Last week we witnessed a mass migration of Painted Lady butterflies in Cyprus. This species of butterfly (Vanessa cardui) is one of the most known migratory butterfly species in Europe. The butterflies were coming from Israel in large numbers and flying north-west out to sea towards Turkey and Greece.

Have you been out birdwatching in Cyprus during 2018? Make your birdwatching count and ensure that your sightings are included in the country database by sending all your sightings to the Recorder.

Joe Sultana, one of the great personalities of the BirdLife partnership and one of the most effective and passionate defenders of birds and the environment of his beloved Malta, passed away in early September, at the age of 78.

Monday mornings are supposed to make us feel nostalgic for the weekends that have passed. On the morning of September 17^th, as I made the left turn towards Strakka, nostalgia was definitely in the air. Not for the weekend that has passed, but for the years that I had served as BirdLife Cyprus’s Natura 2000 Officer in the past.

The LIFE Oroklini project has been awarded as ‘Best LIFE project’ together with 27 other conservation projects funded by the EU. This award rewards the effort for the restoration of Oroklini Lake and also highlights the importance of protecting important areas for wildlife as well as the importance of funding programs such as LIFE.

On 18 March 2018, we held our Annual General Meeting for 2018 which took place at the Akrotiri Environmental Education Centre.