The Yelkouan Shearwater breeding season for this year has come to an end. With a new generation now fledged, it is hoped that these birds will be able to roam the seas for 30 years if everything goes well.

BirdLife Malta said that this year again, thanks to public awareness and the efforts of its rehabilitation team, they were able to rescue some seabirds in difficulty, mostly due to light pollution. Some other birds were impacted by other threats.

After intense care, their release was possible and made after sunset on top of the different colonies. So far this year, BirdLife Malta said it was able to release eight young Yelkouan Shearwaters.

Some of these birds were rescued at sea and some were found stranded on land.

“These seabirds are considered as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species so every single bird is important to safeguard if we want to continue to enjoy their sighting at sea and their call along the Maltese cliffs,” said BirdLife Malta.

Screenshot taken from the video by Francesca Visalli and Martin Austad. Video editing by Nathaniel Attard

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