First ever Black-winged Stilt chicks hatch at Simar nature reserve

Last weekend Is-Simar Nature Reserve welcomed its first ever Black-winged Stilt chicks. The first eggs from the nest of four started to hatch on Friday morning and by Sunday all four chicks had hatched and were already exploring the pools and reed beds at the wetland sanctuary, under the watchful eyes of their parents.

This is the first time that Black-winged Stilts, Fras-servjent in Maltese, have successfully bred at the Is-Simar reserve in Xemxija. In previous years, the birds have been seen looking for mates, and attempting to breed, however they have always failed until now.

BirdLife Malta’s Reserves Manager Mark Gauci said “We have been waiting in anticipation to see if the eggs would hatch, and to have all four chicks hatch successfully is brilliant. This is great progress; not only for Is-Simar and BirdLife, but for all of Malta.”

The Black-winged Stilt is a long-legged wader, which can easily be identified by its black and white body, with bright pink legs. It uses these distinctive legs to help it wade into deeper wetland areas, where it feed on small fish and crustaceans, swiping them from the waters surface with its long, black bill.

Black-winged Stilts have also bred for the third year at Għadira Nature Reserve in Mellieħa. The continued successful breeding of these birds in different areas of the Maltese Islands demonstrates the potential for the Black-winged Stilt to establish itself as a regular breeder in Malta.

This success comes as a result of meticulous planning to ensure the ideal habitat is created for such species. Despite its small size Is-Simar wetland reserve has already witnessed several new breeding species to the Maltese islands like the Little Bittern, the Little Grebe and more recently the Common Coot. Is-Simar wetland is also home to a variety of other species of fauna like the rare killifish, and diverse flora, such as the sharp rush (Is Simar) which gives the reserve its name.

Steve Micklewright, BirdLife Malta’s Executive Director said “With more reserves in other parts of Malta and Gozo, much more could be done to help Black-winged Stilts and other Maltese wildlife thrive. The salt pans at Salina are now reaching the end of their restoration and could also be managed so that these very special birds could breed there too."

Is-Simar reserve is closed to the public until November 2014.