After an absence of almost 100 years, a pair of Grey Wagtails successfully bred and raised two chicks in Malta this year, BirdLife Malta reported yesterday. The conservation organisation also released photos that show the nest and one of the juvenile birds.

“What is particularly interesting about this breeding record is that this is a species that normally breeds near fast-flowing streams, waterfalls and lakes,” BirdLife Malta Conservation Manager Dr Andre Raine observed.

“This pair, however, located the closest thing in Malta to its natural habitat and chose a water outflow pipe near a building as its nesting site. It demonstrates how adaptable birds can be when they feel the urge to breed, particularly if they are not disturbed.”

Early ornithologists from the late 1800s and early 1900s, such as Antonio Schembri and Charles A. Wright, both suggested that the species bred in Malta.

The last Maltese breeding record came from the ornithologist Giuseppe Despott in 1916, when he wrote in a paper entitled “The breeding birds of Malta” that “a few individuals often pass the winter with us; these generally remain to breed”.

The recent breeding pair of Grey Wagtails was observed by BirdLife Malta fieldworkers carrying out courtship displays at the same site over a period of several weeks. The fieldworkers later located and photographed the nest site, and observed the pair feeding the newly fledged young birds.

BirdLife Malta stated that it would soon be releasing a report on this year’s breeding bird records. The report will compare this year’s records with those published in the Malta Breeding Bird Atlas 2008, which was the first atlas for Malta and published by BirdLife Malta earlier this year.