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Acrocephalus 33 (154/155): 305−307, 2012
A preliminary overview of 
monitoring for raptors in Malta
Predhodni pregled monitoringa populacij 
ptic roparic na Malti
Edward Bonavia
Malta Raptor Coordinator, 12 Dar Il-Poeta,  
Triq Hal Xluq, Siggiewi, SGW 1440, Malta,  
e–mail: edbon@maltanet.net 
A total of 31 species of raptors have been recorded in 
Malta, nine of which are vagrants (Maltese Rarities 
Committee unpubl.). Most raptors are seen on 
spring (mainly from mid March to mid May) and on 
autumn (mainly in September and October) migration 
(Sammut & Bonavia 2004). Only two species of raptors 
have ever bred in Malta – the Kestrel Falco tinnunculus 
and the Peregrine Falcon F. peregrinus (Sultana et al. 
2011). Both, however, are rare and irregular.
Main players
BirdLife Malta is the only organisation in Malta 
that monitors raptors. Founded in 1962 as Malta 
Ornithological Society (MOS), local birders have 
been monitoring raptors voluntarily since then. Since 
the mid-1990s, monitoring of migrating raptors 
was undertaken more systematically by a handful of 
birders both in the spring (mid-March to mid-May) 
and autumn (mid-August to end October). In the 
past few years, BirdLife Malta organised raptor camps 
both in the spring and autumn and a large number of 
international birders and activists take part to monitor 
raptor migration and illegal raptor hunting.
BirdLife Malta is a partner of BirdLife 
International. Throughout Raptor Camp we exchange 
data through e-mails with “Lega Italiana Protezione 
Uccelli” (LIPU, the Italian BirdLife Partner), which 
monitors raptors across the Straits of Messina. Raptor 
camps are sponsored by the following BirdLife 
Partners: Swedish Ornithological Society (SOF), 
“Vogelbescherming Nederland”, and Nature And 
Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU, Germany) 
and therefore we collaborate closely with these 
organisations, too. Throughout the camps BirdLife 
Malta also collaborates closely with the Committee 
Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), which also organises 
bird protection camps twice a year in Malta.
All raptor data are currently inputted by individual 
birders in the web-based “Worldbirds Malta” database 
run by BirdLife Malta and used to compile systematic 
lists published in Il-Merill (e.g. Bonavia et al. 2010), 
the only scientific ornithological journal in Malta, 
published by BirdLife Malta.
National coverage
The author has been appointed as the national raptor 
coordinator by BirdLife Malta. There is no formal 
national network for monitoring raptors currently in 
Malta, as there are only a few birders on the Islands.
Due to a lack of human and financial resources in 
Malta, monitoring is carried out only voluntarily by a 
few birders and thus only on individuals’ initiatives. 
The author has monitored daily the best site for raptor 
migration in the autumn (Buskett) since the mid-
1990s. Contrary to the autumn, raptors migrate on 
a broad front in spring, and therefore a large number 
of raptors are not recorded. Due to the small number 
of birders present in Malta there is a tendency that 
all birders end up at the same location and usually 
monitor raptors only in the afternoon. Thus, a large 
number of raptors migrating over Malta both in the 
spring and autumn are not being recorded.
Key species
Key migrant raptor species include Honey Buzzard 
Pernis apivorus (mid Apr–May and Sep–Oct), Black 
Kite Milvus migrans (Mar–Apr and Aug–Sep), Marsh 
Harrier Circus aeruginosus (Mar–May and end Aug–
Oct), Pallid Harrier C. macrourus (Mar–Apr and Sep–
Oct), Montagu’s Harrier C. pygargus (Apr and end 
Aug–Sep), Osprey Pandion haliaetus (Mar–May and 
end Aug–Oct), Lesser Kestrel F. naumanni (Mar–Apr 
and Sep–Oct), Kestrel (Mar–Apr and mid Sep–early 
Nov), Red-Footed Falcon F. vespertinus (mid Apr–
May), Hobby F. subbuteo (Apr–May and Sep–Oct), 
and Eleonora’s Falcon F. eleonorae (Apr–Oct).
The major site monitored in Malta is Buskett 
(Figure 1), where a large number of raptors congregate 
in autumn. Buskett comprises a small wooded area 
and a valley, surrounded by hills, in the western part 
of Malta. At 220 m a.s.l. it provides a fine view over 
the northern and eastern half of the island. It is one of 
the few wooded areas in the islands and thus attractive 
to raptors, combining an area of relatively high land 
(ideal for the formation of thermals) with a sheltered 
and reasonably safe roosting place. Between 2,000 
and 4,000 raptors are seen annually from Buskett 
in the autumn, the majority being Honey Buzzards, 
Marsh Harriers, Kestrels and Hobbies (Sammut & 
Bonavia 2004).
