Lundy’s seabird numbers plummeted from an estimated 80,000 in 1939 to 7,351 in a survey in 2000.
A partnership between the RSPB, Natural England, the National Trust and the Landmark Trust was formed in 2002 to deal with rats – identified as the primary threat to burrow‑nesting birds such as Manx shearwaters and puffins – which had been inadvertently introduced via ships and shipwrecks.
The island was declared rat-free four years later – with numbers counted by the project team at the time – and ongoing biosecurity and long-term monitoring have ensured it has stayed that way.
Such biosecurity includes preventing rats coming onto the island via boat through various cargo checks on board, as well as regular checks of monitoring stations across the island.
These check points have a chocolate wax block inside, checked for bite marks.
Visitors are also urged to report any signs of rats on the island or their boat, with an Island Response Team ready to control any new rat incursions if one is ever sighted.
Helen Booker, RSPB senior conservation officer, said if restoring more than 40,000 seabirds on a single island was achievable, “just imagine what could be done for nature across the UK if we scaled up this ambition”.
She added: “These remarkable results reinforce the need for Lundy to be designated as a Special Protection Area to safeguard seabirds at sea as well as on land.”
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