Protecting our seabird islands

Imagine a remote Scottish island in spring, noisy with the cacophony of thousands of Guillemots, Puffins and Razorbills wheeling about in the air and calling from their nest sites.

At the tumbled down old harbour that serves the island’s visitors, a boat moors up, the owner making the rope secure, the passengers jump on to the quay. But once the last passenger has wandered up the quayside, two rats daintily run along the rope and jump on to the quay, quickly disappearing into the undergrowth. An hour passes and the passengers return, untie their ropes and cast off. Little do they know, they left far more than footprints...

Scotland’s islands are home to over two million seabirds. Iconic islands including Ailsa Craig, St Kilda and the Shiant Isles provide important breeding sites for nationally and internationally important populations of seabirds such as Gannets, Puffins and European Storm Petrels.  

These remote islands are important for breeding seabirds for many reasons. One of these is because, due to their isolated location, they have historically been free of mammals such as rats, stoats and mice. Many of our seabirds nest on the ground or in burrows which makes them vulnerable to these mammals, as they can predate eggs, chicks, and even adult birds.

A species is invasive and non-native if it has been introduced to an area outside of its normal range by humans and has a significant negative impact on biodiversity, society or the economy. Rats, mice, stoats and mink fall under this category in the context of our remote Scottish islands.  Humans brought them to the islands, and they have since severely impacted local seabird populations.

We can reverse the impacts of non-native mammals on our seabird islands through comprehensive eradication programmes, but prevention is always better than cure. 

That’s where the Biosecurity for LIFE project comes in. Biosecurity is about keeping places secure against the threat of external biological organisms, be it infectious disease or a non-native predator.  

The Biosecurity for LIFE project is an ambitious initiative that aims to protect our seabird islands from the accidental release of non-native mammals. Through detection, ongoing monitoring, and rapid response efforts, we can ensure our seabirds can continue to thrive on their island breeding grounds.

The Biosecurity for LIFE project is well set up to achieve its aims, but without coastal communities getting involved and understanding what the issues are, the project will always struggle to make an impact. We need people in the local areas to spread the word, discussing how they can play their part in working together to keep our seabird islands free from non-native mammals.

Through the RSPB’s Species Volunteer Network, we are seeking volunteers to help us reach into coastal communities and talk to people about the role they can play in helping our seabirds.  

These volunteers, Biosecurity Ambassadors, will be heading out to their local harbours to talk to boat users about how to detect non-native mammals that might have jumped onboard boats without the owners knowing. The volunteers will share special information packs with boat owners, as well as wax monitoring blocks to help them look out for unwanted passengers. Any sign of chewing on a block suggests the presence of a mammal. 

Through this network of Biosecurity Ambassador Volunteers, boat owners will be empowered with the knowledge and means to stop mammals getting a free passage to our seabird islands. This small act can play a big part in keeping our seabird islands free from non-native predators.