From 2008 onwards, 1–2 pairs of Kestrels started 
breeding in Gozo (Sultana et al. 2011) and possibly a 
pair of Peregrine Falcons along the Southwestern cliffs 
306
E: Bonavia: A preliminary overview of monitoring for raptors in Malta
of Malta in the last two years. A few Kestrels winter 
in the Maltese Islands, mainly in Gozo (Sultana & 
Gauci 1982).
Key issues and threats
The most critical issue facing raptor conservation in 
Malta is illegal hunting. The problem is not only a 
local issue, but has international ramifications as well, 
as it has a serious impact on the migratory raptors 
of Europe. Species listed on the global IUCN Red 
List such as Pallid Harrier are killed regularly and 
Ospreys carrying rings from Scandinavian countries 
are frequently shot down. Even in the case of species, 
which are not threatened at a global or European 
level, such as the Honey Buzzard or Marsh Harrier, if 
birds migrating over Malta are coming from specific 
countries where the species is at a critically low level, 
then the death of even a few of these birds could cause 
their extirpation from that country (Raine 2011).
In Malta, there are currently around 10,000 
hunters. With such a small landmass, Malta has one 
of the highest numbers of hunters in Europe with a 
density of 50 hunters per km square (Raine 2011). 
Illegal poachers shoot at raptors as these are relatively 
easy targets especially when trying to roost.
Although both the local law and the EU Birds 
Directive prohibit the shooting of raptors in Malta, 
law enforcement is poor. The Administrative Law 
Enforcement (ALE), the police unit responsible 
for dealing with wildlife crime, is under-staffed and 
under-resourced. This is caused primarily by a lack of 
priority given to the issue by the Maltese Government. 
All this means that illegal hunters are unlikely to 
be caught committing their crimes. Even when 
apprehended, hunters often get laid off with light 
sentences or even simply warnings or probationary 
sentences (Raine 2011). The low number of raptors 
that breed and winter here are a direct result of illegal 
hunting together with minimal protection of habitats 
in Malta. There are very few reserves and there is a lot 
of disturbance in most areas thus making it difficult 
for raptors to breed or winter here. While the level of 
illegal hunting has been reduced in the past few years, 
thanks to BirdLife Malta and raptor camp volunteers, 
illegal hunting on the island is still at a level which 
shocks and horrifies visitors from overseas (Raine 
2011). Out of the 337 shooting incidents in 2010, 
47.7% were targeted at raptors involving 12 species. 
BirdLife Malta receives an average of 40 injured 
raptors annually in recent years.
International networking is necessary especially 
to curb the illegal hunting. Pressure is needed from 
other European countries to end this illegal raptor 
hunting once and for all. As seen, illegal hunting in 
Malta can have a significant impact on international 
conservation projects. Even after joining the European 
Union in 2004, Malta has continued to allow hunting 
in spring, despite the fact that it is not permitted 
under the Birds directive. Human and financial 
resources are needed to monitor the migration of 
raptors both in the spring and autumn and also to 
monitor illegal hunting. Raptor camps are the ideal 
platform for this and if these were to be extended to 
a longer period and a larger number of participants 
were to attend we will safeguard a larger number of 
raptors. A proper Wildlife Crime unit in Malta and 
a rehabilitation centre to treat injured raptors are also 
urgently required.
Strengths and weaknesses
The main strength of monitoring for raptors in Malta 
lies in the fact that although there are only a handful of 
birders in Malta they are well qualified in identifying 
and spotting raptors. There are also several dedicated 
and motivated people (both local and foreign) to 
safeguard European raptors and volunteer to support 
raptor camps. Furthermore, all raptor data are easily 
accessible.
On the other hand, the main weaknesses include 
lack of financial resources for monitoring raptors, 
which means that everything is done on a voluntary 
basis. Additionally, there are limited human resources 
(no more than 15 active birders) and, finally, rampant 
illegal hunting of raptors is practised, causing a lot of 
disturbance when raptors are monitored.
