Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1372546
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 MAY 2021 9 ALMANAC Nature Notebook 762. Short-eared owl MALTA is not a place we normally associate with owls, but thanks to migration we get lots of birds stopping by for short stints, and among these are two or three owl species. One of them is the scarce short- eared owl, a spectacular animal with large hypnotic yellow eyes. It's a bird of open countryside (hence its Maltese name kokka tax-xaghri) that, unlike most owls, hunts by day. Seeing one of these creatures sail by like a silent ghost, combing the garrigue and steppe for ro- dents and lizards is guaranteed to hold anyone's gaze. Short-eared owls occasionally try to nest in our remoter rocky spots, if anywhere in Malta can be described as 'remote'. But until the generation of trigger-happy hunters has run its course, the chances of these mag- nificent birds nesting regularly will remain wishful thinking. Victor Falzon, Aron Tanti www.birdlifemalta.org Green idea of the week 652: Try exciting vegetarian and vegan recipes by joining the Cooking Class World Bee Day on the 20th May THIS Thursday we celebrate "World Bee Day" and to protect bees and people's health, we need your support in calling the EU Com- mission to propose legal acts to restore biodiversity and help bees and pollinators. Thanks to pollinators' work, tropical forests, savan- nah woodlands, and other habitats can grow, as well as wild plant species (berries, nuts, seeds and fruits), which are at the core of many animals' diets.Bees themselves are also a part of the food chain: many birds and insects eat and rely on them as food source.. VISIT Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation – www.foe- malta.org/donate Appster Smartphone fun and smarter work DARKROOM Free Apple Darkroom for Mac is a universal app with support for the new M1 Macs as well as Intel Macs that are running macOS Big Sur. Darkroom provides a complete powerful workflow for mobile photographers, all the way from editing on-the-go, to the Mac at home. TECH RETAILERS contact afarrugia@ mediatoday.com.mt A GOOD WEEK FOR Good Week/Bad Week Don't miss this A BAD WEEK FOR Gaulitana: A Festival of Music Date: 19 May Location: Online Gaulitana: A Festival of Music is an annual festival artistically directed by Colin Attard and organised by the Gaulitanus Choir and an awardee of the European Festivals Association's EFFE label, is principally supported by the Gozo Cultural Support Programme of Arts Council Malta and the Ministry for Gozo. For fans of Friends. The much- anticipated reunion special of Friends has finally got a release date and trailer after a lengthy delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The reunion will be available from 27 May. For fans of the Ellen DeGeneres show. DeGeneres has told viewers she is ending her long-running TV show because "I truly have felt like next season was the right time" to bring it to a close. "The truth is, I always trust my instincts. My instinct told me it's time," she said on her new episode. Friends was one of the biggest sitcoms of the 90s and ended in 2004 Her show has won more than 60 Daytime Emmy awards Give nature a voice. Become a BirdLife member