1962 saw the birth of BirdLife Malta - the largest and oldest environmental NGO on the island, albeit under a different name (Malta Ornithological Society). In its early days, the organisation was always set at raising awareness about local birds that settle and fly over our islands. Today, the eNGO has a far broader mission and vision. Communications Manager Nathaniel Attard explains that “BirdLife Malta stands for the protection of wild birds together with the monitoring of illegal hunting and trapping,” adding, “as an environmental organisation, our main focus is on biodiversity, nature and habitat protection. We protect, campaign, research, educate and care for environmental protection and awareness in the Maltese islands.”

One of the key active ways that BirdLife Malta protects the environment is in the sharing of factual arguments deeply dependent on scientific facts, pleading with its stakeholders to take their initiatives seriously: “we try to show the need to protect our natural environment for the benefit of all after all, but we also remind of obligations we have as an EU country too.” Nathaniel continues, “we want all human actions to be sustainable and we also need to see proper laws enacted, as well as enforcement, as there is a limit to how many people can opt to abide by the rules.”

The current situation that Malta is facing deals not only with the interest in protecting birds, but also the tradition, yet out-dated, ‘hobby’ of hunting. Although laws have been set and enforced, there has still been a recorded number of illegal hunting incidents throughout recent years. If only a tamer, more civilised alternative could take flight? Bird-spotting perhaps?

Nathaniel explains that Malta has two main bird migration seasons - autumn and spring. Autumn is longer, while spring is shorter but more intense. “There are hundreds of different birds we could see, from the colourful bee-eaters and the majestic birds of prey to the small but fast swallows.” Nathaniel also shares that, “in between these migration periods we have the breeding period, when a small amount of birds breed in our country. The investment and habitat transformation carried out at our reserves has helped to attract more birds to breed exclusively in these natural sites. Although not easy to witness, such a time is important for certain studies and less disturbance.” Lastly, there is also the wintering period, where birds like robins find enough refuge in Malta to spend the winter here.

The experts at BirdLife point out that bird watching can be done at our reserves in special hides set up in these areas but also in places (during the peak autumn migration season) such as Buskett, Malta’s only woodland.

“Birdwatching is a great hobby and in our country even more so because we can access different habitats within minutes! Anyone interested should contact BirdLife Malta and learn how they could join a few groups to learn a few tips to get a better understanding of the hobby. At the beginning, there is no need to spend money on binoculars or telescopes, as we provide these for free during many of our events.”

“Our nature reserves are a good place to start, and the staff there will happily help out. In these sites we also carry out the scientific study of bird ringing – a conservation tool which helps us learn more about Malta’s birds and enables us to monitor the movement of birds, giving an insight into aspects of birds’ lives such as survival rate, productivity and migration patterns.”

So grab your feather-loving friends and head to a BirdLife reserve for your chance at spotting some of Malta’s flying friends!

BirdLife Malta