After picking up Jessica and Jeremiah from their accomodation, we first headed to the Salina Nature Reserve managed by BirdLife Malta. Here, the most obvious birds which we noticed immediately were multiple Grey Herons and Little Egrets resting and feeding in the saltpans, while a few Cattle Egrets flew over. Upon scanning the saltpans, we started to find a few waders, including 2 Black-winged Stilts and 2 Dunlins, as well as a Little Stint. We also observed a Little Ringed Plover next to 2 Common Ringed Plovers, allowing for direct comparison between these similar species. We also were lucky to see a young Gull-billed Tern, which is locally scarce and had already been present for a few days. Although we could here Common Kingfishers calling, they remained elusive. Nevertheless, we were compensated by a surprise flyover Common Hoopoe.
We then headed to the Majjistral Nature Park, which was unfortunately very quiet. Nevertheless, we got acquainted with the local Zitting Cisticolas and Blue Rock Thrushes. Upon reaching the cliff edge, we were surprised by a male Marsh Harrier which flew up and then settled on the garrigue. We also saw 3 flyover European Honey Buzzards, as well as a small flocks of Tawny Pipits and Greater Short-toed Larks. We then headed to the Ghadira Nature Reserve, also managed by BirdLife Malta. Although here was also very quiet, we still added a few birds to our list, including a Common Snipe, a Common Redstart, several Willow Warblers and Subalpine Warblers, Sand Martins, House Martins and more. Another Marsh Harrier and 2 more Honey Buzzards also flew over. We also heard a Wryneck and a Reed Warbler but they remained unseen. In the distance we spotted our first European Bee-eaters against a backdrop of an incoming storm. We drove up towards the ridge were we had seen the Bee-eaters, only to find good numbers of Marsh Harriers flying inland to escape the storm. We then headed to the opposite end of the peninsula, were we saw even more Marsh Harriers freshly arriving from the sea. By the end we had seen well over 100 of these birds. From here, we also had a great sighting of a flock of around 70 European Bee-eaters, which came in straight towards us from the sea, and flew inland at eye-level from right next to us on the cliff edge. The storm eventually arrived upon which we took the opporunity to take a lunch break at a nearby restaurant.
After a very stormy lunch, we headed to Buskett for some woodland birding. Although it was still drizzling, we did not give up and managed to see some good birds. Multiple Marsh Harriers were flying around the valley seeking refuge from the bad weather, while several Eurasian Hobbies were also on the wing, probably hunting insects. We also saw a larger falcon which turned out to be an Eleonora’s Falcon, which also perched up and gave us good views, together with 2 Common Kestrels. Passerines were represented by a Common Redstart, a few Blackcaps and Garden Warblers, and a Common Whitethroat which is quite scarce in autumn. We also heard multiple European Robins, but did not manage to see any. Another surprise was 3 Golden Orioles flying up the valley, also being scarcer in autumn than in spring. By now the rain had increased again, so we went for a drive around the area to see what else we could find. This produced a few new birds for the day, namely a male Lesser Kestrel and a pair of European Turtle Doves, all of which were perched up on roadside telephone wires waiting out the rain.
At this point we had to make a decision whether to call it a day due to the persistent rain or whether to try to find somewhere sheltered and keep birding. We went with the latter option and headed back to Salina Nature Reserve to take advantage of the bird hides there. This worked out quite well, since in addition to most of the birds already seen in the morning, we managed to see a few new species for the day. These included 2 juvenile Audouin’s Gulls and a Kentish Plover, the latter being a very scarce bird locally and one of the highlights of the day. We also finally managed to obtain decent views of 2 Common Kingfishers, which had eluded us in the morning. We weren’t yet quite ready to give up and headed to a nearby agricultural area to try to see a few more species. This was successful, and we saw a Wood Warbler, a Reed Warbler, a Spotted Flycatcher, and a Northern Wheatear, in addition to other birds we had already seen earlier in the day. At this point the sun was starting to set and we called it a day. All in all we saw a good number of species and managed to make the most out of the bad weather.