Invasive non-native predators can quickly decimate breeding colonies by eating eggs, chicks, and adult birds. We have seen this happen on islands all over the world, including Ramsey island on the Pembrokeshire coast. While a rat eradication was successful on Ramsey and many species, in particular the Manx Shearwater are...
Welcome to the Biosecurity for LIFE November update. The exciting news from the last month is the team reaching full strength! We are really pleased to welcome Sarah Lawrence - who has come to us after spending the summer out on St Kilda monitoring seabirds - as the Biosecurity Officer for West and Central Scotland and Northern England. With everyone in place we are now able to deliver the project across all our seabird island SPAs and really focus on improving biosecurity. Read on to find out what has been happening across the UK.
Hello and welcome to the first Biosecurity for LIFE project update! It has certainly been a busy first year since the project commenced and we’re really excited to be able to start providing you with more regular insights into the exciting world of UK island biosecurity.
Afra Skene is the project’s Biosecurity Officer in Orkney and Shetland, which between them hold some of the UK’s largest seabird colonies. Here Afra shares some of the exciting progress being made in what are some of the most remote and spectacular locations in the country.
Tessa Coledale is the Biosecurity Officer covering the wonderfully diverse seabird islands of Wales and Northern Ireland.
On the 16th and 17th September, Biosecurity for LIFE hosted an international workshop in Uppsala, Sweden. The project was represented by Project Manager, Thomas Churchyard and Laura Bambini and Karen Varnham from RSPB.