Bird lovers who want to help stamp out poaching are being invited to join activist group BirdLife Malta as volunteers to watch over migratory birds as they fly over Malta. 

Volunteers will join BirdLife’s spring watch camp, which monitors illegalities and wildlife crime with patrols in the countryside during the spring bird migration in April, especially during the spring hunting season. 

Anyone interested in volunteering can email alice.tribe@BirdLifemalta.org by March 23.

The call for volunteers forms part of a broader campaign which BirdLife is organizing during spring, which it has named #onthemove.

The campaign, which will run from March 15 to May 15, will see BirdLife share information about bird migration, highlight birdwatching hotspots and promote bird migration on its social media platforms. 

Common Kestrel. Photo: Aron Tanti/BirdLife Malta

Malta serves as a stepping stone for birds returning to Europe to breed during spring, with birds racing to reach the best breeding spots at the right time. 

BirdLife Malta communications manager Nathaniel Attard said the campaign would encourage people to take action. 

“We encourage people to share our social media content, and register their objections to the illegal killing of birds with politicians but also support our conservation work to prevent illegal hunting through donations and by becoming members,” he said. 
 
Last year was a record year for illegal hunting in Malta and Gozo, with 210 known illegal hunting casualties recovered by BirdLife Malta and police.