Three protected birds shot during the autumn hunting season released in Sicily

Three protected birds shot during the autumn hunting season were successfully released at the Lega Italiana Protezione Uccelli reserve in Sicily by BirdLife Malta last week.

The birds – a European Honey-buzzard rescued from San Martin on the 17th of September, a Greater Flamingo rescued at sea off Ta’ Ċenċ in Gozo on 1st October, and a Western Marsh-harrier rescued from Għar Lapsi on the same day, had all been reported to BirdLife Malta by concerned members of the public who assisted in rescuing these birds.

“The protected species had been illegally shot during the past months and are just three lucky ones out of up to 53 shot birds recovered by BirdLife Malta and police since the start of this year’s autumn hunting season in September, and which has also seen birds ringed or tracked from countries like Finland, Czechia and Latvia targeted illegally,” BirdLife said.

The release of these birds at Saline di Priolo was the second attempt done in recent years by BirdLife Malta, but the first to feature a flamingo and a Honey-buzzard. The decision to release such birds in Sicily after completing their rehabilitation process was taken after last October’s release of a GPS-tracked Honey-buzzard on Comino which lost transmission later in the day while flying over Birżebbuġa as it attempted to migrate south.

"The situation with illegal hunting has been rife enough to not risk having these birds once again experience the impact of Malta’s hunting season. So, after all the support and trust given to us by members of the public and the respective authorities, to rescue and rehabilitate these birds, we decided to release these birds in a safer environment in Sicily, where they have a higher chance of survival," said Nicholas Barbara, BirdLife Malta’s Head of Conservation.

The successful release of these birds in Sicily, was the result of two and a half months of rehabilitation by BirdLife Malta, with the assistance of WBRU-appointed veterinary surgeons. The birds were cleared for transport to Italy by ERA’s CITES unit.