Birdwatchers from eight countries joined Birdlife Malta's Spring Watch camp that started yesterday. It aims to monitor migratory patterns and report illegal hunting and trapping to police.

Fifty-eight international ornithologists and volunteers joined the second Spring Watch camp that will run until April 26.

Malta is on one of the three main migratory flyways used by birds to travel between their African wintering grounds and European breeding grounds.

Last month, the government said it would not open the spring hunting season for the second consecutive year pending the decision by the European Court of Justice.

Legal action against Malta over the spring hunting issue was started last year following a series of EU warnings over the hunting of quails and turtle doves.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.