Autumn Report 2023

by Jos Koopman, Thomas Los & Fernando Gross

August

The 15th BRC Autumn count commenced the 12th of August with a team of 8 counters and coordinators, five of whom would stay until the very end of the season. Most of the volunteers were new recruits to the Batumi Raptor Count, and some made sure to get there with just enough time to acclimatise, by birding around in the rather overcast and rainy days prior to the count. The guesthouses in Sakhalvasho and Shuamta would host a total of 53 counters from 15 different countries throughout yet another season of world-class raptor migration.

And thus, we got to the highly anticipated early morning of the 12th. A quick typical porridge-based breakfast and our volunteers were excitedly headed to the stations, hiking uphill in the daily race against sunrise to officially inaugurate the count.

Raptors don’t show up in high numbers on the early days of the season — let alone in sufficient numbers to fill a 12-hour session with birds — and the expectations were wisely low. But nothing could’ve prepared us for the record that we were bound to set: for the first time in BRC history, the shocking number of 0 protocol count species were seen, despite the constant gaze on that rare empty-skied Batumi. On a positive note: we were definitely on time for the birds, and – prematurely – started raising suspicions for another autumn of delayed migration as experienced last year. However, some other flying birds kept us fairly entertained! Common Swift migration going on all day, together with some Tree Pipit action, singing Green Warblers and Red Backed Shrikes hanging around. Station 1 had a Hobby bulleting past as their feathered highlight. Also worth mentioning a Minnie Mouse balloon that made the team skip a heartbeat and audibly curse towards the late afternoon.

But the long-awaited raptors soon arrived! On the 13th, a Booted Eagle flapped away with the honour to be the first protocol species to fly across the transect line, followed by the first bunch of Honey Buzzards, Marsh Harriers and elegant MonPals (ringtail Harriers). The first four Rollers of the season were called out from Shuamta, flashing their blue in between the stations. A real cherry to enjoy, while we were sheltered from the heavy August sun, and a warming up for the many more to come! Protagonists of the early season were Station 2’s sunbathing Caucasian Vipers — an endemic species that provided some absorbing views in the warm afternoons.

On the 15th, while sipping the first coffee from the cafe in a cow-invaded Station 2, a Lesser Spotted Eagle flew in our close west. Together with a couple White-tailed Eagles, this one wrapped the day with one of the first big raptors of the season. We were getting hyped!

Migration kept building up in the following days, with a slow but steady increase in the numbers of early migrants. Small kettles of Honey Buzzards soared in the warm air as the dominant species. Scopes aimed high and low catching the scattered Marsh and Montagu’s Harriers sneaking by. Loose Ospreys and Rollers were called out with great excitement, and migrant passerines fluttered around the Stations. Whinchats, Orioles, Short-toed Larks, Ortolans, Yellow Wagtails and loads of Bee-Eaters photobombed our scope view, together with Hobbies and groups of Levant Sparrowhawks. On the 19th, the four digit milestone was finally and comfortably surpassed! The clickers were needed for the first time this season to count the up to five thousand Honey Buzzards that made their way through the clear afternoon sky. Station 2 got away with the best views, with — what then already felt like —seemingly endless streams flying overhead. The Black Kite presence was getting more significant day by day, as were the Rollers and the MonPals. On the 24th, a juvenile Goshawk made a flash visit to Station 1’s close west – an absolute (non-protocol) stunner, as a rather scarce species in the bottleneck. The passage of both White and Black Stork had been entertaining the previous days as well and our team was already starting to experience intense migration. Even the trips to the Chorokhi Delta were getting scary! Not many counters dared to risk missing out on great birds seen from the stations… Oh boy oh boy! We couldn’t wait for the big days!

