Five young birdwatchers defied Sunday’s bad weather to complete a never-before-attempted-in-Malta challenge: to spot more than 50 bird species in a single day.
The determined twitchers from Birdlife Malta’s youth group, Falko, raced against the clock for nearly 12 hours to reach their goal.
Martin Austad, Anne-Marie Austad, Nicholas Galea, Timothy Micallef and Francesca Bajada, who are aged between 18 and 21, began their mission at 6.45am at Foresta 2000.
At their next stop in Għadira, they were caught in a prolonged downpour that put the mission in jeopardy as many birds refuse to fly in heavy rain.
“We actually thought about cancelling it at one point because the conditions were so bad, but luckily they improved,” said Mr Austad.
Their determination paid off and they were rewarded with some memorable sightings, including a rare yellow-browed warbler at Simar.
Fittingly, the 50th and final species they recorded at Buskett was a peregrine falcon, which is the bird that features in the group’s logo.
The challenge of seeing as many species as possible during a fixed timeframe is known as a Bird Race, and it is popular with birdwatchers overseas.
Not all birds have to be photographed but they must be seen or heard by at least three team members before they can be counted.
“You have to work together; teamwork is a big element of a Bird Race,” Mr Austad explained.
The Big Year, a 2011 Hollywood comedy starring Owen Wilson and Jack Black, poked fun at how competitive such challenges can be abroad.
Mr Austad said Falko planned to organise another Bird Race in April during the spring migration season, and he hoped that other teams would enter to make it a competition.
“We are looking forward to it. It should be possible to see up to 80 species in a single day in April,” he said confidently.
Falko hoped that this approach to birdwatching would inspire other young people to take an interest in nature.
Around 400 bird species have been recorded across the Maltese Islands. The majority are seen only in spring and autumn when they stop on their migratory journeys between continental Europe and Africa.
Birdlife communications officer Rupert Masefield said most people, if they were not birdwatchers, would be lucky to see 50 different species in Malta in a whole year.