Project news

Welcome! Amanda and Jackson the Dog Joins the Team

Amanda MacDonald from Carnan is a valuable new addition to the project in our continuing search for hedgehogs. She will be relying on the nose of Jackson, her labrador-pointer who is already proving his worth finding hedgehogs in Benbecula. Even though hedgehogs will be in hibernation, Amanda and Jackson will spend the winter months improving their skills to make sure all hedgehogs are found, even those down burrows!! Jackson, with his endless energy, will be invaluable, especially on moorland, where hedgehogs are thin on the ground, and it is tough going for our trappers. Amanda and Jackson the full story  .

Sniffer dogs hot on the hog trail in Uists

Specially-trained sniffer dogs are now being used in the hunt to search and locate hedgehogs which can prey on the eggs of native bird populations. The dogs are being used by the Uist Wader Project as part of an ongoing drive to rid the Western Isles of the non-native hedgehogs.

Recent additions to the team include new dog handler Stephen Robinson and his fully trained golden labrador Misca. Their focus will be the moorlands on the east side of Benbecula, and parts of North Uist. Misca's role is very important as she will be able to cover areas where hedgehogs numbers are low and the terrain is tough going for the project's 16 trappers. The sniffer dogs also give us a means of determining the efficiency of trapping.

Read the full article to find out more about the progress of the Uist Wader Project.

Reports and the story so far

• The story so far  - find out more about the project so far.
• Press releases - search the press release database for the latest news articles.
• Board meetings - search the board meetings database for the latest discussions on the project.

Once in the relevant database use search words like "hedgehog", "Uist" and "wader" etc to get you started.