As the bird spectacle over Buskett unfolded on Sunday, Paul Portelli was shooting pictures as he has done for the past 30 years.

And, like most weekends, he was accompanied by his eight-year-old son, who is an avid birdwatcher.

But the serene scene was soon shattered when a group of around 30 angry hunters that broke off from a larger crowd came rushing in his direction.

“It lasted seconds but it was mayhem and very scary,” Mr Portelli recounted.

The hunters had been at an unruly protest in Valletta to demonstrate against the government’s decision to temporarily close the autumn season.

Earlier on Sunday, protesting hunters had marched down Valletta’s Republic Street with an imitation shotgun. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

After the protest, some decided to head towards Buskett where birdwatchers had a field day observing a range of protected migratory birds.

Mr Portelli grabbed his son’s hand and told him to run when rocks, some the size of a football, started raining down on them.

“I tried to shield my son as best I could and ran.

“Birdwatchers were shouting that there were children present but the hunters saw my son and continued with their actions,” Mr Portelli said.

The area where the birdwatchers stood was a secluded spot, not easy to reach on the Girgenti side of Buskett.

Part of the area is stepped and the hunters stood on higher ground as they pelted the birdwatchers below.

“This was attempted murder in my view because some of the stones were so large they would have caused severe injury had they hit someone,” Mr Portelli said.

The incident was shocking but it will not deter Mr Portelli or his son from going back to Buskett to observe and take photographs of birds.

“Over the past few years this place has been relatively safe for birdwatchers and we will return here,” he says, hoping the serenity of the woodland will not be shattered again by violent hunters.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com