Valletta’s designated important bird area is this year housing the largest number of White Wagtails to date.

Birdlife said that a survey it carried out recorded 7,761 White Wagtails this year compared to 5,433 the year before.

Great Siege Square and the area around St John’s CoCathedral were designated an important bird area for its winter roost of White Wagtails.

White Wagtails are winter visitors to the Maltese islands and can be easily recognised by their white and black plumage and constantly wagging tail.

The wagtails roost at night in the trees in Great Siege Square in Valletta as the trees are large enough to provide the protection, shelter and warmth they need.

During the day, these birds fly to areas throughout Malta to feed in urban and rural habitats.

‘It is great to see these birds doing so well, with a 42.8 percent increase on last year’s total,’ said Denis Cachia, BirdLife Malta council member, who coordinated the count.

‘BirdLife Malta has been carrying out roost counts at this site since 1986 and the general trend of the wintering population appears to be a steady increase.’

Ringing recoveries from the BirdLife Malta ringing scheme have shown that these birds come from at least five European countries, namely the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Denmark and Sweden.

Birdlife said that the winter roost of White Wagtails was an annual spectacle, with the majority of birds arriving in November and leaving in March.

It was not clear why their numbers were increasing, but the main reason could be a change of habitat in other places in Malta or abroad, a spokesman said.

For the public to fully appreciate the wagtails coming in to roost, they have to be in Great Siege Square just before sunset and watch the birds as they flocked into the trees.