Another Egyptian Vulture visits Malta

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For the second time this month our Raptor Camp proved crucial to ensure the safety of such a highly-prized bird until it left the Maltese Islands

Earlier this week, another Egyptian Vulture (Maltese name: Avultun Abjad) roosted in Malta. The rare and endangered bird arrived in Malta on Wednesday afternoon and after spending the night in the outskirts of Rabat, left safely early yesterday morning to continue on its migratory journey.

BirdLife Malta volunteers who are participating in the annual Raptor Camp monitored the bird until its departure.

Unlike the Egyptian Vulture Leonardo, who visited Malta during the first week of September, yesterday’s bird does not appear to have been satellite-tagged and its arrival to Malta was therefore unannounced. Leonardo, who had landed in Malta on September 3rd, was from an Italian conservation reintroduction programme and in this case it was being tracked thanks to a satellite tag.

In the case of Wednesday’s Egyptian Vulture, the bird was first seen coming in over Buskett and identified as a juvenile from its brownish colour, Birdlife said.

“It was followed by our staff and camp volunteers. After it spent the night in the area, it was again sighted and followed early this morning until it left from the Dingli area. For the second time this month our Raptor Camp proved crucial to ensure the safety of such a highly-prized bird until it left the Maltese Islands.”

BirdLife Malta organises this camp to monitor illegal hunting of wild birds during the period when the peak autumn migration coincides with the hunting season. During this year’s camp, teams of local and international volunteers visit various hunting hotspots around Malta and Gozo to watch over the migration of hundreds of protected species that migrate through the islands at this time of the year.

The Egyptian Vulture’s visit proves once again how important of a resting place Malta is for vulnerable birds. Juvenile birds like this one would have probably hatched in Italy, thanks to huge conservation efforts made there, and protecting it during its first ever migration to Africa is crucial to see this species making a comeback in Europe. Juvenile Egyptian Vultures may spend a few years in Africa before returning as adults to Europe to breed, so protecting these young birds is an investment in their future.

The Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) is classified as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It also happens to be one of the seven species whose epic migratory journey is being followed by BirdLife Europe and Central Asia‘s FlightForSurvival campaign. This bird is Europe’s only long-distance migratory vulture.