Cheerio 2021 
It is incredible to think that a year ago, as we emerged from the first covid lockdowns, that the partially opened trap network had caught 734 stoats. As we head into the festive season a year later that figure has expanded by 2,000 and now sits at a whopping 2,643.
It is a huge achievement in the face of the lockdowns and restrictions that had delayed the placing and opening of the trap boxes west of Kirkwall. There were 5,545 trap boxes in the field a year ago containing 42,168 traps - which has now increased by 1,000 more boxes to 6,240. The trapping team of 15 now check 160,749 individual traps on a three-week rota. They, and the rest of us, will be taking a break over the festive period when the offices close until after the new year public holiday.
When not checking the network the trapping crew grew a variety of moustaches to raise awareness in support of men’s mental health during Movember. As a result of the mighty effort the guys raised a donation of £160 presented to the Orkney Men’s Shed.
A new spaniel joins the dog team
We welcomed our latest canine colleague this month as Riggs joined the team as a stoat detection conservation dog. He is a cheeky chappy, as most spaniels are, with a love for tennis balls and running around when not at work, as his training photo clearly shows us!
Riggs has some interesting little quirks particularly if he knows he is going to the beach. He cannot control himself and starts to sing a Springer song – and during dinner time! He is super-fast, great with other dogs, very social and loves to swim. Riggs is currently settling into his Orkney home and will be working in earnest in the new year.
Meanwhile the dog team are methodically checking the islands for any signs of stoats. They have completed a sweep of Graemsay and confirmed no signs of stoats are found there. They are currently working their way through Hoy and other high-risk islands closest to the Orkney Mainland as stoats have been known to swim up to three kilometres.
Their human chums in the biosecurity team have also been busy finalising biosecurity plans for the high-risk islands closest to mainland. Hoy and Flotta were the first Orkney islands to develop their very own biosecurity plans. Folk from Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre met recently to explore creating their own plans to protect their islands‘ wildlife from a stoat incursion. Everyone is welcome to be involved so do contact us for more information.
Come and join the monitoring team for 2022
Want to spend four glorious months working with us monitoring Orkney's fabulous native wildlife? Then we have the jobs for you. We need research assistants beginning in March through to July to monitor wildlife. The closing date for applications is 6 January 2022 so you can dream of a new year in a new job in glorious Orkney supporting Europe’s largest invasive species eradication.
We need one senior research assistant and research assistants to join us temporarily in 2022 and look forward to hearing from you.
Welcome 2022
As we head into another year of protecting Orkney's native wildlife we want to thank all of you for supporting us through the tough times, and the good. It has been a challenging year for everyone as we all learn to live with a virus that doesn’t seem to quite disappear off the radar. Through all that our project mission to remove stoats from Orkney is succeeding because of you - our supporters, volunteers and those nice folk who just want a wee chat in the street to find out more. Those folk, whether living or visiting Orkney, young and old, generously donate time volunteering, grant land access and offer some great ideas to make this a project built on teamwork with the community. Thanks so much, and here's to a healthy happy new year for everyone of us.
Until our next issue, you can keep up with our progress via our Facebook page and our monthly column in the Orcadian newspaper. Any questions please do feel free to contact us.