A pair of night herons bred successfully at Burmarrad this year, raising three chicks for the first time on the island after eggs failed to hatch last year.

Ornithologist Natalino Fenech said a healthy colony of about 20 cattle egrets (agrett tal-bhejjem) and 10 little egrets (agrett abjad), as well as the pair of night herons (kwakk) were breeding successfully in the wild on top of the Bird Park’s aviary.

The night herons used one of the same nests they built last year in a tree inside the park. The adult birds can often be seen flying to the Salina saltpans, bringing fish for their young.

The cattle egrets, which started breeding in 2009 after a number of birds escaped from the park, have also established themselves well and some have already fledged.

Cattle egrets used to be very rare and irregular migrants, mostly seen from March to May, in August and from October to January, Dr Fenech said. 

This bird was originally native to parts of Asia, Africa and Europe but it is one of very few to experience a rapid expansion in its distribution and has successfully established colonies in much of the rest of the world.

“Up to the early 1900s, egrets were heavily hunted around Europe, as their feathers were avidly sought after because trade in feathers was rife at the time,” Dr Fenech said.

Until quite recently, these species were regularly gunned down in Malta, either to be stuffed for collections or just for fun. “The Salina area was one of the areas notorious for their killing but, over the past few years, hunters have stopped shooting them and they are seeing the result of their actions, as the birds are breeding and increasing year after year,” Dr Fenech said.

He appealed to hunters to keep following directives issued by their associations not to shoot at any protected bird and to report any illegal hunting.

He said the park played a very important role, and without it there would be no breeding egrets.