What birds will benefit from eradicating rats, and how long will it take to bring them back?
Over time, all ground and burrow nesting birds should benefit from this action. Tufted puffins, ancient murrelets, storm petrels, song sparrows, glaucous-winged gulls, and possibly whiskered auklets and Cassin’s auklets are likely to re-colonize the island. Bird species already nesting on rat-free, nearby, off-shore islets will re-establish populations on Rat Island quicker than those not present in the immediate area. Populations of winter wrens, Lapland longspurs, Aleutian cackling geese and other waterfowl currently nesting on the island will also increase after eradication.
