Migrating
birds
By
mid-September the migration of birds was reaching its peak. 'In the
Helsinki area you can observe birds in the fields of eastern Helsinki,'
the TV reporter said. "Large flocks of geese and ducks have arrived
here during the last few days." The TV screen showed a scenery
of the fields, where the sky was full of migrating birds as far as
the eye could see.
'Hey,
watch this out!' I said to my folks. 'Outside, there are hundreds
of birds.'
We
looked through the kitchen window. Above the houses large flocks of
birds flew past, even more than shown in the TV news. The sky was
darkened with them, constantly changing their formation and order,
yet maintaining their direction towards south.
It
was interesting to watch the winged creatures struggling in the wind.
Some seagulls, for instance, had hard time keeping their course.
Then
I spotted something very strange.
'What
is that!' I exclaimed. 'Can this be true?'
Among
the birds, to my utter disbelief, I saw big fish flying as well: salmon,
whitefish, pike and other species. Some of these looked as if they
were native to the Arctic Ocean, some looked as if they had arrived
from even further away. The fish waggled their tails to boost their
flight. It all looked like a big aquarium, except that this took place
in the air space, which was shared by fish and birds, which was very
unusual.
Was
there a natural explanation for such a phenomenon? Could fish really
swim in the air?
Maybe
a strong northern storm had snatched the fish from their natural habitat.
Perhaps the winds had further transported them hundreds of kilometres
away from their origin. Could this have taken place?
I
had heard of cases where large stocks of fish were reported to have
rained from the sky. I had never believed in these stories but now,
with my own eyes, I could see fish swimming in the air. This called
for a reality check. Was I dreaming or were the laws of nature suddenly
reversed?
I
reasoned that surely some fish must have fallen to the ground. So
I went out quickly in search of fresh sea food. I ran to the fields,
expecting to find the terrain full of flailing fish, but no matter
how carefully I looked, I could not find one single sea creature in
the ground.
Somewhat
disappointment I went back home. As I had already expected to have
fish for dinner, I now decided to go fishing instead.
With
a fishing rod in my hand I walked to the nearby beach and stopped
by the water's edge. I didn't have a bait, just a line and hook, which
I cast into the shallow bay. The water was clear so I could see quite
well. Soon enough a big perch and other species were attracted by
the hook. Apparently, the fish were rather tame, because they didn't
seem to fear me.
A
purple fish, which looked like a carp, eventually grabbed the hook.
I lifted up the line, while the nearby fish came over and pulled the
carp's tail, trying to stop me. This surprised my a little, but I
managed to pull the fish out of the water. I then removed the hook
gently, so as not to damage the jaws.
Interestingly,
the carp-looking fish was dressed in a jacket and trousers. Released
from the hook, it gave me a sharp look, then straightened its jacket
and plunged back into the water.
