Six falcons released on Comino, including one recovered from Gozo

Six rehabilitated birds have been released back into the wild by BirdLife Malta after the government vet gave her go-ahead to do so. All birds were ringed before release.

BLM said that all six falcons – five Common Kestrels and a Merlin – were illegal hunting casualties recovered earlier on during this year’s autumn hunting season.

All the Common Kestrels (Spanjulett in Maltese) were picked up by members of the public over a period of less than three weeks between the 12th and the 29th of October.

BirdLife Malta explained that the Merlin (Maltese name: Seqer ta’ Denbu) was the only one of the released birds which was recovered by police. It was found on Gozo during the same period.The birds were released last Monday on Comino, a protected bird sanctuary. BirdLife Malta said explained that, “the reason why we release such birds on the island of Comino, where no hunting is permitted, is for them to be given the opportunity to acclimatise before moving on to continue with their migration journey.”

Common Kestrels are common and regular migrants which can be seen all year round. In autumn they are mostly seen between September and November.

The ones released on Comino earlier this week will either continue their migration, or they may overwinter in Malta instead, before migrating up north once again to their breeding grounds.

Merlins are very scarce visitors to Malta, BLM said, with only a handful being seen every year, so the successful rehabilitation and release of this species is particularly special.

As for the movements of this bird after release, they do not overwinter in Malta, so it may try to continue on with its migration.

However, given the mild winter conditions and plentiful prey, this bird may decide to overwinter in Malta as well before its spring migration north.

Photos by Kristina Govorukha; video footage by Svitlana Shevchuk, with video editing by Jose Luque Montero