Northern Bald Ibises were seen last month in the Jordan Valley for the first time in 13 years, and in Djibouti, East Africa for the first time ever, raising hopes that numbers of this species are not as low as scientists fear.

The sightings were entirely unexpected and in some ways deepen the mystery of the birds’ migration routes, although, for the past few years, scientists have been trying to gain an insight by fitting birds with satellites. The fact that the birds are present at three different sites away from their known breeding grounds reflects how little is known about this species. Scientists now hope to be able to tag more young birds to finally solve the mystery about their exact migration route.

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