SPRING WATCH CAMP
APRIL 12 - APRIL 29
Spring Watch Camp for 2008 has come to an end. During this two-week period, international ornithologists visited Malta to document migration and report on any illegal hunting and trapping activity they observed.
Check out this space for regular updates on Spring Watch Camp 2008.
Click here if you want to see what our international volunteers had to say about the Camp.
Tuesday, April 29
One of the teams at Salina spotted yet another individual with a gun. As per normal procedure, this was reported to the Police who turned up to search the area. Quite a few waders were spotted on this, the last day of Spring Watch Camp 2008.
Sunday, April 27 - update 2
A few of the Maltese personalities who added their voice to BirdLife Malta's Stop Illegal Hunting Campaign today joined the Spring Watch Camp participants for a walk around the beautiful project site of Foresta 2000. Experts were on hand to explain further on the flora and fauna they could see as well as the natural value of the project.
Sunday, April 27 - update 1
A team posted at Dingli cliffs in the morning witnessed Police officers apprehending two poachers and confiscating a gun.
Species highlight: The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the observation of an Osprey at Gharghur as it came in to roost. More Red-footed Falcons were seen passing over and there are still a lot of Golden Orioles around.
Saturday, April 26
A Quail crossed the road next to the team monitoring Luqa International Airport, where a pair of Montagu's Harriers put on an amazing display. In the evening, good numbers of Cory's Shearwaters were gathering off the coast around Delimara, with a few Yelkouan Shearwaters a welcome sight for a species that doesn't often approach the Maltese coast before nightfall.
Friday, April 25
This was the first day in Maltese history without official spring hunting. A team posted in Delimara heard 90 shots, despite the Police having confiscated a gun there today. On the other hand, on arriving at Migrah il-Ferha one of the teams found graffiti sprayed on signs one with the words "BirdLife RIP" and another depicting a skull and crossbones. This was reported to the Police.
Species highlight: An impressive number of species were observed today. A Black Kite, European Bee-eaters, and a Pallid Harrier were seen at Nadur Tower (Malta). On the other hand, the team at Mizieb saw 10 Red-footed Falcons, 8 Golden Orioles, and 200 Yellow Wagtails.
Thursday, April 24
The day was interesting for migration.
Species highlight: An Eleonora's Falcon was spotted off Dingli Cliffs whereas a small but important passage of Red-footed Falcons was seen in another area of the island.
Wednesday, April 23
BirdLife Malta held a press conference at is-Simar Nature Reserve to present the findings of Spring Watch Camp so far.
All international volunteers were present and some of them addressed the media recounting their personal experience thus far. Read more...
Monday, April 21
One of the teams posted at Gharghur this morning returned to their car to find that their windscreen had been smashed and two tyres cut with a knife. Click here to view footage of the incident. (*Note: Mozzilla users must right-click on links to footage and save onto their PC in order to view.) On arrival at their viewpoint they also found pieces of bodies of two cats strewn around. Read more...
Sunday, April 20 - update 3
Yet again, the team posted at Nadur (Malta) found 2 sticks with nails hidden in the foliage, in an obvious attempt to sabotage the tryes of cars. Sticks were also found at Nadur in the previous days (see below).
Sunday, April 20 - update 2
A group of BirdLife Malta members today joined the Spring Watch Camp to themselves admire bird migration this year, the first spring that the hunting season has not been opened. A BirdLife Malta member of staff was on hand to explain more of the flora and fauna that they could admire during their walk in the countryside as well as point out the birds flying overhead.
Sunday, April 20 - update 1
A team posted at Kuncizzjoni found a large group of hunters waiting on their arrival there. Initially, the team members were subjected to verbal abuse with shouts of "go home" thrown at them. However, a Maltese member on the team initiated contact with the group, and BirdLife's volunteers and the hunters had an amicable discussion of views, concluding their encounter with a shake of hands. The hunters made clear to the BirdLife Malta volunteers that they were upset by what they consider to be indecisiveness on the part of the Maltese government either way on the issue of whether or not to open the spring hunting season.
Another team posted at Fomm ir-Rih spotted 3 individuals with shotguns, two of them very close by. They noted one of these people hiding the shotgun in the foliage shortly after. When these individuals spotted the BirdLife team they approached them with more of them appearing and telling off the Spring Watch volunteers. At this point they headed to their cars and blocked the road with a pickup so that the Spring Watch camp participants could not leave the area. A Maltese speaker on the team spoke to them to diffuse the situation and on informing them that the Police were on their way, these individuals left the area. Shots were however heard in the area.
Species highlight: 203 Turtle Doves were spotted in the morning on Gozo.
Saturday, April 19 - update 3
A roost of 9 Marsh Harriers settled in near Is-Simar Nature Reserve in the evening. One of the birds was observed with an injured wing displaying shotgun injuries. The team went back on site on Sunday early morning and watched the 9 birds, including the injured one, successfully taking off and leaving the Maltese islands.
Saturday, April 19 - update 2
In the evening, a team at Dingli Cliffs noted a poacher with his dog. This individual hid his gun in the area. Furthermore, at Kuncizzjoni several shots were heard and there were many individuals in the area. It was noted that a watch point had been set up whereby one person complete with radio was keeping the others updated of the goings-on.
