Three illegally shot protected birds that were collected from Gozo and Malta earlier in the ongoing autumn hunting season by BirdLife Malta, have been successfully released at LIPU’s Saline Di Priolo Nature Reserve in Sicily

The birds were released on the 5th of December, after being rehabilitated by BirdLife Malta.

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

BirdLife said that 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 the NGO and police since the start of this year’s autumn hunting season in September.

BirdLife also highlighted that birds ringed or tracked from countries like Finland, Czechia and Latvia had also been targeted illegally during migration.

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 NGO said that the decision to release the birds in Sicily after completing their rehabilitation process was taken after last October’s release of a GPS-tracked Honey-buzzard on Comino which then lost transmission later in the day while flying over Birzebbuga 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,” commented 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. Birds were cleared for transport by ERA’s CITES unit.

BirdLife Malta said that “the feat was made possible with the support of Virtu Ferries Ltd. who covered part of the expenses of transportation, and Italian BirdLife Partner LIPU’s Saline Di Priolo who accommodated to give these birds a second chance within the safe environment of a nature reserve.”