Rare sea birds increase after island gets rid of rats
A £750,000 scheme to kill rats on two of the Isles of Scilly has led to a resurgence in rare sea birds. The number of Manx shearwaters has risen to 73 nesting pairs this year, the highest in living memory. Rats would earlier eat both the eggs and chicks of Manx shearwaters and storm petrels, leading to their population decline. 