Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/475084
XVI maltatoday, Sunday, 8 March 2015 Travel Most people recognise a gull. Gulls are familiar birds in coastal and river towns and cities worldwide, and they're numerous, big, noisy and bold. They also like to be around people because our throwaway habits provides them with plenty to eat. Living as we do on an island, we get gulls in Malta too, about a dozen species recorded. Gulls all look generally the same and some species can be tricky even for experienced birders, especially young birds of intermediate plumage. A feature that helps in identification is size, and the Little Gull (M: Gawwija Zghira) is the smallest of the lot. For us it's a scarce mostly winter visitor, having travelled down to the Mediterranean from its breeding marshes in northern Europe. It's seen here singly or in small flocks at best, and considering its small size it is relatively easy to tell from the other gulls. The Little Gull is a delicate creature with a light dainty flight. Watching this bird flit about for long stretches over the water, picking off bugs and other specks from the surface always makes me wonder if it's losing rather than gaining energy feeding in this way. But hey, they've been doing this a few million years so I guess the maths is right. NOTE: 34 days to the spring hunting referendum. Remember to GO and vote NO. 444. LITTLE GULL GrEEn IDEa Of THE WEEk 347: Find out more– Visit the official Shout - Spring hunting Out website for more information and news - http://www.springhuntingout.com/ The birds passing over Malta in spring are on a long journey from africa, where they spent the winter, to mainland Europe, where they will mate, lay eggs and raise young. Killing birds in spring when they are on their way to breed means that they will not be able to raise chicks, and so we will have fewer and fewer birds each year. Scientists have identified that turtle dove and quail are both in trouble across Europe, and have included them in a list of birds of 'conservation concern'. Turtle doves especially have suffered a 74% decline since 1980, meaning that 3 out of every 4 turtle doves have disappeared since then. Spring hunting is a further, unnecessary, pressure on these birds, denying them the chance to breed and increase in numbers again. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us www.foemalta.org. You can also support us by sending a blank SMS donation on 50618070 (€4.66) or 50619223 (€11.65). Text Victor Falzon Photo Aron Tanti What is the problem with spring hunting? Din l-Art Helwa lecture on Hal Millieri Archaeology expert Prof. Anthony Bonanno will be speaking at the next Din l-Art Helwa talk on March 12 at 18:30. During the talk, Prof. Bonanno will take a quick journey down memory lane to recount two personally expe- rienced episodes in the 'biography' of the Annunciation Church of Hal Millieri which is held in trust by Din L-Art Helwa since 1970. The first episode was the excavation carried out jointly with Dr Tom Blagg and Dr Anthony Luttrell, below half of the flagged stone floor of the church, revealing intact burials, fragments of fresco painted plaster, and other items of material culture (mostly pottery) dating as far back as back to the Ro- man period and, most importantly exposing the foundations of an earlier church datable to the 13th century. The second episode constitutes a land- mark in the history of conservation in Malta, when the prevalent method of physical detachment of fresco paint- ings from their matrix was abandoned in favour of preventive measures of conservation accompanied by the least invasive intervention. Prof. Anthony Bonanno, B.A. (Hons) (Malta), D. Lett. (Palermo), Ph.D. (Lon- don), F.S.A. is Professor of Archaeol- ogy at the University of Malta. He has lectured at the University of Malta in Archaeology and Classics since 1971. He has also conducted lecturing visits to various universities in Europe, the United States, Zimbabwe and Egypt. Besides being a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, he has been appointed "corresponding member" of the Institutum Archaeologicum Germanicum and of the Archaeologi- cal Institute of America. He has served on various national boards and committees, including the Planning Authority (1992-1998), Heritage Malta (2004-2011) and the Scientific Committee for the Con- servation of the Megalithic Temples (2004 to date). Prof. Bonanno has served on the Council of Din L-Art Ħelwa for more than three decades and has been the associatiobn's Executive President between 1999 and 2001. The talk willl be delivered in English at 133, Melita Street, Valletta. Donations to Din l-Art Ħelwa will be appreciated. For more information, log on to info@ dinlarthelwa.org, 2122 5952 Malta Artisan Market returns for Easter The Malta Artisan Easter Market organised by The Definitive(ly) Good Guide is back for its Easter edition on March 21 and 22, at the Ballroom of the Hotel Phoenicia, Floriana from 11:00 to 18:00. At the Malta Artisan Market, visitors will find locally made arts and crafts made by inde- pendent artists, as well as handmade delicacies using local ingredients. This market prides itself in acting as a platform, bringing together artists for a weekend to introduce their arts and crafts. Featured among the stalls will be filigree, as well as contemporary jewellery, bric-a- brac, paintings, wooden crafts, toys, delicious cookies and take home pre- serves made with seasonal produce, home furnishings and more. For more information, log on to www.maltaartisanmarkets.com or find Malta Artisan Markets on Facebook