In a statement, the federation’s secretary general Lino Farrugia said the same attitude was being adopted by the independent experts on the Ornis Committee, who were complaining about the methodology that was being proposed for the study.

He said this continued to confirm what the FKNK has been saying about the imbalance in the composition of the Ornis Committee.

Mr Farrugia said BirdLife was concerned that the results of the study would show how it has been exaggerating about the number of birds migrating over the Maltese islands.

He said that after verifying the credentials of the French scientist who has been commissioned by the government to draw up the study and confirming the methodology that would be used, the FKNK was committed to making its contribution towards this study.