Watching raptors migrating is a rewarding experience

Honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus)

September is raptor migration month. Every year large numbers of birds of prey such as honey buzzards (kuċċard), several species of harriers (bugħadan), eagles (ajkli) and falcons (isqra) fly over the Maltese islands while travelling from their breeding grounds in Europe to their wintering grounds in Africa. 

Malta is on one of their routes because these birds travel on land and avoid as much as possible crossing large stretches of open water. 

Raptors travel mostly by making use of hot air currents, known as thermals, to soar with the minimum of effort. We are all familiar with films and documentaries showing vultures soaring in search of dead animals.

Migrating raptors tend to congregate mainly but not solely at Buskett. Birdwatchers have been monitoring these magnificent birds for more than three decades and have become experts at raptor identification, being able to not only to tell species apart but also sexing and aging migrating birds.

Raptor watching in Malta has become very interesting and exciting. Thirty years ago the challenge was to count the birds including the large numbers that were illegally shot while avoiding being shot yourself. This situation has changed and bird shooting in and around Buskett is mostly under control. As a result of this the number of migrating raptors has increased and birdwatchers are getting spectacular views of these birds as they fly low in search of a place to land.

Watching raptors on migration is an incredibly rewarding experience and I urge readers to go to Buskett to experience this natural phenomenon. Anybody wishing to give it a try should go to Buskett this afternoon from three o’clock onward where a group of experienced birdwatchers will be near the cart ruts site known as Clapham Junction to help those present to get the most out of the experience.

This article was published in The Times on 21.09.11

Birds and berries

Common smilax (Smilax aspera)

Plants produce berries to entice birds to eat their seeds. 

In most cases the seeds are swallowed whole and after passing through the bird’s digestive system they are deposited away from the parent plant ready to germinate. This sometimes takes place hundreds of kilometres away from their origin.

These plants and birds have developed a vital partnership on which both are dependent for their survival. 

Most berries become ripe at the end of summer or the beginning of autumn, when birds are building the fat reserves that they will be using to provide them with the energy required to migrate to warmer parts of the world. It is also the time when another food, the insects, start to decrease.

Some plants provide berries during the winter and provide food to non-migratory birds even in countries further north where the ground is often covered in snow or frozen making it impossible for birds to find molluscs, insects and other small creatures to feed on.

To ensure that the berries are eaten plants fill them with important vitamins and energy and colour them red or black to make it easier for birds to see them.

 Red berries are usually found in evergreen trees. Trees which loose their leaves in the autumn usually have black berries because these show better against the yellow or brown autumn leaves.

Several species of berry producing plants can be found in the Maltese countryside. 

The most visible is the hawthorn (żagħrun) which produces fruit that look like small apples.

 Less easily seen are the berries of the common smilax (pajżana) which I photographed last Sunday. At this time of the year two other native trees, the lentisk (deru) and the Mediterranean buckthorn (alaternu) have berries.

 These berries are eaten by native species such as the Sardinian warbler (bufula sewda) and migratory species such as the song thrush (malvizz) but unfortunately most of these are shot before they get a chance to eat any berries.

This article was published in The Times on 27.10.2010