This week has seen an unusual visitor arrive in Orkney. The unseasonable warm weather  saw temperatures in Stromness rise to a scorching 8 C . This has not only affected our heating bills but also our wildlife.

The picturesque isle of Flotta, a veritable gem stone of fluorite studding  the still waters of Scapa Flow, paid host to an international visitor in the form of a peedie bird. The avisnullus bird which is usually found in Guatemala had been spotted on a fuscia hedge in Branson Ketchup’s garden in Flotta.

Mrs Flett McGinty, 72, of Sandwick was alerted to the presence of the rare bird when she saw a tweet from Orkney ornithologist Cygnet Swanson.

A breathless Mrs McGinty said:

“I set off immediately to try and cadge a lift on the ‘Flotta Lass’ and by the time I arrived on the island 256 people had got there before me.”

Cygnet Swanson was among the host of twitchers who had descended on Flotta from a’ the airts. In a break from lecturing the folks he spoke to The Orkney News:

Twitchers outside Branson Ketchup’s fuscia hedge

“I’ve got 15K followers on twitter and once the alert went out folk left their places of work and deserted their wives and families to get up here. The airport at Flotta was brought back into action to accommodate us. It’s been a grand day oot.”

Unfortunately for the tenacious twitchers by the time they arrived outside Branson Ketchup’s fuscia hedge Tibbles Ketchup had got there before them.

A distraught Mrs McGinty said:

The only known picture of the extremely rare avisnullus

“We will never see the likes again but I did get a beak wi’ a couple of feathers for my collection”.

Reporter: Fergus Graemsay