RAPTOR CAMP 2007
September 8 - September 23
A group of the international participants preparing to go out in the field.
Raptor Camp 2007 has now come to an end. It was the largest ever since BirdLife Malta has been organising this event from the late 1990s. Full capacity was reached and BirdLife Malta had to declare the camp closed to others who wanted to join. In all, 56 international scientists and ornithologists participated in this year’s Raptor Camp together with Maltese bird watchers.
What is Raptor Camp Malta about?
Local and international volunteers joined this camp to curtail illegal hunting activity and collect data on bird migration, in particular raptors. This is no bird watching holiday, but a serious conservation effort! BirdLife Malta will be publishing two reports, one documenting migratory patterns, and another detailing illegal hunting activity.
Illegal hunting surveillance
Volunteers looked out for hunters and watched for illegal hunting activities. Illegal activities were immediately communicated to base camp and the police informed. Volunteers effectively work as ‘look-out posts’ to inform police of illegal hunting activities and their whereabouts, as well as trying to gather evidence through cameras and video cameras. The mere presence of birdwatchers who report infringements to the police is an active deterrent.
One of the volunteers observing a dead Marsh Harrier left at the observation post at Nadur.
During Raptor Camp the teams observed the killing, injuring, and shooting at of birds belonging to various protected species including: Osprey, Honey Buzzard, European Bee-Eater, Montagu’s Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Common Kestrel, Hobby, Flamingo, Swift, Swallow, Purple Heron, Grey Heron, Night Heron, Short-toed Eagle and Lesser Kestrel. All these birds are protected species and cannot be hunted by law. A number of our volunteers witnessed disturbing incidents, such as the shooting down of an Osprey in Malta and a Flamingo off the Gozitan coast. They were all shocked by the scene that awaited one of our teams at Nadur, one of the observation posts, where a criminal or criminals left three dead birds of prey for our team to find while also covering the area in manure. Please click here to read the press release issued by BirdLife in connection with this incident.
Three dead birds of prey left at the observation post of Nadur.
Raptor Migration Monitoring
Volunteers looked out for raptors, identifying the species and recording basic data. The most common migrants at this time of year are Marsh Harrier, Honey Buzzard, European Hobby and Common Kestrel, while other migrants include Osprey, Montagu’s Harrier, Eleonora’s Falcon and Lesser Kestrel. Other rarer species, including Pallid Harrier, Short-toed and Lesser Spotted Eagles are recorded annually. Data recorded includes species, age and sex (where possible), location, time of sighting, and information about illegal hunting activities such as number of shots heard and whether or not the raptors were targeted.
One of the teams in the field. Standing second from right is Anna Giordano, a leading Sicilian conservationist.
Highlights so far:
Rare sightings so far have included sightings of a number of Osprey, Eleanora's Falcon, a Short-toed Eagle (which was shot at), a Lesser-Spotted Eagle (roosted in Girgenti), several flocks of Flamingo (including a flock of 28 in Gozo, one of which was shot from a boat) and a juvenile Black Stork. Large numbers of Honey Buzzards and Marsh Harriers passed through on the 15th and 16th, with a roost of over 250 Marsh Harrier and Honey Buzzard (along with Hobbies and Kestrels) at Buskett and Girgenti on the 15th.
BirdLife Malta organised a press conference at the hotel on Sunday 16th, the second day when the new provision laid out in Legal Notice 250 came into force, namely that hunting is to cease after 3 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. Foreign ornithologists and scientists present in Malta gave their backing to the press conference. Please click here to read the press release.
Bob Elliott (RSPB Scotland), Tolga Temuge (BirdLife Malta Executive Director), Steve Downing (Operation Artemis), during the press conference (l-r).
To download the final Raptor Camp report please click here.