4th March

March 04, 2013

4th March

After all the media hype of the last 24 hours, the Island's first ever Walrus census took place today. But after walking all 13 miles of the coastline there has been no sign of Waldo-our celebrity Walrus all day. The beach at Bridesness was also visited several times but he may still be with us having been out feeding in North Ronaldsay waters somewhere. Walruses can apparently hold their breath for up to 30 minutes, so even such a large animal could easily go undetected for lengthy periods. On the bird front-a Pied Wagtail on the Links and a Lesser black-backed Gull on Garso Loch were the only newly arrived migrants. Some 130 Purple Sandpipers, 6 Red-throated Divers and 5 Great Northern Divers were the highlights from the coastal jaunt. A Peregrine was also seen and the Stock Dove remains in the south of the Island.

A few more pictures from yesterday...