Aron Tanti loves luring, capturing and shooting birds; he has shot thousands over the years but never injured or killed a single one.

“No matter how many times you shoot, you simply can’t kill them with a photo camera,” he says, smiling as he flips through countless bird photos on his laptop.

“This is how I believe birds should be shot.”

Now, following an EU ruling that, finally, concluded Malta’s finch trapping is illegal, the 45-year-old photography enthusiast insists the country should take bird photography tourism more seriously.

People often think there are not that many spectacular birds to photograph in Malta. But the island’s isolated location in the middle of the Mediterranean and its few afforested areas mean tired migratory birds congregate in relatively small locations like Buskett, where they offer a spectacle for bird watchers and enthusiasts, especially during this time of year.

“Just last Sunday I was shooting birds there and there were at least 600 of them. Some of them massive, with a wingspan of around a metre and a half,” he said.

“There’s a trove of opportunities if we just stopped and looked up but we are often too deeply divided between those of us who want to kill or trap them and those who absolutely abhor hunting.”

Aaron Tanti feels no different than any hunter and does not feel he had to give up any of the joys of being a hunter because taking photos of birds is almost the same as hunting them.

Bird person

A computer studies teacher by profession, Tanti understands both sides of the controversy well as he was born and raised in a family of bird trappers but drifted apart from the hobby years ago to photograph them instead.

Raised among birds, he grew up seeing them as beautiful creatures. But, as he grew into a young man, he realised that owning them might contribute to their endangerment and prevent the continued existence of the very animal he so cherished.

“I realised loving the animal didn’t necessarily mean I had to possess it,” he said.

“I desperately needed to find an alternative. I needed to figure out how to be a bird person without being a bird problem.”

And, yet, he feels no different than any hunter and does not feel he had to give up any of the joys of being a hunter because taking photos of birds is almost the same as hunting them.

“I do every single move and tactic a hunter or trapper employs to lure a bird towards him or get closer to it.

“I also wake up before sunrise to scour the fields to spot them. I also need to sneak up on them, disguise and camouflage myself in the leaves, settle in the best spots where I anticipate – and hope – they might land, and pour water or scatter some food around me to trick them into thinking there is a bountiful oasis in front of my lens. I even wear hunter clothes. And, just like a hunter, I must shoot and capture the bird on my camera at exactly the right moment before they fly away. And, just like hunters, I cannot live without birds.”

He even sets up the environment for the optimal photo, sometimes placing sticks strategically around him, knowing the bird will be more photogenic if the photo captures him perched on a stick.

“The only difference is, after I shoot it, the bird gets to run free and I get to share the often-dramatic photos with family, friends and anyone who shows interest in what I do.”

A hoopoe benefitting from one of the exposed perches in close proximity of the photographer’s hideout.

Common species such as little egrets may still reward the bird photographer with very interesting photo opportunities.

A flock of night herons leaving their roost in Buskett last month to proceed with their migration. All photos by Aron Tanti

Crested honey buzzard.

Goldcrest

Golden oriole

Behaviour

The expertise he absorbed from his family and from more than two decades of employing these trapping tactics in photography turned Tanti into somewhat of a bird behavioural expert.

He knows some species are friendlier and will not be bothered when he moves closer to them. Others are not so keen on posing for photos and are scared away by the slightest movement or rustle of his clothes.

Sometimes, he spots a sleeping bird and lies down quietly next to it, waiting patiently for it to wake up, which is when it offers some of the best shots, he explains.

“Sometimes, it’ll wake up and fly away immediately, which means I would have wasted my time, but on the luckier occasions it will stretch, have something to eat and preen – which is what birds do to tidy and clean their feathers with their beak.”

An even luckier day is when he spots a rare bird he has been waiting to see his whole life. It seldom happens but when it does it sends shivers down his spine, he explains.

“I have spent years reading and studying some species without ever being able to see one in real life,” he says.

“And when I see it, that’s an ecstatic moment for me. It feels like scoring a goal in a Champions League final.”

On other occasions, the bird itself is a common occurrence, only it is demonstrating rarely spotted behaviour.

“Kingfishers are common in Malta but a while ago I spotted two kingfishers fighting over territory a couple of metres away from my spot – that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Sometimes, his shoots are difficult.

Hunters will sometimes spot him with his camera and think he is spying on them. He was bullied and, on one occasion, he even found his car vandalised.

Many other hunters, however, support him and stand up for him with their peers, adding it is unfair to put all hunters in one basket.

As the controversy over hunting deepens, Tanti still hopes to bridge the two groups together.

They are called bee-eaters, yet, they eat a vast variety of flying insects, including harmful ones such as hornets.

A common ringed plover carrying out a fundamental daily task, meticulous preening.

Greater flamingo feeding.

Kingfishers fighting over territory.

Stretching after a nap