Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1499757
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 MAY 2023 7 ALMANAC Nature Notebook 867. Curlew Sandpiper WE'RE an island (= lots of shoreline) sitting along a bird migration route, so you'd expect a fair number of shorebirds avisiting. You'd be right: more than 50 species of wading birds have so far been re- corded. While some are very rare, several others fly in every year to spend a day or two resting and feeding before winging off south or north (depending on the season). One of our regulars is the cur- lew sandpiper (M. pispisella ħamra), a small bird with a long slightly curved beak, that all-important tool for probing the mud or shallows for worms and other titbits. Like many other waders, curlew sand- pipers often travel in groups, so when a bunch of them turn up in spring or summer at places like Għadira or Salina nature reserves, they can be quite a spectacle. And if they come in their brick-red breeding plumage, all the better. Join the National Environment protest on Saturday 27 May! Eight organisations are today announcing a national protest demanding urgent environmental and planning reform. The protest titled Xebbajtu- na! Bidla fl-Ambjent u l-Ippjanar ISSA! will be held on Saturday 27 May 2023, starting from the Triton Fountain at 10.30am. We are living in a state of emergency which threatens our personal and environmental well-being due to the reckless rates of construction on our islands. The people of Malta and Gozo are bearing the grave con- sequences of environmental devastation. Widespread environmental destruction is resulting in physical and mental health problems, in frus- trated children who have nowhere to roam and a growing desire among young people to leave the country. Victor Falzon, Aron Tanti www.birdlifemalta.org Green idea of the week 755: Join the National protest against reckless rates of construction on Saturday 27 May. 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 Enigma Variations 26 September Place: Mediterranean Conference Centre, World-renowned violinist Clara-Jumi Kang joins the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Principal Conductor Sergey Smbatyan. Rhapsodic and virtuosic, this mesmerising work is a staple of the repertoire. Maltese pioneer composer Paolino Vassallo displays his patriotism with his riveting Malta Overture. The orchestra shines in Elgar's sublime Enigma Variations. This series of 14 variations on an original enigmatic theme, each depicting close friends and family, transports the audience on a journey of emotions, from the exuberant Troyte to the beloved Nimrod. Give nature a voice. Become a BirdLife member June blossoms 4 June Place: Malta Society of Arts Four women musicians will join forces to present the Maltese public a concert of Romantic classical music with a difference. The music that will be presented will include the songs of two women composers: the American Amy Beach and the Swede Valborg Aulin, also a contemporary of Beach. The songs will be performed by renowned soprano Andriana Yordanova with the international pianist Julia Miller on the piano. Together with flutist Clara Galea, Julia Miller will also perform the exquisite 'Undine' sonata for Piano and Flute (op. 167) of Carl Reinecke. This sonata is considered one of the major works that exposes the versatility of flute written in the nineteenth century. A GOOD WEEK Good Week/Bad Week A BAD WEEK Ed Sheeran, Adele, and Harry Styles are among the UK's richest people under 35, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. The musicians all have an estimated wealth of more than £150m after successes in the UK and US. The Walt Disney Company has scrapped a plan to invest nearly $1bn to build a new corporate campus in Florida, it announced. The reversal comes amid an escalating feud between the entertainment giant and the state's Republican- led government headed by Ron DeSantis. Ed Sheeran and Adele are both in the top 10 of the under-35 list, which is topped by a duke with inherited wealth. The plan would have seen about 2,000 employees relocate to a Disney-owned complex at Lake Nona, near Orlando.