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Malta has been a wonderful and most sought after tourist destination from the very beginning. The beautiful city of Malta has been gaining a lot of popularity for its well maintained beaches, the Grand Harbor, The old town, The Island named Gozo and Comino is yet another destination for various wet adventures. Though reaching Malta is easy as flights to Malta are almost on a regular basis, being a popular tourist destination you must plan your trip in advance. BirdLife Malta, as the name suggests, creates a natural habitat for birds from a number of remote areas of Europe.

The significant boost given by the neighboring beach turned out to be the driving force of the Ghadira Nature Reserve located at Mellieha. The nature reserve is definitely contributing immensely towards maintaining the ecological balance of the region. It consists of two kinds of habitats that are quite rare around Malta, saltmarsh and wetland.

The region around the nature reserve was proclaimed as a bird sanctuary in 1978 after the BirdLife Malta provided scientific information to the state government proving the ornithological significance of the wetland. The work of the volunteers here continues in making sure that this region remains a haven for the rare birds that constantly visit Malta. Ghadira is a home to a number of animals and plants as well.

Because of the constant efforts and dedication of the management Ghadira offers a stunning fusion of biodiversity and beauty. Today the region consists of some of the endangered species and given special protection from the European Union.

Trapping and hunting of birds around 500m of the region is prohibited and this has been in effect since the past 30 years. Ghadira is often found surrounded by Tamarisk scrub and reedbeds. The wetlands attract various waders such as Ringed Plover and Little Ringed Plover. Some of the others include Common Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint Sandpiper, and Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper and Common Redshank and Ruff.

Apart from birds you will also encounter some reptiles such as Mediterranean Chameleon, Ocellated Skink Chalcides ocellatus, the Maltese Wall Lizard called Podarcis filfolensis and the Western Whip Snake named Coluber viridiflavus. You may also encounter some of the more rare species including crakes, gulls, terns, herons and waterfowl. Breeding species, which are again a rare sight, include Corn Bunting and Zitting Cisticola. In the year 2002 a Greenish Warbler was ringed in Malta for the first time. Ghadira Nature Reserve is open on Saturdays and Sundays from November to May and the timings are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can get any public transport from Valletta.