Potted trees will be installed in the Mosta Square to accommodate the needs of roosting birds, the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) has promised NGO BirdLife Malta.

This comes after the Mosta council reversed its decision to have the trees in the square removed after widespread public outrage and protesters physically intervening and preventing workers from uprooting the trees.

However, in the run-up to their planned removal, the branches of the trees were heavily pruned, leaving birds in the area without a crucial roosting spot. 

Speaking to Times of Malta, BirdLife CEO Mark Sultana explained that discussions between the environmental watchdog and the NGO have taken a positive turn.

“There is an effort to mitigate the harm,” Sultana said as ERA has promised to move potted trees into Mosta Square, acting as a temporary solution for birds who have been unable to roost over the past week.

These trees should be at the Mosta Rotunda by Tuesday, Sultana hopes.

At the time of the pruning, BirdLife "pleaded" with the authorities to stop the work, as at this time of the year thousands of White Wagtails (Zakak Abjad), Common Starlings (Sturnell) and Spanish Sparrows (Għasfur tal-Bejt) find refuge in the trees during the night when they roost together in safety.

Sultana estimated that there are some 400 birds in Mosta at the moment, but that number is "expected to triple in coming weeks" as more birds move to migrate south for the winter.

Although some birds have found roosting spots on nearby trees with smaller canopies, and therefore less coverage from the elements, others have resorted to open windowsills which offer no protection.

Without space for multiple birds to roost together, they will be unable to huddle together on the colder days which, as temperatures begin to drop, may lead to the bird population dropping.

“They will be exposed to the elements which can lead to their death,” Sultana said, noting that around 1,200 birds roost in Mosta every year.

Direct action prompts council u-turn

According to an ERA case officer’s report, the Mosta local council wanted to remove and replace the trees for design reasons despite the species being protected, given their location within an urban public open space.

However, Moviment Graffitti activists refused to allow the trees to be uprooted, staging peaceful demonstrations by standing in the way of workers and their looming digger.

Things came to a head on Tuesday afternoon when activist Andre Callus was dragged to the ground and handcuffed by the police. Activists then spent the night in tents on the site, obstructing the heavy machinery.

After both Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition Leader Bernard Grech appealed to the council to change their mind, Mosta mayor Chris Grech announced a U-turn on the decision.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday morning, Grech said that he and his fellow Labour councillors had taken note of people’s wish to keep the trees in the square rather than transplant them.

That evening, Graffitti held a protest where activists told people they had the power to effect change when decisions by politicians went against the common good.

“We should not have needed to sleep on the tarmac and be dragged to the ground (by the police) just to keep a dozen trees here,” Graffitti activist Marie Claire Gatt told the crowd. 

Gatt hit out at ERA for having permitted the trees to be removed. This, she said, was not an oversight but part of a pattern that had seen green areas diminished in favour of lucrative development projects.

Questions have been sent to ERA regarding the approval of the local council's application.