Feeding the birds

Malta unfortunately has a bad reputation about bird hunting and bird trapping. There is a brief hunting season in April and another one in October, when the birds are migrating from Africa to Europe and vice-versa, but the European Union regulations have minimized the opportunity for bird hunting. As a result, we are having many more birds stopping over in Malta, like flamingoes, swans and other unusual birds that normally do not even think of slowing down on Malta. Good for them, because there are always hunters ready with their shotguns to kill whatever flutters and moves. Understandably, many anti-hunting groups do protests against the cruelty of animals and birds. And respect for birds has increased over the last few years, but nevertheless, you’ll always find some hunter who shows no respect. Even more, turtles have been nesting on Maltese shores, three of them this past summer, each with close to 80 babies hatching and head to the sea, waddling away as their instinct tells them to do. Well, as I continue my flashbacks browsing through my collection,  I took this photo you see today near a lake where someone was feeding these bunch of sparrows. They were so friendly, since there were no shotguns aimed at them, that they would come and eat from your hand, literally, as you can see. May we always respect nature in all its forms, and admire all animals, except for mosquitoes, especially those that buzz annoyingly by your ears at 2 in the morning.