A young greater flamingo will soon be joining another eight at the Għadira Nature Reserve after landing in Ramla Bay to the surprise of bathers.

In what looked like a good weekend for migration of greater flamingos, BirdLife Malta was called to the bay in Gozo on Sunday to recover the bird.

The NGO said the flamingo was "visibly hungry and exhausted", however it did not seem at all bothered by the bathers. 

One of the bathers called BirdLife Malta, and soon after, an Environment and Resources Authority official arrived on site to recover the bird. After being handed over to the Wild Birds Regulation Unit, the flamingo will be examined by the government vet on Monday, and will then probably be released at Għadira nature reserve.

Several flamingos have been spotted in recent weeks over the Maltese islands, as flamingo colonies around Mediterranean lagoons start migrating at the end of their breeding season.

Unfortunately, over the past few years, flamingos have also made headlines for the wrong reasons. 

Last September, a young flamingo was shot in Ħal Far and an adult was found wounded in Marsascala in one day. These two were the 10th and 11th injured protected birds retrieved by Birdlife within a few days. 

Watch: Two flamingos shot in separate incidents

Previously, two hunters were jailed over the shooting of a flamingo at the Salini reserve in 2013, in a case that had raised a public outcry against illegal hunting.

BirdLife Malta will be opening Għadira Nature Reserve this Wednesday between 8am and 11am for people to see the flamingos.