The police have found several protected birds in a freezer at a house in Tarxien.

Officers from the Administrative Law Enforcement (ALE) unit first inspected a field in the limits of Marsaxlokk, in an area known as il-Ballut, after reports of illegal hunting.

Two men, 31 and 65, were on site. The officers did not find anything untoward during the first search.

However, during a search at their Tarxien home, the officers discovered a number of dead protected birds in a freezer. These included a Greater Cormorant, two Hobbies, a Kingfisher, a Sparrow Hawk and a Squacco Heron.

The birds were handed over to the Wild Birds Regulation Unit. Police investigations are ongoing.