An 8,000-kilometer flight from Finland, in more than 40 stages, only to die in a fishing net on Lake Victoria.
This was the fate of a western fish eagle, one of the large migratory birds of prey that every year make their way to Africa to nest, choosing the large fish-filled lake as their destination.
Exactly five years after the extraordinary sighting of one of its kind that had flown from Helsinki, where it had been fitted with a microchip to track its movements, to Kenya, another rare migratory bird was discovered in the village of Usalo, in the lake district of Siaya. Local fishermen made the sad discovery while casting their nets in Lake Victoria, near the beach.
The fish-eating bird of prey unfortunately became entangled in the nets and died before the fishermen could notice the identification rings attached to its legs.In 2020, another specimen fared better. It became entangled in a fisherman's net, but he managed to free it and hand it over, tired and exhausted from its journey, to the Kenya Wildlife Service, which contacted an association that protects birds of this type and transported it to a care center in Karen, near Nairobi.
After a few months of recovery, the ‘Helsinki falcon’ was able to resume its journey. Its unlucky relative, however, will remain here. Experts explain that it would probably have continued its journey to Lake Malawi, before returning in stages around January.
“Many birds arrive in Africa from northern Europe in winter, especially to the equator,” Colin Jackson, naturalist and head of the A Rocha Kenya foundation, explained to us at the time. "Even at the mouth of the Sabaki River, near Malindi, you can admire several species.
Many are monitored with rings on their legs, so we know for sure that they make these long journeys every year to avoid the cold or the rainy seasons.
Not only to Scandinavia, some even head east, crossing the Himalayas and ending up in China.“ (Photo by Federico ”Fred" Fiorillo)