Day 1
Our first day of the trip was spent on the main island of Malta. After picking up Thomas and his family we headed to our first location at a coastal garrigue area. Before long we started ticking off Thomas’s targets with good views of multiple Greater Short-toed Larks. Good numbers of Northern Wheatears were particularly conspicuous, which were also joined by a handful of always good-looking male Black-eared Wheatears. A few Common Hoopoes were also around, with at least 3 seen. We also spotted some of Malta’s more localised residents, including Spectacled Warblers and Blue Rock-thrushes. Before leaving we spotted the first pair of Whinchats of the spring.
Our next couple of stops were very quiet, although we saw some Western Marsh-harriers and heard a Sedge Warbler and a Common Nightingale. After a quick lunch, we headed to another coastal cliff area, where we found a few more Northern Wheatears and a lingering Meadow Pipit. A brief stop at a small valley produced another Hoopoe. We then headed to another site in the south of the island, which produced again very good numbers of Northern Wheatears accompanied by several Black-eared Wheatears, while we also saw a Woodchat Shrike, a Subalpine Warbler and a flock of Little Egrets migrating offshore.
Day 2
On the second day we headed to Gozo for the day. Upon arriving at our first location on the northern coast, it was immediately evident that good numbers of migrants were around and still coming in, especially Tree Pipits, Greater Short-toed Larks, and Western Yellow Wagtails. Several Willow Warblers were also around, while we also found our target Tawny Pipit, a few Subalpine Warblers and a Whinchat. A diagnostic call revealed the first 2 European Bee-eaters of the season, while we also saw a few Western Marsh-harriers and Common Kestrels. Just before leaving, a bird with a large white wingbar turned out to be a stunning male Collared Flycatcher, which was high on the target species list.
We then headed to a nearby dense valley, where we found another Collared Flycatcher alongside a few Pied Flycatchers, as well as the first Wood Warbler of the trip. A nearby farm produced our only Red-throated Pipit of the trip, alongside multiple Western Yellow Wagtails. We then proceeded to Gozo’s southern cliffs, where we saw many Northern Wheatears, multiple Whinchats and Black-eared Wheatears, while finally finding our target Isabelline Wheatear. A final couple of stops added Common Redstart to our trip list, as well as a few more Subalpine Warblers. Finally, several Scopoli’s Shearwaters were observed from the ferry on the way back to Malta.