NOTE ON THE MIGRATION OF THE SHORT-TOED EAGLE CIRCAETUS GALLICUS (GMELIN, 1788) OVER THE MALTESE ISLANDS, CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN

Regular monitoring of raptor autumn migration by Birdlife Malta has been ongoing since the early 1970s mainly at Buskett, a small woodland on the central-western side of Malta and to a lesser extent from Nadur Tower, Dwejra, Malta. While species such as Honey Buzzards Pernis apivorus and Marsh Harriers Circus aeruginosus have been subject to a small number of local studies various other raptor species have not been covered. This note aims at highlighting the autumn migration period over open water in the central Mediterranean, the age of birds involved in these movements and the recent sightings of concentrations of migrating Short-toed Eagles over the Maltese Islands.