This Sunday’s storms over the Mediterranean Sea surrounding the Maltese Islands caused a bird-fall phenomenon, bringing abundant numbers of various bird species seeking shelter on the islands as they migrate south towards the African continent. Birdwatchers across the islands witnessed sizeable flocks of various heron species throughout the night and into this morning, along with large flocks of European Turtle-doves, European Rollers, Golden Orioles and Lesser Kestrels, over and above the usual migration of harriers, buzzards and other birds of prey. Sightings included sizeable flocks of Turtle-doves, which made a considerable presence on the island from early this morning.
BirdLife Malta was this morning inundated with calls from members of the public reporting illegal hunting, as well as a shooting incident near Żurrieq, which was reported to district police for bodily harm. Calls included a Grey Heron that landed with shotgun injuries within the boundaries of Malta International Airport.
A flock of over 150 Little Egrets came under fire this morning inland of St Thomas Bay, with at least two birds shot down and killed. Various injured birds were also seen in flight, including an injured European Bee-eater in Wardija, a Night Heron with a dangling leg flying out of Miżieb, and a Grey Heron with an injured leg over Marsaskala.
The scale of the hunting activity this morning was evident across various parts of the islands. The Wild Birds Regulation Unit subsequently closed the season on Turtle-doves after the autumn quota of 500 birds was reportedly reached.
Despite this, hunting continued throughout the day, with a BirdLife Malta team in Wardija reporting a hunter shooting down and collecting a Turtle-dove just an hour after the closure was announced earlier today. Environmental police units struggled to keep up with reports of shot birds and illegalities across the islands, with up to two units on the beat this morning as thousands of hunters made their presence felt in the countryside.
By the afternoon, multiple flocks of Turtle-doves and European Rollers graced Buskett, with over 500 Turtle-doves counted in late morning within the safety of the bird sanctuary, with birds being shot at the minute they left the area. During the afternoon, at least three separate incidents of European Rollers being shot down were reported at Girgenti and Xagħra tal-Isqof, with another two birds photographed flying with grievous injuries.
Remarking on the events of the day, BirdLife Malta’s Head of Conservation Nicholas Barbara criticised the severe enforcement imbalance, which has left the protection of migrating bird species as simply a self-restraint exercise amongst thousands of hunters across the islands evading a couple of police cars. “We know well that given the chance, hunters will keep shooting at Turtle-doves over the coming weeks. Some will regardless keep hunting protected species for illegal trade and taxidermy collections, with such storms increasing this opportunity.”
BirdLife Malta is appealing to members of the public to keep vigilant and report to police (119) and the organisation any illegal hunting incidents. It also launched a sincere appeal to the Minister for Home Affairs and Security Glenn Bedingfield, to consider upscaling the resources of the Environmental Protection Unit to cater for such peak migration situations as today.
Read our press release in Maltese here.
