A hunter was fined €1,000 and had his licence suspended for two years after he was found in possession of two protected birds, including one caught during the last spring hunting season.

The discovery was made after a report was lodged against Andrew Bugeja for possession of a protected short-toed eagle.

When the police searched his home in March 2014 they found the mounted eagle, which had been stuffed.

They also found the carcass of a common cuckoo in a freezer.

When he appeared before Magistrate Anthony Vella last Thursday, Mr Bugeja admitted that the cuckoo had been shot during last year’s spring hunting season. The court decision comes ahead of Saturday’s referendum, which will decide whether spring hunting in Malta will be stopped.

The season usually only allows the targeting of turtle doves and quail but environmentalists have consistently argued the season is used as a cover for shooting protected birds that migrate over the islands on their way to their breeding grounds.

Law enforcement officials told this newspaper it was suspected the eagle was targeted in October 2013.

At this time an unusually large flock of protected eagles was decimated by hunters as they flew over the islands in search of places to roost. It was reported then that 53 short-toed eagles, 10 booted eagles and three lesser-spotted eagles as well as several ospreys were among the flock.

The shooting started in Gozo and ended in the Buskett area, where the surviving birds had landed for the night.