Birdlife has released two Greater Flamingos into its Għadira Nature Reserve following a period of care by the organisation. 

In a statement on Friday, Birdlife said both juvenile flamingos were part of a large flock observed migrating over the Malta at the end of last month.

Flamingos migrate in flocks of adults and juveniles but the young ones tend to become exhausted and divert from the rest of the flock to get some rest. This was the case with these two flamingos which got stranded from the flock after landing in the midst of the public in different areas of the Maltese islands, Birdlife said.

The first bird was rescued from Daħlet Qorrot Bay in Gozo after it landed on the beach on August 20. It was rescued by an ERA officer and immediately taken to the government vet who found it to be "weak from migration".

The second flamingo was recovered by members of the hunting organisation Kaċċaturi San Ubertu at l-Għadira s-Safra the following day.

The hunters had handed over the flamingo to Birdlife and it too was taken to the government vet for examination.

In a little over a week, both birds were certified as having gained enough strength to be released back into the wild.

"Following the green light by the veterinarian, both flamingos were eventually released at Għadira on Tuesday. They were both ringed prior to being released by members of our staff at the reserve," Birdlife said.

Two other flamingos that were part of the same flock had been illegally shot down in Marsaxlokk around the same time.