Standing on the edge of one of the ponds in Ghadira Nature Reserve, Ian Balzan of BirdLife Malta took one last look at the Common Kestrel he was releasing after a month of rehabilitation. With her warm brown, darkly barred feathers and beautiful soft grey facial stripes, the female kestrel was truly a stunning bird. A final check to make sure her injured wing was fully healed, and Ian finally launched her into the sky. She flew off strongly, rising swiftly into the clear skies towards the Red Tower, before banking out towards the sea. Flying free, she was a far cry from the bird that had been brought into the BirdLife Malta office a month previously.

She had been delivered to the office in June by a concerned member of the public who had found the bird helplessly hopping about on the road in Mosta. Her injury involved a partly healed gunshot wound to the wing. It took a month for Ian to nurse her back to full health and the BirdLife team were delighted to see her fly off free again to resume her onwards migration to Europe. The release was a great moment for Ian, and the culmination of all of his hard work rehabilitating injured birds that had been shot illegally over the spring season.

Several weeks earlier, another three rehabilitated birds of prey were released on Comino by BirdLife Malta. As the hunting season had only just ended and widespread reports of illegal hunting continued, Comino represented a safe haven from which to release these magnificent birds. Each of the three, a Marsh Harrier, a European Hobby and another Common Kestrel all flew off strongly, a testament to Ian’s hard work and dedication.

Unfortunately this spring, as with every year, Ian has had to deal with a continuous stream of injured and dying protected birds. Common Kestrels and Marsh Harriers are the more common illegally shot birds (as they migrate through Malta each year in large numbers), but this year also saw several other raptor species including a very rare Pallid Harrier, several Red-footed Falcons and a Honey Buzzard, as well as European Bee-eaters, Golden Oriole, Purple Heron and Great Bittern.

All of these birds are first reported to BirdLife Malta by members of the public who often find the downed birds while out in the countryside. A dedicated team of BirdLife volunteers then go out to collect the birds and deliver them to a veterinarian, Dr. Kovacs. Dr Kovacs, who also volunteers her time and resources, examines the birds to see how extensive the injuries are. If the injuries are too severe, and the bird has no chance of returning to the wild, then it is euthanised. Unfortunately the majority of birds are so severely injured from gunshot that they have to be put down. However, where the birds have a chance of being rehabilitated, they are passed on to Ian.

Once in Ian’s care, the birds are transferred to his wild bird rehabilitation centre where they slowly begin the road to recovery. This requires a tremendous amount of dedication and time on Ian’s behalf as he has to continuously check that the injuries are healing well, prepare the food, feed each of the birds and clean out the holding rooms where they become stronger and learn how to use their healed wings again. It is also very important that the birds don’t become too familiar with humans or they may never learn to live in the wild again, so Ian keeps contact with them to a minimum. Finally, when the birds are ready, they are taken to a safe release point and sent on their way. With luck, they then continue their migration towards European breeding grounds where they can raise the next generation.

Malta is located on one of the main European-African migratory flyways and is thus in the enviable position of being witness to the incredible spectacle of mass bird migration every spring and autumn. As the autumn migration begins this year, perhaps today’s kestrel will once again pass over the islands on her way to African wintering grounds. But for now, it is enough to picture her leaving Malta behind, heading onwards to Sicily, Italy and on over central Europe, perhaps ending up in Finland, Germany or Sweden. There she will find a suitable partner, build her nest, and usher into the world the next generation of kestrels.

With the support of the public, bringing injured birds to the BirdLife Malta office, the team of BirdLife volunteers, Dr Kovacs and of course Ian himself, all of this is possible and we hope that the kestrel will be flying free to grace the skies for another year.