Saturday, April 19 - update 1
One of the teams was sent to Gozo where it will be posted for the coming days. This team is observing many birds flying by with 49 raptors spotted on Saturday. It was observed that a group of 5 of these raptors were shot at repeatedly and at a subsequent moment at least one of the birds was seen with apparent injuries to it wing. The team is also reporting on a heavy presence of hunters in hides.
A mobile team on the island of Malta also spotted raptors and shots were fired at the birds of prey. 150 shots were counted in the Rabat (Malta) area and another 120 shots were counted in Nadur (Malta). However, winds were high and therefore migration was slow.
Species highlight: 5 Black Kites were spotted over Ghasri Valley in Gozo. The team heard around 4 shots fired at these birds who in fact left the spot and flew down to Dimitri point where they were again shot at. At this point the birds flew to the centre of the island.
Friday, April 18 - update 2
One of the teams posted at Nadur (Malta) found sticks with nails protruding from them spread along the ground in the area. Click here to view footage of the find. It is well known that this point is a particularly good spot for birdwatching. It was here that in September 2007 unknown individuals had left 3 dead birds of prey for one of the teams participating in BirdLife's Raptor Camp to find. Read more...
Friday, April 18 - update 1
In the morning, a team was sent back to the FORESTA 2000 site and they found at least 3 fresh spent cartridges, once again in the Bird Sanctuary.
Species highlight: A Black Stork was spotted flying low over the area.
Thursday, April 17 - update 2
One of the teams on location at the FORESTA 2000 project site spotted a group of Little Egrets lined up on some rocks. Shortly after shots were heard and the birds began flying up. It must be reminded that the FORESTA 2000 site is a protected area and a Bird Sanctuary. The team spotted two hunters with guns and called the ALE who responded very quickly. However, it was getting dark and though the Police gave chase, the two hunters were not apprehended.
Thursday, April 17 - update 1
This morning, one of the teams stationed at Ras il-Pellegrin at Fomm ir-Rih heard 20 shots, albeit migration having been slow. in fact, the team observed one individual in a hunting hide and two other suspicious persons with hunting dogs roaming the area. While shots were heard the team did not have visual on the hunters when they were fired. The A.L.E. were contacted and their response was exellent, turning up within 15 minutes even though the location is a remote one on the island of Malta. Shortly after having called the A.L.E. (but prior to their showing up) the two suspicious individuals were observed hiding a shotgun in the foliage and running off in a Jeep. The A.L.E. found the shotgun, which once again was loaded just like the one found in Salina yesterday (see below). The shotgun's registration number was taken down and the Police intend to proceed to an arrest. Click here to view footage of the search.
Wednesday, April 16 - update 2
An injured Common Kestrel (Spanjulett) was brought in to BirdLife Malta's offices after having been found in the road by a member of the public. The bird was taken to a Vet who x-rayed it and found that it had a gunshot wound and had sustained injuries to its wing. Both bones in the wing were each broken in 2 places, with the Vet declaring that the fracture sustained was severe. Unfortunately, there was no option but for the Vet to euthanise the bird.
Wednesday, April 16 - update 1
A team of volunteers participating in Spring Watch Camp today discovered discovered a shotgun stashed away illegally at Salina following an anonymous tip. Salina is a Bird Sanctuary and the area is very close to a public area where Maltese families with children spend many hours picnicking. The Spring Watch team called the A.L.E. upon their discovery of the weapon who immediately responded to the report and headed down to Salina where they uncovered the shotgun which contained two cartridges, rendering the find even more alarming as anyone could have come across the weapon, including children. The Police discharged the shotgun and took possession of it. Click here to view footage of the discovery.
Monday, April 14
Teams in the field today witnessed widespread illegal hunting and were also targetted with verbal insults and abuse. Click here to view footage of the abuse (NOTE: video contains insultive language). Species seen with visible injuries or shot down included Turtle Dove, Common Kestrel, and Night Heron. Read more...
Sunday, April 13
Spring Watch teams were joined by over 150 members of the general public on a walk that took in the site of the FORESTA 2000 project. Read more...
What is Spring Watch Malta about?
Spring Watch Malta is a conservation camp which forms an integral part of BirdLife Malta’s fight against illegal spring hunting. The spring hunting season for 2008 was not opened and thus, all hunting and trapping activity is currently illegal. Spring Watch Camp participants maintained a strong presence in the countryside to make sure that hunters respected the law, while at the same time recording data on migratory species.
This spring camp follows hot on the heels of the very successful Raptor Camp run by BirdLife Malta in September 07 during which over 50 people from the UK, Germany, Italy, Finland, the USA, Hungary and the Netherlands participated. To find out more about the results from this Raptor Camp, please click here.
To highlight the international impact of spring hunting, BirdLife Malta and WWF Italy/Mediterranean Association for Nature (MAN) have joined forces to promote their activities.
Malta and Sicily are both on the central European-African migratory flyway and are notorious hot-spots for illegal hunting activity. In the past, before serious conservation efforts in Sicily, illegal hunting was as bad as the situation in present-day Malta. This effort will highlight the importance of wild bird protection in an international context and enhance conservation efforts in the Mediterranean.
