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15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 MARCH 2021 EYEWITNESS naked eye however they also tend to rest on wires and feed on large insects. Most of the breeding Short-toed Larks arrive in April and you can easily hear their beau- tiful song and observe them in certain loca- tions like the rural parts of Gozo and some areas in Malta like the airport. Tree Pipit and the bright yellow Yellow Wagtail are also common in April. Wood Warblers, Pied and Collared Flycatch- ers peak in April and can be found in most places where trees are present. Buskett is a great place to observe these species and you can also see Golden Oriole. Although the male Golden Oriole is bright yellow and is a medium-sized bird it sometimes requires some patience to get good views of this mag- nificent bird. May In May, the days usually get considerably warmer and the variety of species decline considerably as the month progresses. May is usually the peak migration period of Hon- ey-buzzard and Red-footed Falcon, which numbers vary significantly between one year and another for both species. In some years they are common and can be seen in large numbers and in others they can be rather scarce. Waders at the reserves are still numerous es- pecially in the first half of the month where Ringed Plover joins the species mentioned in April. Hirundines, Swifts and Bee-eaters keep on migrating in May while Whinchat and Woodchat Shrike are common in open areas and usually can be easily seen perched high on shrubs and trees. Warbler migration is dominated by large numbers of Garden Warbler and Whitethroat and smaller numbers of Icterine Warbler. These, together with Spotted Flycatcher, are usually the last spring migrants to arrive. As can be seen from above, the Maltese Is- lands offer a great opportunity to observe the diversity and abundance of spring bird mi- gration. A pair of binoculars and a guide book having the European species mentioned above is the only thing you need together with going to the best sites for migration. Edward Bonavia is Malta Rarities and Records Committee secretary Following last year's success with the au- tumn migration campaign, this year BirdLife Malta has launched its second #onthemove campaign to showcase the beauty of the bird migration spectacle, this time in spring. The campaign aims to inspire people to en- joy, care and protect Malta's birds during the spring migration. Visit https://birdlifemalta.org/onthemove to learn more about the campaign. The Marsh Harrier is one of the birds of prey that start migrating in April (Photo by Aron Tanti) Purple Herons start migrating in April, you can see them at one of BirdLife Malta's nature reserves, where this photo was taken (Photo by Mario V Gauci) The Yellow Wagtail is very common in Malta during spring (Photo by Mario V Gauci) The Robin is a wintering bird which leaves the Maltese Islands in spring (Photo by Aron Tanti) Black-winged Stilts at BirdLife Malta's Salina Nature Reserve (Photo by Dominic Frendo) The Hoopoe is a beautiful bird seen in spring (Photo by Hannah Pepe)