This is a really fascinating story, from Finland. Pentti Taskinen, a 61-year-old experienced kayaker, was out on Tuusula lake and saw something splashing in the water, through a thick mist. When he got closer, he found that it was an owl, swimming, exhausted, near death. Owls are not water fowl. How that owl got into the water is a mystery. Some bird watchers think it got lost in the fog, others suggest crows which sometimes chase owls away as a group.
What happened then?
Eläin oli aluksi kääntänyt rintamasuunnan poispäin, mutta ilmeisesti ymmärsi pian, että tyhjästä ilmestynyt kajakki saattoi olla viimeinen oljenkorsi. Vettä oli joka suuntaan vähintään puoli kilometriä ja sen lämpötila kuutisen astetta.
Pöllö lähti räpiköimään kohti Taskisen kulkupeliä ja yritti nousta kyytiin, mutta ei siihen omin avuin pystynyt.
- Hienoa oli, kun sain sen kajakin kannelle ja otin pari kuvaa, niin se ryömi lähelle ja pani päänsä pelastusliivien väliin.
Ja siihen se jäi. Pöllö oli Taskisen mukaan muuten rauhallinen, mutta tärisi hervottomasti. Hän epäilee, ettei lintu olisi enää kauaa veden varassa selvinnyt.
Translation (by me):
The animal had initially tried to swim away, but apparently soon realized that the kayak which appeared from nowhere might be its last chance. Water reached in all directions half a kilometer and its temperature was six degrees Celsius.
The owl started struggling towards Taskinen's kayak and tried to get into it, but was unable to do so on its own.
"What was fine was when I got it into the kayak and took a couple of pictures. It then crawled near me and put its head inside my life vest."
And there it remained. According to the Taskinen the owl was otherwise calm, but shook nervelessly. He suspects that the bird would not have survived much longer in the water.
Taskinen sought the nearest inhabited shore, the owl was given heat, shelter and food, and it flew away the following morning.