A Moorhen (Gallozz iswed) nest in a pond created by hunters for duck hunting has yielded an unusually large clutch of eggs.

Ornithologist Natalino Fenech said he was contacted by a hunter to go and see a nest that was found in the artificial pond in the north of Malta, where on 14 May, four eggs were found in the nest. By 20 May the number of eggs had swelled to 10, when Moorhens normally lay up to eight eggs.

“Working back we estimated that the first egg had been laid on 11 May and as brooding takes around 20 days and when the last egg was laid, the first one was half way into hatching. Yesterday the last chick hatched successfully and left the nest,” Dr Fenech said.

Moorhens can be hunted from September to the end of January, but many hunters no longer shoot them.

"This is the second consecutive year that that these Moorhens are breeding in the same pond and I am aware of some areas in the south where Moorhens are also breeding this year," Dr Fenech said.

“This year was very dry and moorhens have little natural habitat where they can breed. A few pairs breed at Ghadira and Simar Reserves and at the Bird Park in Burmarrad. But there are few valleys where they are breeding and artificial ponds created by hunters can be a good place for them to breed,” he said.