NTS Volunteers, Jimmy Huis, arrived on Wednesday 18th October and Liz Mackley arrived on Saturday 21st October.
Continued monitoring at the "summer reported rat sighting areas" has shown no rat sign or activity. Checking all the monitoring in the bait stations has been completed on Sanday, and at Lamasgor, In-Bye, Garrisdale, Nunnery, Iolasgor, Compass Hill, Water-tanks, Terraces, East and West Plateaus and Coroghon. No rat sign has been detected.
Monitoring outside the bait stations has been checked at Nunnery, Iolasgor, Lamasgor, In-Bye (including Canna House) and Tarbert Road. No rat sign has been detected. Monitoring equipment, mainly chocolate wax, is being made in small batches most days after regular field work. Weather has been excellent, with no days lost to bad conditions.
Just less than fifty buckets of unused bait has been put onto pallets. This was to check the required amounts of wrap to secure the pallets for shipment of surplus poison to the Falkland Islands. Bob Swann will be arranging the required amount when the shipment has been confirmed. The remaining bait will be packaged up when transport dates have been confirmed.
Sea eagles (both adults and juveniles) have been seen during the week. Golden eagles have also been seen on several occasions.
On Sunday 22nd October Bob Swann gave an illustrated lecture about the Canna Seabird Recovery Project to the Scottish Ornithologist Club annual conference at Kingussie. This was well received and once again everyone was impressed with the huge amount of effort that has gone into the project. Project leaflets were distributed to the delegates and the website publicised.
Biz Bell, Dave Boyle and Paul Garner-Richards - WMIL, Sunday 22nd October 2006
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