February arrives in Malta

A slow week for new species 

I have had a busy week conducting research on Yelkouan Shearwaters in the various cliff face colonies of Malta and Gozo. This has meant I have not had much time for birding but still managed some interesting sightings.

On Sunday, January 31st, I spent some time at the reserves at Ghadira and Foresta in the north of Malta. Ghadira was quiet with a single Common Sandpiper and the still-present Curlew being the only species of interest. However a short walk in Foresta produced my first Corn Bunting as well as three Song Thrush and a Blackbird. All of these songbirds are worth commenting on here in Malta, although common at home in the UK. Thrushes are targeted heavily by hunters and the Corn Bunting is suffering the same destruction of adequate farmland habitat as elsewhere.

On Wednesday 3rd I spent a couple of hours before work at Simar reserve in Xemxija. A male Firecrest feeding in the tops of the olive trees was a welcome surprise, a species I have not seen for a few years. Less tied to coniferous trees than the Goldcrest, both species can be seen here in Malta in winter in small numbers.

On Thursday 4th I was back at Ghadira and saw two newly-arrived Greater Flamingo. Uncommon but expected each year in small numbers, these two birds may have become separated from a larger flock during a storm on Wednesday night. Both second-year birds (hatched last year), their plumage is still mostly white, not the warm pink that adults attain. A Shelduck, at least the second individual presently on the island, was feeding nearby.

Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus. Ghadira, Malta. February 2016. This individual is paler than the one below with less brown on the coverts and remiges, indicating a more progressed moult.

This week I also saw my first Audouin's Gulls, although both times the views were sub-par with no photos to show for it. I noticed a 2cy bird circling around St. Paul's Bay on Monday from my balcony and an adult passed my perch on the cliffs at Rdum Tal-Madonna on Thursday. This is a species I am keen to study more closely and hope to photograph well in the upcoming months.

Lastly, today, Sunday 7th, I visited Simar briefly and saw a Water Rail. One bird was foraging furtively at the edge of the water, only showing for a few seconds. There have been Water Rails at both reserves all winter but until now have proven to be typically hard to see.

Today also marks my first month in Malta with 49 species seen so far.