The tiny bird that flew from Keta to Sourbrodt, Belgium
A one-year-old Eurasian Reed Warbler, also known as Acrocephalus scirpaceus, has set a record by travelling about 5,000 kilometres from Ghana to Belgium.
According to a report shared by A Rocha Ghana, the tiny bird, which weighs about 10 grams, travelled from Salo at the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site in the Volta Region of Ghana, to Sourbrodt, Belgium.
The bird, which was ringed in a project at Salo in February 2025, was found in Sourbrodt in September 2025.
“This tiny traveller, weighing just 10 grams, was first ringed on February 18, 2025, by the Scientific Director of A Rocha France and ornithologist, Schwartz Timothée, in Salo, a community within the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site (KLCRS), during field surveys under the ProBioDev project, a collaboration between A Rocha Ghana and A Rocha France for the conservation of migratory birds.
“On 17 September 2025, the same bird was recaptured in Sourbrodt, Belgium, at a weight of 11.69 grams, by ornithologist Emile Degros, revealing an extraordinary link between the wetlands of Ghana and the marshes of Europe,” part of the report reads.
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The Programmes Manager at A Rocha Ghana, Prosper Kwame Antwi, reportedly stated that the bird’s journey is not only historic but also highlights the interconnectedness of the world’s ecosystem.
“The recapture of this bird on European soil is a powerful symbol of the invisible threads that tie our ecosystems together,” he is quoted to have said.
The report indicated that the ProBioDev project is aimed at protecting one of Ghana’s most important migratory bird stopover sites, the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site.
It is being implemented by A Rocha Ghana and A Rocha France, in partnership with the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site, and with funding from the French Committee of the IUCN, under the Biodiversity Support Program for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) active in developing countries.
BAI/
