The first seabird conservation project to use detection dogs in the UK.

A team of five detection dogs are deployed to an island off the east coast of Scotland, UK.

"Sprocker" spaniels Molly and Nelson, Storm the Belgian Shepherd and Piper the Springer spaniel are experienced detection dogs, but this was their very first conservation project. With a short time window in which to work on the project, a pet dog, Esme, a Belgian Malinois, was been trained as a backup.  

It was a first for NatureScot, which looks after Scotland's natural heritage and, at the time, was the first time detection dogs had been used in the UK in seabird  conservation work with seabirds.

Their job was to start the process of surveying the Isle of May, which is a nature reserve, to establish the size of a new colony of storm petrels. The storm petrel is a shy, nocturnal, ground nesting bird hitherto not seen on in the east of Scotland.

How did they know the storm petrels were there?

As part of conservation efforts in the UK and elsewhere, fine mist nets are used as a safe way to capture wild birds for ringing. Licensed ringers place a lightweight ring with a unique number around a bird's leg. Once ringed, an individual bird's activity can be noted. Such information allows conservation organisations to understand bird population movement, changes and trends, and provides information vital for bird conservation. It was through this practice that the presence of storm petrels on the east coast of Scotland was first noted.

Simon Chapman of K9 Manhunt Scotland explains to Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather how the project came about, what the challenges were and how the dogs - most of whom usually work as drugs dogs - stepped up to the challenge of a new type of project and distraction-heavy environment.

Other conservation detection dogs episodes:

• Barley the conservation detection dog and his international projects
• Nica, Nettle and Phoenix, the Japanese Knotweed detection dogs

Do you work your dog or dogs?

Contact me, Kate Fairweather if you would be interested in coming on the show, at team@shineradio.uk.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2024