Update from KSU below – A rare Egyptian Vulture (Avultun Abjad), nick-named Tobia, from a conservation reintroduction programme in Italy, spent last night on Malta being guarded by BirdLife Malta and the Police.
Tobia was born on 17the of June this year in captivity, before being released into the wild in Calabria, Italy, earlier this month. He is satellite tagged, meaning that the programme can track his every move. He left Calabria on 18th of September, and arrived on Malta yesterday afternoon.
BirdLife Malta birdwatchers spotted the bird yesterday afternoon and spent all night guarding it alongside the police.
Nicholas Barbara, BirdLife Malta Conservation Manager, said, “Egyptian Vultures are incredible birds, and very rare visitors to Malta. It is fantastic to see them here; however it is a sad reflection of the situation on our islands that when birds like this arrive they have to be guarded by the police. Rare birds are prized by some hunters, Tobia managed to leave safely but just a few days ago 2 spoonbills were not so lucky.”
Guido Ceccolini, from CERM (Centre for Endangered Raptors), who oversees the Italian reintroduction project, told BirdLife Malta this morning, “in Italy, we were quite worried about Tobia reaching Malta. We are very grateful that the BirdLife Malta team stayed with him overnight, ensuring that he survived to be able to continue his migration. Illegal hunting both in the south of Italy and in Malta is of great concern to us, given the conservation efforts invested here.”
Guido also told BirdLife Malta that Tobia’s story already has an element of luck. He is the son of a bird called Patricia who hatched from an egg which had been stolen from a nest in Turkey and smuggled into Italy where it was seized by the Italian authorities. Luckily the egg was not damaged and Patricia hatched in 2005, she is now 10 years old and this is the first year that she has laid eggs.
Tobia is from a conservation programme that is a collaboration between the Italian Ministry for the Environment, CERM, EEP (European Endangered Species Programme) and the Vulture Conservation Foundation.
Update KSU – St. Hubert Hunters has said that it would like to thank all hunters who cooperated in their initiative to ensure such birds are left unmolested.
“The recent stop over of an Egyptian Vulture is the perfect case of such cooperation.”
KSU added that the joint efforts between hunters and an independent group of ornithologists are bearing fruit and pave the way forward for rational people to cooperate for the benefit of our birds and hunting in Malta.
!A heartfelt thank you to all involved.”