A police officer records the body of a dead nightjar in the Miżieb wood. Photo: CABS

Volunteers found another “bird cemetery” in the Miżieb woodland, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter said yesterday.

According to CABS, the remains of 10 protected birds – five marsh harriers, a Montagu’s harrier, a honey buzzard, a hoopoe, a nightjar and a cuckoo – were found hidden beneath stones in the eastern part of the area on Thursday.

In a statement, press officer Axel Hirschfeld said the nightjar and cuckoo “definitely” died during this year’s spring hunting season while the others appeared to have been killed and hidden in the autumn.

Police officers seized the carcasses as evidence, CABS said.

It called for a thorough inquiry, noting that the “public had a right to know what is going on in Miżieb, which the FKNK [hunting federation] claims to manage as a hunting reserve for its members”.

When contacted, FKNK chief executive Lino Farrugia said the area was a hunting reserve that had been entrusted to the federation since 1986.

He noted that the federation was not aware of any hunting of protected birds in the area and said he was not sure whether the carcasses had been planted there or were really found on site.

The FKNK trusted that the police would carry out the necessary investigations.

CABS noted that the outcome of investigations into similar finds in 2009 and 2010, when birdwatchers reported finding more than 270 dead protected birds all over Miżieb, were never published.

CABS teams have reported hearing more than 140 shots even after the spring hunting season ended on Wednesday, mostly in Delimara and Gozo.

“One hunter was apprehended by the police close to Tas-Santi where he was spotted by CABS on Thursday morning.

“When the man realised that he was being observed he locked his shotgun in a hide and ran away. He was later identified by police officers who also found and seized the weapon.

“On the same day, a CABS team in Gozo found a massive illegal quail trapping site on the Ta’ Ċenċ plateau, which is designated a Natura 2000 site and forms part of the European network of special areas of conservation.

“The bird guards called the police who confiscated four illegal nets covering an area of about 80 square metres as well as four live quails used as decoys,” CABS said.