Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1518643
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 APRIL 2024 5 ALMANAC Nature Notebook 913. Woodchat Shrike AMONG the small, usually mild-looking perching birds there's a group that have rather hawk-like features: the shrikes. Shrikes have powerful hooked beaks that they use to tear up their catch, usually large insects like bumblebees, grasshoppers or dragonflies, or small reptiles like lizards. Only a handful of shrike species live or migrate in our part of the world and none are particularly common. The species most likely to feature on a Maltese birdwatcher's list is the woodchat shrike (M. kaċċamendula). It is a spring and autumn vis- itor but very occasionally a pair stop and nest as well. Shrikes have this rather grisly habit of impaling their prey on thorny branches, to keep it 'for later', just like meats hung up on hooks at the butcher's. In some parts of the world, shrikes are actually known as butcher birds. FoE Malta wrapped its Bike About project As the wheels of the Bike About project come to a gentle halt, it's time to reflect on the journey we've had over the past year. Bike About wasn't just about promoting cycling in Malta; it was about empowering people to use bicycles on Maltese roads and providing them with the required knowledge and resources. The first highlight of this adventure was purchasing an electric cargo bike—a game-changer in our quest for sustainable mobility. At various public events, we showcased the suitability of cycling for cargo trans- portation, carrying different loads, from material to a music speaker, to two children at a time! Through our cycling sessions, participants learned essential skills such as balancing, key cycling techniques, and road safety. Our aim was not just to create cyclists but to foster a community of informed and re- sponsible road users. Victor Falzon, Aaron Tanti (photo) www.birdlifemalta.org Green idea of the week 787: Read more here https://foemalta.org/bike-about/bike-about-results/ 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 La Ronde From April 24 to 30 Place: Splendid, Strait Street A delivery driver meets a prostitute before his date with a cleaner, who shares an illicit encounter with a student she works for, before he sneaks off to a cheap hotel for an affair with a married woman… Arthur Schnitzler's controversial classic receives a bold reimagining in the heart of contemporary Malta, directed by Philip Leone-Ganado and starring Simone Spiteri and Anton Saliba. Give nature a voice. Become a BirdLife member Sustain-Delay - Medieval [+] Ambient On April 25 Place: Malta Society of Arts, The music of medieval Europe - of the vielles in monasteries and the plucked lyres - passed down through centuries, now lies in the here and now of people experimenting with those pieces of time preserved. A GOOD WEEK Good Week/Bad Week A BAD WEEK Actress Anya Taylor-Joy has confirmed she secretly got married to her partner Malcolm McRae in New Orleans in 2022. The Queen's Gambit star told fans she married her "best friend" at a ceremony on April Fools Day two years ago. The release of actress Rebel Wilson's autobiography has been pushed back in the UK and Australia. Rebel Rising was published in the US on Tuesday, and was due out in Australia on Wednesday and the UK on Thursday. It will now reach the UK on 25 April. "The magic of that day is ingrained in every cell of my being, forever," she wrote in an Instagram post. Publisher HarperCollins said its release "has been moved to coincide with Rebel Wilson's press tours".