Ornithologist Fiona Hazelton, 30, spends much of her life looking at birds in the sky, but this week she has flown off on an adventure of her own.

Fiona, from Vange, in Essex, headed for Malta on a mission with more than a whiff of combat about it. Her week here involved passion, conflict and some physical danger, experiences not normally associated with bird watching on the Essex marshes.

The very name Malta, however, is enough to make any birdwatcher’s blood bubble like a vat of hot chicken soup, the British media said. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has called the Maltese “the villains of Europe as far as bird protection is concerned”.

Britons have previously had a soft spot for Malta, thanks to its heroic war record. But it has become bird black spot number one. Ornithologists recognise it as murder capital for their feathered friends.

Birds of every description are indiscriminately blasted out of the sky, says the British media, whether game birds or rare and cherished species like ospreys – creatures British conservationists have laboured long and hard down the decades to preserve from extinction.

“It is a complete tragedy,” says Fiona. “For anyone concerned about conservation of species, it is a very big issue. Hunters have got away with carnage for too long and it shouldn’t be allowed.

“That’s why I’m devoting my holiday to trying to do something about it. There is a chance to make a significant contribution to wildlife conservation. I wouldn’t dream of going to Malta just on an ordinary holiday, until the Maltese government starts to obey European law and cracks down on bird hunters.”

Where ordinary holidaymakers see sunny beaches and azure seas, Fiona sees a massacre zone.

Malta’s location has made it a sanctuary for human seafarers since time immemorial and for the same reason it is a major stopping-off place on European migration routes. Tired birds make easy targets.

The country has 12,000 registered hunters and 4,500 registered trappers, in a total population of 400,000.

This proportion is six times higher than in any other European country. The hunters have become something of a law unto themselves. “They don’t get around EC law, they simply ignore it,” Fiona says. “They hunt down birds with total ruthlessness and a complete contempt for any rules.”

More than 100 different species of migrating bird land on Malta, imagining it to be a haven. “It is a critical feeding and resting stopover for European migrations,” Fiona says. “Tragically, every bird that lands or passes over is fair game as far as the huntsmen are concerned. They keep looking for new ways to kill. Lately they’ve taken to hiring boats to shoot birds over the sea before they even reach the island.”

The huntsmen make no distinction between protected species and commonplace ones, says Fiona. “They kill kestrels, honey buzzards, owls, marsh harriers, even eagles,” she says. Unlike any other European hunters, who all respect the breeding cycle, the Maltese guns and trappers have no compunction about killing wholesale during the spring breeding season.