Manx shearwater chicks are surviving due to the removal of rats, and we hope each year their numbers will increase. It was a great start to the recording season, we have never recorded so many chicks in just one night! 

Their parents have now starting to leave for the open seas heading for South America for the winer. The chicks are now by themselves (1/3 rd fatter than the adults so they do have fat reserves provided by fishing trips by their parents) and will spend the next 10 days or so coming out of their burrows at night away from the pressure of predatory Greater black-backed gulls. They will 'star-gaze' to fix the stars above their natal burrows in order to navigate back in 2-3 years time! They are also 'wing-flapping' getting ready to leave the islands. They have an incredible lifecycle. 

It is so wonderful to see these chicks, and to know that all the hard work every person has put into this project has helped the survival of these amazing seabirds. 

We also saw a Scilly shrew by the burrows, another species which has benefited from the removal of rats. 

Check out the videos under the video tab /project-overview/project-publications/video-and-audio-2016/ 

Jaclyn with chick on Gugh 

Jaclyn with Scilly shrew (Lesser white-toothed shrew) 

Tiny Scilly shrew!