Ghadira nature reserve - refuge from a hectic life

It is hard to imagine the peace and serenity of a nature reserve in overly built-up Malta.

But the six-hectare Ghadira Nature Reserve, which is the responsibility of BirdLife Malta, is more than a haven for migrating birds and a meeting place for bird lovers - it is a refuge for anyone who wants to forget a hectic lifestyle, even just metres away from roaring traffic.

The reserve, which in the 16th century was Malta's main salt producer, is visited by an annual average of 10,100 people, 3,800 of them school children from 67 institutions. Around 40 per cent of the remaining total of 6,300 people visiting the reserve at weekends are tourists, mainly English, German and French, said Mark Gauci, coordinator of the reserve.

The reserve is open to the public between mid-October and the end of May. Weekdays are dedicated to school children with one class being admitted each day. The reserve is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 9.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. in December and January and from 10.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. between February and May.

On weekdays, a full-time teacher loaned from the Education Department leads school children on a tour of the reserve and gives a lecture on nature appreciation.

People are not allowed to roam on their own because, Mr Gauci said, it was not the first time that someone tried to smuggle out chameleons and flora.

The best time for one to visit the reserve was from the end of March to the beginning of May.

Eighteen species of birds were recorded at the reserve yesterday, including coots, pochards, and blacknecked grebes.

Since the reserve was declared a bird sanctuary in 1978 some 200 species of birds have been recorded, many of which are protected.

The reserve is not open to the public in summer, when maintenance and improvement works are carried out.

Mr Gauci explained that besides a full-time teacher, two workers were on loan to the reserve by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority who kept a log of the different bird visitors and ringed birds for record keeping purposes.

Mr Gauci said this data was exchanged with other European states. Malta, Mr Gauci said, has been ringing birds since 1967. Through this process it was learnt, for example, that a blacknecked grebe which BirdLife had ringed was found dead in a fishing net in Russia.

Besides the birds, the reserve also hosts wild rabbits, weasels, hedgehogs, the western whip snake and chameleons. Although not native to Malta, the chameleon had adapted very well without harming other native breeds.

The reserve is divided into two, one part retained in as natural a state as possible, the other part man-made for educational purposes.

While only flora typical to salt marshes were planted in the natural area, other species were planted in the man-made section. One particular tree planted in this area was the Sandarac Gum Tree, which is the national tree.

Mr Gauci said BirdLife has created a number of islands in the pool area for the birds to have more shoreline.

Following the creation of a pebbly island, a little ringed plover started nesting at Ghadira regularly. This was a first for Malta. This bird did not build a nest - the female laid her eggs, which looked like pebbles among pebbles.

From ringing, BirdLife had established that the male was the same one, returning year after year.

Mr Gauci said the reserve was a sight when it was visited by birds of a certain rarity such as flamingos and swans. Other not so common sights included flocks of 15 or so herons, for example.

BirdLife is also responsible for the running of the Simar nature reserve. The government gives the society Lm5,000 a year for each of the reserves.

Mr Gauci said most hunters understood that birds at the reserves should be left alone. However, many birds were unfortunately being killed before even getting to the reserves, through hunting at sea.

A few hunters visited the reserves occasionally and they all expressed appreciation for the beauty of the birds at the reserve.

He said that although school children were taken to the Simar reserve, this was closed to the public as BirdLife was still searching for a sponsor to finance the building of a reception centre.

There is no entrance fee at any of the reserves and apart from the government grant, the reserves' income is from donations, by both Maltese and tourists.