Out of Sight, Out of Mind

At first glance Scapa can sometimes look quite clean, but closer inspection shows the litter has been covered over with wind blown sand, Investigate a little deeper and the litter is trapped beneath stones which have been moved by winter storms.

 

In one 20m stretch the predominant type of litter was short lengths of rope, polypropylene strapping and small sheets of blue plastic.

click to enlarge.

The strapping is extremely strong and is often found in an intact loop without having been cut, but the plastic sheet breaks up easily and is difficult to pick up.

These two types of litter combined make a  risk of entanglement and ingestion.

 

It didn't take long to fill a bucket...

 

and spot the first puffin of the year.