Update – White Storks arriving on the Maltese Island subject to gunfire overnight

Update and video from BirdLife Malta below – White Storks which have started arriving on the Maltese Islands on their long journey of migration, have already been subjected to gunfire overnight while they were roosting, BirdLife has said.

On Friday morning, BirdLife Malta said that after circling over various southern towns in Malta, a flock of around 50 White Storks finally roosted on Thursday evening at an area known as Wied iz-Ziju between Zabbar and Marsaskala.

An EPU unit and a team of volunteers kept watch as the flock attracted a considerable number of people along the Marsaskala bypass, BirdLife said.

The NGO added that “reports of a different flock, triggered the EPU to move from the area, leaving the team to watch.”

BirdLife said that “not long after, around 9.30pm, three shots were fired from two locations near the storks, dispersing one of the roost sites.”

Police were called to the scene, while a second team from BirdLife Malta assisted to locate any suspects on site, the NGO said.

BirdLife went on to say that “a witness who saw two persons acting suspiciously near the scene of the shooting also alerted police, with various Rapid Intervention Units (RIU) blocking a road and apprehending the individuals who have been questioned.”

In the meantime, BirdLife Malta teams have kept watch throughout the night, a few metres away from the sleeping storks. The number of remaining storks was not immediately clear after the events of last night, it said.

However, BirdLife said that following further investigations, as at 9am this morning only 33 storks out of the initial flock of around 50 are accounted for.

“It seems that the highly-protected birds dispersed in small roosts and this morning two different flocks of six and 13 birds were observed taking off, and were later joined by another 14,” it said.

The White Storks continue to roam the Maltese Islands.

BirdLife Malta expressed its thanks all those who alerted them to the storks’ presence yesterday evening “and encourage all to keep an eye out for these birds today.”

BirdLife reminded that Police can be reached via 119 asking for the EPU (Environmental Protection Unit) while BirdLife Malta can be reached on 7925 5697.

Update

BirdLife said on Friday evening that It seems that most of the White Storks that arrived in Malta yesterday have now left the islands and continued with their migration.

Following reports that the birds were sighted again soaring over several areas in the south of Malta after coming out of their roost early this morning, late this afternoon most of the birds in the large flock were observed gaining height and disappearing over Delimara.

Photos: BirdLife Malta/Aaron Tanti and
BirdLife video edit with footage taken early Friday this morning when the birds were at Wied iz-Ziju between Zabbar and Marsaskala where they spent the night under constant watch by BirdLife Malta volunteers and police