The guillemot was on its way back to Sweden after wintering at more southerly latitudes.
On its back, the bird had a transmitter that is part of a research project that maps guillemots and skua. But the transmitter was mistaken for spying equipment, possibly from Egypt or Eritrea.
Since ornithologist Niklas Aronsson was listed as the contact, he received several hundred emails from the local population in the Ethiopian village where the guillemot was caught.
For TV4 News, which also wrote about the bird story – Aronsson tells that his email inbox was flooded with emails.
At the same time, it is still unclear what happened to the bird.
I wrote back that they should release the bird, that it was important because it was going to breed. But I never got any response and the transmitter stopped sending, he says.
The research project has been ongoing for several years. In total, around 150 guillemots have been equipped with transmitters.
