An airborne assault will begin this fall in the ongoing war to rid important bird-nesting islands of non-native rats in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve. <\/p>\n
As part of a five-year, $2.2-million program, officials will employ a helicopter to drop rat poison over two sites in Juan Perez Sound: 400-hectare Murchison Island and 316-hectare Faraday Island. <\/p>\n
At-risk species such as ancient murrelets have vanished from their nesting sites there over the years due to the rats. <\/p>\n
Thats the problem, theyre so voracious, Parks Canada project manager Laurie Wein said in an interview Wednesday. Theyll eat the eggs, the young chicks. They can have a dramatic impact on ground-nesting seabirds. <\/p>\n
When the rats run out of birds, they turn to intertidal areas to forage on marine life. Theyll eat anything. Theyre not picky. <\/p>\n
In the first phase of the program, in 2011, officials launched a ground-based program, placing poison bait boxes on two other islands 95-hectare Bischof and 10-hectare Arichika to eradicate the rats. <\/p>\n
The results of that program are still being monitored. <\/p>\n
We dont declare success until we know weve had two years where we cant detect rats ... but so far things are looking good, Wein said. <\/p>\n
Due to the size of Murchison and Faraday, officials decided to opt for a more practical helicopter-based application. Its similar to agricultural seeding operations, a bucket suspended below a helicopter that dispenses a pelleted bait. <\/p>\n
Wein does expect some accidental poisoning of other species including scavenging birds such as ravens. Monitoring shows that a native mouse and shrew are virtually gone from the islands, again due to the rats impact. <\/p>\n
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Helicopter to drop poison to rid Gwaii Haanas islands of rats<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An airborne assault will begin this fall in the ongoing war to rid important bird-nesting islands of non-native rats in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve. As part of a five-year, $2.2-million program, officials will employ a helicopter to drop rat poison over two sites in Juan Perez Sound: 400-hectare Murchison Island and 316-hectare Faraday Island. At-risk species such as ancient murrelets have vanished from their nesting sites there over the years due to the rats Continue reading