Hunters reportedly shot birds stranded by a Malta storm

A thunderstorm lasting several days over the Mediterranean struck Malta and stranded hundreds of passing migratory birds on 14 September 2026. Hunters then shot hundreds of them, including protected species, according to evidence gathered by the conservation group BirdLife Malta.

Malta lies on the Central European–Mediterranean flyway, which millions of migratory birds use every year to travel from their breeding grounds in Europe to spend the winter in Africa. Strong weather can interrupt those journeys and cause a bird fall, when hundreds of birds seek shelter on land. “This can result in unusually large concentrations of exhausted migratory birds in particular locations,” said Antonia Micallef, public engagement executive at BirdLife Malta, which makes the birds much easier to find and target. Malta has the highest density of hunters in Europe, with more than 10,000 active at any one time, she said.

BirdLife Malta says hunters shot more than 500 European turtle doves, a threatened species whose numbers have fallen sharply, after the storm. Malta allows a quota of 500 turtle doves in autumn, and Micallef said that number was reached soon after the storm, so the season was closed on 14 September. Even so, she said, BirdLife Malta documented continued hunting of turtle doves in the hours and days that followed. Volunteers also reported hunters shooting at a flock of more than 150 little egrets, with two confirmed dead.