Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1462122
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 MARCH 2022 9 ALMANAC Nature Notebook 806. Spotted Crake MANY birds go to great lengths to show off their presence, some- times to the point of impracticality. Males parade their flamboyance chiefly to attract females but also to warn other males off their ter- ritory and their woman. Other birds employ all the tricks in nature to render themselves invisible and as inanimate-looking as possible. A group that usually opts for the latter survival technique are the largely secretive rails and crakes. About a dozen species of this fami- ly have occurred in Malta, some extremely rarely. One scarce species is the diminutive spotted crake (M. gallozz tat-tikek), an inhabitant of marshes with thickly vegetated margins. There it skulks about – never far from the sheltering foliage – looking for worms and in- sects. Its small size and cryptic plumage help hide it from predatory eyes. And hunter's guns. Victor Falzon, Denis Cachia www.birdlifemalta.org Green idea of the week 694: To find out more and to register your interest please follow this link: www.foemalta.org/event Join the beekeeping session! It is time for the last of our Be Active Be Sustainable Malta work- shops: the beehive session! This event was created to show the importance of this little creature and educate ourselves on how to keep and nurture them. A bee is fascinating on its own, but what it can do within a colony is even more special. Bees are vital for our survival, providing us with important ecosystem services. Pop along and explore the ways in which bees provide us with services unlike any other insect. Keeping bees is not easy or some- thing that you can just do, the practice takes time to learn and is often passed down to younger generations.Therefore, Friends of the Earth Malta has organized this session together with Gener- ation Change Malta and beekeeper Jorge. Do you want to know more about bees, the worker, the queen, the comb, their delicious honey and what they do for our planet? Then join our event on the 9th of April at noon! Project funded by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ through the Be Active Scheme. 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.foemalta.org/donate Don't miss this Richard England - Architect as Artist Start date: 12 March Place: Il-Hagar, Heart of Gozo Museum Il-Hagar Museum is offering another major temporary exhibition featuring no fewer than 70 works in architecture, graphics and art. The exhibition will feature original drawings of Malta and many others of Gozo. There will also be original travel drawings of Italy and original drawings of imaginary townscapes. A series of prints from Gozo and a limited series of Gozo scenes will also be part of the exhibition. Give nature a voice. Become a BirdLife member Early Music Day Concert Start date: 21 March Place: St. Paul's Cathedral, Mdina Festivals Malta presents a concert in honour of Mgr John Azzopardi to celebrate Early Music Day 2022 together with several other countries around the world. The concert features the Monteverdi Project and the Valletta Baroque Ensemble who will be performing works from Vincenzo Tozzi, Biagio Marini, Carlo Farina, Francesco Turini and Tarquino Merula. A GOOD WEEK Good Week/Bad Week A BAD WEEK Guernsey Literary Festival is returning with the first full live selection of writers and speakers since 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020 festival and restrictions on visiting writers in 2021 meant talks were held online.. Kanye West was suspended from Instagram for 24 hourson Fridayafter using a racial slur in reference to comedian Trevor Noah. The rapper posted about him after he said Kanye's actions towards his ex-wife Kim Kardashian were "terrifying". Some early events are being held in the next few weeks, more are planned from 11 May, culminating in five days of events from 22-26 June. Kanye's been criticised for repeatedly posting remarks about Kim, their children and her partner Pete Davidson