Thursday 19 January 2023

Malta, Day Three

I met up with local birders Ray and Nicholas Galea this morning. We visited Salina Nature Reserve and had a look for the first-winter Bonaparte's Gull that has been around since early January. It's the first record for Malta. Unfortunately no luck in finding it. We also had a look for a couple of OBPs which have been wintering but no luck with them either, although it was raining so that probably didn't help. Great to meet Ray and Nicholas and hopefully I'll see them again in the future on Corvo as it's on their bucket list to visit there. 

There were a few other interesting gulls including Slender-billed, a couple of Caspian Gulls, a couple of presumed Baltic Gulls and lots of Med Gulls. 

Looks like a couple of Caspian Gulls, an adult, above (which looked rather round headed and also the legs were quite bright yellow) and a second-cycle bird below 

First-winter Med Gull, there was also Slender-billed Gull 
A couple of Lesser Black-back were present which are presumably Baltic Gulls
In the afternoon before the next work meetings, I visited an old childhood haunt, Zonqa. There was an outfall there with hundreds of Med Gulls. 
Male (below) and female (above) Sardinian Warblers- they are everywhere on the island

Zonqa

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