were still in their burrows.
But last winter the islands’ rats were removed and conservationists are now celebrating the first sightings of healthy youngsters.
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