A birdwatcher’s car had its windscreen badly cracked and two tyres slit this morning in Gharghur, and an observation post was covered with body parts from at least two cats, BirdLife said in a statement this afternoon.

The attack on the car happened at around 6 a.m.

BirdLife Malta’s Conservation Manager Dr. André Raine said two individuals also hurled abuse at a birdwatching team earlier in the morning.

BirdLife said that last Friday another Spring Watch Team that went to its observation tower in Nadur (Malta) found pieces of wood hidden in the grass with long nails sticking out of them.

“Various teams have been subjected to verbal abuse at different locations since the beginning of the Spring Watch Camp. One of the teams at Delimara in the afternoon on Monday, April 14 was surrounded by aggressive individuals and ordered to leave the area, although the team was on public land.

“A team posted at Fomm ir-Rih in the morning on Sunday, April 20 was approached by a group of individuals who had previously been observed hiding a shotgun in the foliage. These individuals blocked the road with a pickup truck so that the Spring Watch Camp participants could not leave the area and demanded to see the video footage taken by the Team Leader. One of the Maltese volunteers on the team spoke to them to diffuse the situation and on informing them that the Police were on their way, these individuals left the area” the society said.

BirdLife said it was appealing to the government to take all necessary measures to handle the situation in the countryside.