The project has recruited a Site Warden, Matthew Borg Cardona. Matthew has been a BirdLife volunteer for many years and has recently completed a Diploma in Agricultural Studies.
The team have begun intensive monitoring of the colony which will build on the bird ringing work that has been going on for over 30 years now. Metal rings with an individual number stamped on are fitted to the birds' legs.
This June, the team pushed back the boundaries of seabird research in the Maltese islands when they recovered an electronic tag from a Yelkouan Shearwater at the project site, Rdum tal-Madonna.
The Armed Forces of Malta are already patrolling the seas around the project site to make sure that no illegal activity takes place and that the birds are not disturbed by noise or light pollution during the breeding season.
The rat eradication program began in earnest in November with the arrival of an international team of experts. Rdum tal-Madonna is a particularly challenging site in which to undertake rat eradication because it is a peninsular and not an island so new rats are constantly moving in.