Here’s your all-in-one recap of how you helped Orkney’s native wildlife in the past year.
You reported 886 stoat sightings in 2024
Thanks to your sharp eyes and diligent reporting, we’ve been able to target stoats and their movements more accurately. We act fast when we receive new stoat sightings. In some cases we’re getting detailed reports in the morning, setting traps by lunchtime, and catching them overnight. If you’ve seen a stoat, please report it to orkenynativewildlife.org.uk/report, call 01856 881451 or post it to the ‘Stoats in Orkney’ Facebook group.
Most stoats were caught in South-West Mainland
From Stromness through Finstown and Orphir to Kirkwall: in South-West Mainland we caught 539 stoats. In North-West Mainland we removed 433 stoats, and in the area including East Mainland, Burray, and South Ronaldsay we caught 442 stoats.
In 2024, we removed our 7,000th stoat
This demonstrates the scale of the challenge, but also the effectiveness of our methods and the support which you have given to this project. Reaching 7,000 has been made possible by the hard work of the project’s trappers and detection dog handlers, and the many sightings you have reported. Together, we are protecting Orkney’s native wildlife now, and for future generations.
4829 total volunteer hours in 2024
Whether it’s monitoring wildlife, biosecurity, or even trapping, we can’t thank our elite team of trained volunteers enough! If you’re passionate about wildlife conservation you can learn more about our volunteering opportunities on our website.
A big year for wildlife success
We also published our latest wildlife monitoring report, which revealed wader nest success rates are up 289% since the project began in 2019, Hen Harrier nest success rates are up 128% since 2019, and we've found a 200% increase in signs of Orkney Vole activity since 2019!
To keep up to date with the Orkney Native Wildlife Project on our Facebook page and our monthly column in the Orcadian newspaper.
Banner image credit: Nick Card