The planning authority yesterday rebutted a claim by BirdLife Malta that the study it had commissioned on turtle dove and quail migration in spring was “last minute”.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority said the study has been under discussion since last year, including at the Ornis Committee where BirdLife was a member.

Mepa said the 2012 study was actually a continuation of an independent bird migration study it had done in spring of last year, following the same methodology.

The team of scientists and independent ornithologists who will be conducting the study hope to gather ornithological data that will allow the influx of turtle doves and quails, during the spring migratory period in Malta, to be assessed.

The authority said Birdlife had been invited to participate and Mepa would welcome its contribution to the study to ensure “the best possible results”.

In its statement earlier on, BirdLife had said the invitation came as a surprise to the organisation, which was invited to take part at the last minute without any prior consultation and without being provided any justification for the commissioning of the study on the eve of possibly another spring hunting season in April.

It distanced itself from the proposed study and expressed concern that such “rushed and flawed studies” were only being commissioned to fulfil reporting requirements to the European Commission for spring hunting derogations, rather than evaluating Malta’s strategic importance for the migration of European birds.