As part of the EU-funded Habitrack Project, BirdLife Malta successfully tracked a full migration cycle of a European Turtle-dove (Streptopelia turtur) named “May”. The bird was tagged in April 2024 at the Comino ringing station, using a lightweight, solar-powered tracking device.

Data revealed that May migrated from her breeding grounds in Sicily, passing through Libya and across the Sahara Desert to Mali, where she spent the winter after covering more than 3,300 km. In spring 2025, she returned again via Libya in a challenging journey that included a failed attempt to cross the Mediterranean due to storms, before finally succeeding in reaching Sicily and settling back at her previous nesting site.

These findings highlight the crucial role of Libyan territory as an important corridor for migratory birds, while also revealing the significant natural and human-induced challenges these species face. They further underline the urgent need to strengthen conservation efforts, particularly given the continuation of unsustainable hunting practices that pose a direct threat to birds during migration.

Photos: BirdLife Malta.