NTS Volunteer, Iain Smith, departed on Saturday 11th November.
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, Iolasgor, Langanes, Lamasgor, In-Bye (including Canna House and Beach Road), Compass Hill, Garrisdale, Water-tanks, Terraces, Geugasgor, Sloc, Tarbert Road (twice), Tarbert Paddocks (twice), West Plateau (twice), East Plateau and Coroghon. No rat sign has been detected. Monitoring outside the bait stations has been checked at Sanday, Iolasgor, Langanes, Lamasgor, In-Bye (including Canna House and Beach Road), Compass Hill, Garrisdale, Water-tanks, Terraces, Geugasgor, Sloc, Tarbert Road (twice), Tarbert Paddocks (twice), West Plateau (twice), East Plateau and Coroghon,. No rat sign has been detected. Monitoring inside and outside the bait stations was checked on the part of the northern and southern sides of the island at the boat-access sites (Natural Arch, Sloc Beach and Haslam). No rat sign has been detected. Trap boxes along the pier and part of Beach Road where checked. No rats were caught or detected.
Bait was transported to the pier and placed on pallets in preparation for transportation to the Falkland Islands. More wrap arrived on Saturday 11th November. The remainder of the bait will be moved and placed on pallets next week. Transportation will be arranged to remove it from Canna as soon as possible.
Chris Rodger (SNH Warden, Isle of Rum) visited the island to learn more about the project, in particular the logistics and techniques of a large-scale eradication programme. He was taught how to set up the bait station grid and he assisted with monitoring checks during his stay on the island. He also learnt how to necropsy and measure rats (using rats that had been caught on Rum during a trapping project there). Bait stations (x 50), wire, crow clips and monitoring stations were donated to Rum for use in a proposed small-scale brown rat control programme at one of the shag colonies on Rum.
Weather has been good, with only one day lost to bad conditions (more "rodent motels" made and chocolate wax was made during that day). Chocolate wax was also made in small batches most days after regular field work.
Biz Bell, Dave Boyle and Paul Garner-Richards - WMIL, Sunday 12th November 2006
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