Foreign birdwatchers recorded 486 hunting offences in the past three weeks, ranging from illegal shots and trapping to injuring and killing protected birds of prey.

The Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) was here for an autumn camp to monitor bird migration. It accused the government of looking the other way when the migration season started and protected birds were shot at.

CABS said activists were only able to simultaneously cover a maximum five per cent of the area available for hunting, and it believes these figures are just the tip of the iceberg.

"There has been no improvement with respect to the illegal killing of birds. As soon as migration begins or resumes, protected species are shot at all over the island, and the government looks the other way," CABS president Heinz Schwarze said.

The introduction of the limited hunting curfew after 3 p.m. did lead to a decrease of illegal killing in the afternoon, but for many birds of prey this was only a stay of execution for a night, as they come under fire the next morning.

Throughout its stay, the committee said it witnessed the killing of 23 protected birds, including two ospreys, seven marsh harriers, seven honey buzzards, a hobby, two kestrels, three herons and two unidentified falcons. Another 61 birds of prey were injured, 26 of them critically.

It said it also came across five cases of illegal trapping and found 119 bird callers. Finally, the committee said it counted 278 shots after the curfew.