Last week, the Matsalu Ringing Center of the Environmental Agency received a report from Congo about the rediscovery of a nightjar that had been ringed for monitoring purposes in Estonia. It turned out that the bird had been eaten.

"It was probably a huge coincidence. We do receive information about birds from abroad, but usually, it involves photos of live birds or finds of dead birds. However, this specific information reached us probably because an employee of the Belgium Institute of Natural Sciences was on an expedition in Congo, happened upon the eating of the bird, and realized that it was significant information," explained Triin Edovald, a specialist at the Environmental Agency's wildlife department. "We only received a photo of the ring."

Edovald noted that there are no previous cases where it is definitively known that a bird ended its life on a plate.

"While bird trapping is banned in many European countries, it is allowed in some countries like Malta and Cyprus for the purpose of eating, where traditional bird dishes are still part of the culture."

Birds are ringed to study and monitor their behavior. Birds have been ringed for 125 years worldwide, including 110 years in Estonia. The longer the ringing has been practiced, the higher the percentage of rediscoveries, and the more information is gathered about the birds' age, migration patterns and stopover sites.

"Rings themselves have changed very little over time. One Estonian herring gull had its ring changed three times because it lived for 30 years. From the ring, we can get information about where the bird was ringed," added Edovald.

She said birds can be categorized into short-distance and long-distance migrants. Short-distance migrants travel to places like Spain and Germany, while long-distance migrants, such as the nightjar, travel beyond the Sahara Desert. Migration is a highly energy-intensive process for birds.

A significant number of bird rediscoveries come from nature photographers, who have sophisticated equipment for photographing birds and reading information from the rings.

Annually, 60,000 birds are ringed, and the rediscovery rate is about 5 percent, which results in approximately 1,000 to 1,500 findings per year. "You can visit the bird ringing center in Kabli, and on busier days, birds flock there in large numbers. Our specialists work from sunrise to sunset, ringing thousands of birds in a single day," Edovald explained. "Different bird species receive rings of different sizes. The ring must be fitted so that it is comfortable for the bird and does not cause it to get stuck later."

Edovald noted that if someone finds a ringed bird, they should not touch a dead bird with bare hands, but if possible, they should photograph the bird so that the information on the ring is fully visible. "All the information should be sent to the Matsalu Ringing Centre. Include your name and details, the type of bird if identifiable and the circumstances of how and where the bird was found, whether it is alive or dead," she added. "Based on the collected data, it can be said that there are birds that no longer leave Estonia or return very late in the spring."

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