Ear tags for wild cats

To distinguish sterilized cats in recaptures, all of the wildcats captured must be marked before being released to avoid the psychological and physical stress suffered when are subjected to further surgery.


 
We have selected an international system for tagging feral cats, ear section of the apical part of the left pinna. This cartilage area is very little irrigated and does not suffer bleeding and, therefore, very difficult to infection.

In the photo you can see a female sterilized last week sunbathing on a rooftop in the village of Corvo.

Olá,

We are Jannes and Jakob and decided to use our free time between our biologic studies to help in the SPEA project on Corvo Island. Me, Jannes, I am 23 years and currently studying Biologie in Kiel, Germany. And me Jakob, I am 21 years old and going to start studying Biologie in Bremen, Germany.
After school we both volunteered in the Wadden Sea of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, became best friends and developed same interest like Marine Biologie as well as bird watching.

We arrived on Corvo on friday 23rd of july and are going to stay for almost two months.
Our main task in the project will be focused on nest-investigation of Cory´s Shearwater and we will give a hand in any situation where it could be useful.
We already took all the kind people and of course the funny sounding Cagarros to our heart and we are looking forward to some wonderful weeks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

"Biologia no Verão" - Discover the activities on Corvo island at this Summer!

Between June 15 and September 7, the SPEA, in partnership with Ciência Viva, has a variety activities related to biodiversity of Corvo Island. Entries are FREE and must be made through the website of Ciência Viva - www.cienciaviva.pt.

On 10 and August 24, and September 7 will be held the activity "Discovering the Azores laurel." Participants will have the opportunity to meet the remaining natural flora on Corvo, while they learn with simple gestures can help in their conservation.

During the mornings of 20-22 August, participants can see up close, and feel in their hands, small birds that come every day or hear from far, in parks and gardens. The activity will take place is "Discovering Birds around us" which aims to feature some aspects of conservation and take interested parties to participate in a technique long used by experts worldwide for the study of birds - capture using miss-nets.

Trying to get further help!

As mentioned previously, we are monitoring cat activity around the colonies of Cory's shearwater using automatic cameras with infra-red sensor. This work results in lots of pictures that need to be processed. This is where you can be really helpful. It is a great help even if you can spend just a couple of hours per week.

The processing can be done from your home and you just need an internet connection and the Microsoft Excel program. Below is an example of one of the cat pictures recorded last week.

If you are interested, get in touch to receive more information.
Just comment on this post or send an email to nuno.oliveira@spea.pt.

Cheers!

The Spotlight

Last night we went around the island to count cats. The survey took place between eleven p.m. and one a.m.
We were able to find five cats during the survey with the spotlight; one of wich was eating the remains of a dead Cory's found dead next to the road.

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Cagarros colony (Calonectris diomedea) - João de Moura pinnacle. Corvo island

Cagarro's close-up image

Canto do Pão de Açucar

View from the sea...