BirdLife Malta
| BirdLife Malta | |
|---|---|
| founding | 1962 as the Malta Ornithological Society |
| Seat | Ta 'Xbiex |
| purpose | Use and project work in bird and nature conservation |
| Chair | Steve Micklewright |
| Website | www.birdlifemalta.org |
BirdLife Malta is the Maltese nature and bird protection organization . She is a partner of BirdLife International . BirdLife Malta is actively taking action against traditionally anchored but illegal bird hunting with foreign support. The organization works closely with the EU LIFE project for the Mediterranean Shearwater , with the Maltese Environment and Planning Authority and the HSBC Fund Cares for the Environment . It operates two nature reserves, including the Għadira Nature Reserve .
Marines sanctuary Rdum tal-Madonna and shearwater protection
On the basis of an initiative by BirdLife Malta, the RSPB , SPEA (BirdLife in the United Kingdom and BirdLife in Portugal) and four Maltese government organizations, a four-year LIFE-Nature project was launched in 2006 with the aim of stopping and reversing the decline of the Mediterranean shearwater Puffinus yelkuan . Furthermore, public attention should be drawn to this seabird and its marine habitat should be explored more closely. The project focuses on the SPA area (Special Protected Area) Rdum tal-Madonna (special bird sanctuary), which is home to the largest colony in the country. The aim of the area is to create a safe haven for the shearwaters by reducing the hazards that have affected the colony since it was discovered in 1969. Safeguards have focused on controlling rat losses, reducing terrestrial and marine disturbance from light and noise, curbing illegal hunting and researching the effects of longline fishing . More Mediterranean shearwaters are now flinging from the colony.
The ecology and habitat preferences of the Mediterranean shearwater were recorded using high-frequency transmitters ( wildlife telemetry ). Scientists have discovered that they can travel up to 300 km in search of fish near the coast, concentrating on the fishing grounds in Maltese and international waters. The satellite transmitters on the legs of the Mediterranean shearwater showed that the fledgling juveniles migrated independently through the eastern Mediterranean, concentrating on the Aegean Sea, but also found occasionally on the Adriatic Sea, the North African coast and eastward to the Black Sea were. Thanks to this project, BirdLife Malta will propose the designation of Malta's first marine SPA area for the Mediterranean shearwater. Project partners in this project are BirdLife Malta, RSPB, SPEA, the Maltese Center for Fisheries and Research, the Maltese Military, Heritage Malta and Transport Malta.