Welcome to the eleventh weekly stoat snippet!
These snippets will be a short update on progress with both the Orkney Native Wildlife Project and the Orkney Mainland Predator Invasion Biosecurity Project, as well as addressing any concerns that folk have raised with SNH and RSPB Scotland.
Orkney Native Wildlife Project
Last week we launched the community consultation and have already started getting completed questionnaires returned to us. We’ve had some great ideas for activities. Thank you to those who have participated so far and please encourage others to take part.
Here is the link again (www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ONWP) and look out for the paper version around Orkney from now onwards.
Next week, we will have a confirmed programme of events to give you an opportunity to come and talk to us in person and find out more about the project and how you can get involved.
The first of these will take place on Sunday 10 December as part of a hen harrier roost event at RSPB Scotland Cottascarth. You can drop by any time between 1 and 4 pm.
In other news, we are setting up an official Facebook page for the project. We hope it will be live next week.
Orkney Mainland Predator Invasion Biosecurity Project
As you know from last week’s snippet, traps are still out in five areas around the Orkney Mainland. The next checks will happen in early December when we will also be adding drainage pipe to the front of the traps.
We are adding pipe to the front of the traps (see photo below) because earlier this month the Orkney Native Wildlife Project team were alerted to an incident involving a cat getting its paw stuck in a trap.
We’ve taken stringent measures to try to ensure that pets are safe from being caught in traps set to catch stoats. The trap entrances are designed to be too small for pets such as cats or dogs to enter, and wire mesh inside the trap housing creates a partition with an offset, smaller access point to the trap itself. The traps are also set in a way that means lightweight animals should not spring the trap.
We’ve taken this case very seriously and have taken steps to adapt the design of the traps to further reduce the chance of this happening in the future.
We immediately replaced all DOC150 traps – the type the cat was caught in – with larger DOC200 traps so the distance from the entrance of the box to the trap is longer than it was before – and we are in the process of extending the distance even further by altering the design through the addition of the drainage tube. This will further reduce the chance of an inquisitive cat being able to reach the trap mechanism.
We’ve been keeping in regular contact with the owner who has assured us that the cat is doing well and is on the mend.
Any questions about this incident should be directed to Sarah Sankey at RSPB Scotland (01856 850 176 and orkney@rspb.org.uk).
Potential incursion responses
Rousay: We would ask folk who live or visit Rousay to remember to get in touch if there is even the slightest suspicion that they have seen a stoat.
Hoy: On Tuesday this week, we returned to Hoy to check the 28 traps we deployed last week. Unfortunately we did not catch any stoats, just a few rats. We are currently processing the images from the remote cameras.
The Project will have a stall at the RSPB Scotland Hoy nature reserve Open Day this Saturday at Hoy Kirk – please drop in to find out more about what we have done so far on the island.
Answering your concerns…
Remember, if you have any comments or concerns please contact north@snh.gov.uk or orkney@rspb.org.uk.
And don't forget to keep reporting any sightings of stoats, whether on the mainland or outer isles, as soon as possible, to SNH by calling 01856 886163, by emailing north@snh.gov.uk or through the ‘Stoats in Orkney’ Facebook page.