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  Gozo is famous for bird watching but the islands are closed for people that don't live on the island because of the Covid-19 We left my apartment and we drove north towards the eBird hotspot: Cirkewwa and we make stops on the way to look for birds. And I was a little disappointed, not much birds. Well, there were millions of birds, but just the Spanish Sparrow.  Popeye Village
 Popeye Village
 Popeye Village
I had never been on Malta before but it looked like I had imagine it. I enjoyed the view from the back seat. Suddenly I told the driver to stop. What the  is that village? My Driver told me it was the Popeye Village that they built for a movie.
There was of course many Spanish Sparrows as there are all over Malta. The only bird I have seen on Malta since I arrived. And of course, Barn Swallows.   Spanish Sparrow nesting in a wall
 Spanish Sparrow nesting in a wall
We continued north and we passed the Ghadira Nature Reserve. Closed due to the Covid-19 but we decided to try to drive around the Nature Reserve to have a look for birds. There was only one hole in the vegetation where we could see the pond from. But I could only see two Little Egrets. A little further up the dirt track and I asked my driver to stop, there were two Moorhens and I managed to get a picture of one of the Moorhens.   Yellow Wagtail
 Spanish Sparrow or Willow Sparrow
 Today's track at Ghadira NR
We reach the northern part of the main island and we start on the Marfa Peninsula / Marfa Ridge. We drive up and down the ridge and at the water front to look for waders and sea birds, well, pretty much nothing. Of course Spanish Sparrows everywhere. We drove around on the Marfa Ridge and we spotted Marsh Harriers and several Common Kestrels. Otherwise not many birds, well, I think it is too cold and windy for the birds to come out.   Common Kestrel, European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, Falco tinnunculus, Tornfalk
 Common Kestrel, European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, Falco tinnunculus, Tornfalk
 Common Kestrel, European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, Falco tinnunculus, Tornfalk
 We can see a church on Gozo
 We can see some other buildings on Gozo
We go to have a look at the ferry terminal that is an eBird hotspot: called Cirkewwa. There was nothing to see and it was very windy and cold. We stopped to buy a grilled sandwich before we left the ferry terminal. We left for the eBird hotspot: Qammieh and it started to hail and we had very strong winds in the gust. It was so strong so I was afraid that we would blow of the cliffs. We left the eBird hotspot: Qammieh beginning to drive south on the east side of the island. We pass the Simar Nature Reserve but the Nature Reserve is closed until 12 April because of the virus. We tried to drive around the reserve but no way to see anything behind the fence and bushes. We gave up and we continued south.  Feral pigeon male courting a female
 Mallard suffering from cross breeding
 Mallard suffering from cross breeding
 Mallard suffering from cross breeding
 Mallard suffering from cross breeding
We continue south and we pass Is-Salina Nature Reserve, also closed because the epidemic. But we park outside and we enter the Is-Salina Nature Reserve. I see plenty gulls in one of the ponds but not so easy to ID as they are far away. I spotted a few wagtails as well. It was darn cold and I decided to come back dressed for the occasion. We talked with a man that I thought was a bird watcher. He looked out over the salt pans with a binocular. Turned out that he was a security guard and we talked birds with him before we left. Had been a terrible weather today, I was really freezing but the next two days will be beautiful according to the forecast and this is something I really look forward to.  Is-Salina Nature Reserve
 Is-Salina Nature Reserve
 Is-Salina Nature Reserve
 Is-Salina Nature Reserve
 Is-Salina Nature Reserve
 Today's track at Is-Salina Nature Reserve
8 hours had passed very quickly and I aske dmy driver to take me back to my room. I was very happy with the driver and I asked him to come and pick me up at 7 o'clock in the morning. When we left my room this morning the driver went on and on, there was nothing stopping him from talking non-flippin'-stop.  - SHUT UP!
Well, I was never saying anything, but I was about to threw myself out of the car in hope to be hit by a bus. Luckily enough my driver stopped to “blabble” on and on about nothing.  I suspect  that it is because he are used to tourists and he is pointing out everything they pass.
I was in the back seat concentrating on NOT TO LISTEN. After a few hours he understood that I did not give a sh#t and it went to normal converstaion (When we had something to say) And suddenly I was really enjoying the tour and my driver was soon learning to find birds and we had very fun. So I am really looking forward to our trip tomorrow. Click HERE to find out if we find any birds. 
    
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To www.aladdin.st since December 2005
Visitors from different countries since 26th of September 2011
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