The embassy of the Netherlands will sponsor BirdLife Malta's scientific research work on bird migration over the Maltese islands, the NGO said. The announcement coincided with a visit by Dutch Ambassador Jan Heidsma to the Ghadira nature reserve which is managed by BirdLife. The funds made available to BirdLife by the Dutch Embassy will help the organisation to buy and customise software for local and overseas scientists to analyse past and future bird migration records.
The assistance will also help BirdLife's scientific bird ringing group to modernise their systems to a level enjoyed by other ringing groups throughout the EU.
Mr Heidsma said that proper care of nature and the environment was a form of investment in Malta's future as an attractive destination.
BirdLife representatives showed the ambassador a bird ringing operation at one of the ringing stations at the nature reserve. Scientific bird ringing is a vitally important technique for ornithologists in order to understand bird migration and the origin and destination of migrants, BirdLife said. Birds are caught at strategic points along their migration routes and are individually marked using numbered identification rings that are normally attached to their legs before the birds are released.
As a result of the agreement with the Dutch Embassy, BirdLife will launch a data digitalisation programme, containing details on over 40 years of bird sightings and more than 500,000 records of birds ringed by Maltese ornithologists.
BirdLife Malta executive director Tolga Temuge said the research conducted over the past 40 years indicates that over 380 different species of birds have migrated over Malta.
"While a few of these birds are rare visitors, many are regular, making the sheer extent of migration over the Maltese islands an impressive phenomenon both due to the large number of birds as well as the huge variety of species," he said.
Mr Temuge explained that the Dutch Embassy's support will help BirdLife analyse the data electronically and give both local and European scientists important knowledge that was previously inaccessible.