These seasonal travellers bridge continents, crossing vast distances to link people, habitats, and histories. And in Kenya’s southeastern Tana Delta, that connection is celebrated not with fanfare, but with focus.

Before the sun has fully broken through the mist over Bilo village, a small group led by Said Niara is already out, binoculars in hand, eyes on the skies. There’s a gentle drizzle, and birdsong weaves through the stillness. It’s a scene that might invite sleep, but not today.

“We do this four times a year,” Niara says. “From waterfowl counts to broader monitoring, it’s about more than numbers. It’s about care.”

Here, birds are not strangers. In the Pokomo language, locals call the sacred ibis Barrichello and the open-billed stork Kokola. Speaking these names aloud reconnects people to the land. “They stop being just birds,” Niara adds. “They become family.”

Their observations do more than record presence, they reveal change. Fewer white-faced whistling ducks arrived this season. “It points to an ecological shift,” warns Rudolf Makhanu from Nature Kenya. “Birds are early indicators. When they disappear, it’s a sign the ecosystem is under stress.”

Still, Niara’s team continues their work, undeterred. For them, birds are more than fleeting silhouettes in the sky, they are storytellers, symbols, and reminders that nature speaks.  

--ChannelAfrica--