They say that summer in Orkney can end as soon as the first week of August – but rain or shine makes no difference to our trappers' hard work.
Last month saw the spike in stoat sightings and stoats trapped that we anticipated, because of younger stoats heading off across the Mainland and Linked Isles to settle in their own dens. Many reports from passers-by on Facebook and our reporting page have described this sort of behaviour, with stoats seen running across roads or along roadsides.
Altogether, the project removed 156 stoats from Orkney, received XXX reported stoat sightings, set XX traps, and carried out XXXX trap checks. In the North-West and South-West Mainland, the number of stoats trapped was lower than in January 2025; the only area where our catch numbers were higher (at 52, compared to 45 the previous year) was East Mainland and the Linked Isles.
We are continuing to target these parishes heavily with response trapping, since we’re confident that the breeding stoat population there has been heavily reduced.
Some promising news
We have a positive update from Rousay!
The project sent fresh scat samples collected from the island away to see if it would be possible to get enough DNA from them for testing. And it was! Researchers from the Cardiff University School of Biosciences were able to confirm that the scat tested came from a male stoat.
This is a good sign – it means that there is still currently no evidence of any kind of a female stoat on the island, or that stoats have been breeding in Rousay. We can be cautiously optimistic that this incursion is a case of a single male crossing over, and that therefore the damage it can do to native wildlife is limited.
Despite this good news, it is still possible that more than one stoat could be present on Rousay, and we need to be certain that this is not the case. More monitoring is needed to confirm that no other stoats are present on the island, and project staff are continuing to set up cameras and carry out dog searches, with support from local volunteers. The more of the island we have under close observation, the sooner we’ll be sure there is only one stoat - and the sooner we’ll be able to catch and remove it.
We’re grateful beyond words to the team at Cardiff, and to everybody who’s helped support our response - from the community volunteers in Rousay, to all the landowners on the island, and to everyone who has reported a potential sighting. We couldn’t do it without you all!
It’s showtime!
This week is Show Week, and we’re delighted to be taking part in all the shows across Mainland Orkney and the Linked Isles.
Since last Saturday, ONWP team members have held stalls at East Mainland and The Hope, bringing games, good cheer, and our detection dog and ‘brand ambassador’ Skye to everyone there.
This was a brilliant opportunity to speak face-to-face with people about our work, and we had some great conversations with everyone, both Orkney locals and visitors alike. There’s a real enthusiasm for learning more about our native wildlife, and the ins and outs of how the ONWP works in the field.
And the week isn’t over yet. Today, we are setting up shop at the West Mainland Show in Dounby – and this Saturday, we’ll be at the Orkney County Show itself at Bignold Park.
If you fancy a game of Guess Who, like the look of our team’s hand-crafted decorations, or are simply curious about nature in Orkney and the efforts to keep it safe, we’d absolutely love to see you!