There are a number of gaps in monitoring for 
raptors in Malta. These include the difficulty in 
Figure 1: Raptor camp participants together with local 
birdwatchers counting birds of prey migrating over Buskett, 
Malta
Slika 1: Ornitologi in udeleženci tabora za monitoring ptic 
roparic med {tetjem ujed, sele~ih se prek Busketta na Malti
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Acrocephalus 33 (154/155): 305−307, 2012
estimating the actual raptor numbers that migrate over 
Malta. Monitoring is carried out only in a few areas 
and mainly in afternoons due to work commitments 
by local birders. In spring, sites are monitored 
depending on weather conditions, thus no systematic 
monitoring is done at any particular site for the entire 
spring season. In autumn, only one site (Buskett) is 
well covered. Other sites need to be monitored for 
the whole period. No regular observations are made 
in the sister island of Gozo. There is, therefore, a gap 
in the actual numbers of raptors that migrate over 
the Maltese Islands. An additional gap is that illegal 
hunting is monitored well only during raptor camps 
thanks to the international participants. They are 
present for only a short period (two weeks in spring 
and two weeks in autumn) and can cover just a few 
places. Thus there is a gap in the actual number of 
raptors being shot down.
The main challenges include human and financial 
resources. There are only a few birders in Malta, who 
can monitor only a small fraction of the islands, and 
everything is voluntary as there is no financial help. 
Monitoring is done by individuals’ own free will and 
therefore time allotted for raptor monitoring is quite 
restricted. Law enforcement is not helping in reducing 
illegal raptor hunting.
Priorities, capacity-building
There are several priorities to strengthen monitoring 
for raptors in Malta. These include having a better 
picture of the actual amounts of raptors that migrate 
over the Maltese Islands during both spring and 
autumn migration. More foreign birders are needed to 
help few local birders to monitor key sites. Additional 
documentation of illegal hunting is required to 
improve illegal raptor hunting in the near future. 
Participation at Raptor camps has to be increased and 
more help is needed to organize longer-lasting camps 
(both financially and in terms of human resources). 
Finally, ecotourism should be promoted so that tourists 
start visiting Malta as a raptor watching destination.
The following are the main capacity-building needs:
 – implementation of an interpretation centre at 
Buskett,
 – establishment of new nature reserves offering 
protection for raptor species,
 – start-up of a raptor rehabilitation centre to treat 
injured raptors,
 – more human resources required,
 – more financial resources required,
 – more pressure from EU governments to the EU to 
curb illegal hunting and spring hunting in Malta,
 – more raptor enthusiasts participating at raptor 
camps.
Povzetek
Malteško otočje leži na pomembni selitveni poti 
mnogih ptic roparic. Selitev teh ptic na otočju redno 
spremljajo že od leta 1962, ko je bila ustanovljena 
organizacija BirdLife Malta. Žal pa zaradi pomanjkanja 
človeških in finančnih virov, a tudi redkih zavarovanih 
območij na otočju sistematični monitoring poteka le 
na eni lokaciji (Buskett), in še to zgolj v jesenskem 
času. Avtor članka tu opravlja dnevni monitoring že 
od sredine 90-ih. V zadnjih nekaj letih BirdLife Malta 
redno organizira tako spomladanske kot jesenske 
tabore za monitoring selitve ptic roparic pa tudi 
nezakonitih lovskih dejavnosti, pri čemer ji pomagajo 
tuji prostovoljni aktivisti in ornitologi. Ptice roparice 
seveda ne privlačijo le opazovalcev ptic, marveč tudi 
divje lovce, kar pomeni, da je na različnih malteških 
lokacijah žal še vedno ustreljenih veliko teh ptic. Vsi 
podatki o pticah roparicah se vnašajo v bazo podatkov, 
ki je osnova za pripravo letnih sistematičnih seznamov, 
ki so nato objavljeni v znanstveni ornitološki reviji 
organizacije BirdLife Malta. V tem kratkem prispevku 
njen avtor poleg monitoringa ptic roparic našteva 
vrsto prednosti in slabosti pa tudi potreb po krepitvi 
zmogljivosti, nujnih za izboljšanje monitoringa na 
Malti.
References
Bonavia, E., Borg, J.J., Coleiro, C., Raine, A. & Sultana, 
J. (2010): Systematic List 2000–2005. – Il-Merill 32: 
55–109.
Raine, A. (2011): A Photographic Guide to the Birds of 
Malta. – Langford Press, Peterborough.
Sammut, M. & Bonavia, E. (2004): Autumn raptor 
migration over Buskett, Malta. – British Birds 97 (7): 
318–322.
Sultana, J. & Gauci, C. (1982): A new Guide to the Birds 
of Malta. – The Ornithological Society, Malta
Sultana, J., Borg, J.J., Gauci, C & Falzon, V. (2011): The 
Breeding Birds of Malta. – Birdlife Malta, Malta.
Arrived / Prispelo: 27. 3. 2013
Accepted / Sprejeto: 1. 7. 2013