The scorching heat of August continued as expected, with scattered rain and some misty mornings. Despite occasionally inconvenient weather, the raptors kept pushing forth and delivered a row of days of similar intensity, with numbers fluctuating but sticking to the four digits. The Honey Buzzard protocol (according to which in principle only Station 1 counts all the Honeys while Station 2 identifies the ‘specials’ from the streams) started on the 21st. Due to the lack of clouds in the mountains, being assigned to Station 1 as usually meant taking turns to sit on the green chairs, glueing the clicker to your hand and counting literal clouds of Honey Buzzards in the far East (much closer to Station 2!). Meanwhile, the team in Shuamta relaxedly picked out Booted Eagles, Black Kites and Harriers, looked for Crested Honey Buzzards, all the while enjoying coffee and Kachapuri and witnessing the huge streams right overhead. The weather conditions remained stable throughout the following days, and so did the numbers and composition of birds: beautiful passage of harriers early in the morning, the first Honeys spiraling up from the roosts, and a steady intensity until the afternoon explosion. Many counters chose to stay up on Station after the end of the count, entering all those – otherwise unnoticed – Montagu’s and Marsh Harriers, as the sky turned a darker blue, the air cooled down and the Black Sea shimmered at sunset. No shots, no tourists, no overlapping conversations. Just silence, loose flocks and streams of raptors and golden light. And maybe a beer or two as well to wrap up the day.

September was getting closer, and even though each day was super enjoyable and different, the birds refused to go over the four digits. The team was working well, and the thousands that were overwhelming at first were already manageable, although never fully predictable. We were waiting for a big outburst, the big day, an escalation that should peak somewhere around the first days of September darkening the sky. That’s the beauty of migration! The anticipation, the excitement and the somehow expected surprise. When will the storm finally happen? You can guess, assume, bet even. Look at weather forecasts, wind models. But will the birds come this year? What if they change their route and leave us hanging? Nah, they won’t. But can you really be sure?

All these thoughts rumbled in the back of our heads while, almost without noticing, the first 10,000 was surpassed on the 26th. Migration was definitely building up and the following days didn’t disappoint: 21k, 34k…! Clickers were on fire, and the coordination to effectively count such a mess of flying dots at all distances and heights started to get challenging. Identification was smooth sailing in adequate light conditions, but could turn into a difficult task with birds flying against the clouds or ‘gloopsing’ (= when birds are disappearing into the clouds) .

One of the biggest highlights of the season flew over Station 2 on the 30th. While our counters at Shuamta were busy counting harriers overhead, their sharp gaze detected something odd. A slender, pitch-black figure flapping against the pale sky stood out among the rest of MonPals. A dark morph Montagu’s! This is an extremely rare sighting in the bottleneck, with just a few previous records. A presumed 2cy that got many of the lucky ones at Shuamta freaking out, and automatically bound to be among the top cherries of the season.

September

With the start of September the anticipation of the expected big day got higher and higher. And already the second day of the month started very promising. After a slow morning, the streams of Honey Buzzards were growing and growing. At the end of a very busy afternoon we counted a combined total of more than 55k Honey Buzzards! The presumably bad weather conditions in the north made that the numbers of the days after were a bit lower, but counting continued to be quite enjoyable. We counted some nice numbers of MonPals and we had a good day of Turtle Dove migration on the 4th. We also got to see our first Egyptian Vulture and an inland Skua species on Station 2.

After these somewhat calmer days, the pace picked up again on the afternoon of the 5th, when we counted 41k HB’s in total. And then finally… on the 6th the day came that we had all been waiting for so long. The anticipated Big Day that brought many counters to Batumi. The morning already started crazy, with Station 1 having to take over the west of Station 2 due to a hectic – but extremely satisfying – ungloopsing of streams with MonPals in between the stations. Later in the morning the Honey Buzzard madness started. Streams were everywhere around the stations. In total we counted 110k birds in one day. As if we weren’t already overwhelmed by the quantity, the quality too was impressive. Among almost 100,000 Honeys, we found 8 Crested Honey Buzzards, 3 Egyptian Vultures, 964 Montagu’s and Pallid harriers and a dark morph Marsh Harrier. The total of Honey Buzzards ended on 96.782, making it to the 6th place in the ranking of all the Batumi-days since 2008.

The days after were, as expected after a big day, a bit slower. We had one of our best days for Turtle Doves on Sakhalvasho (489 individuals) and also counted quite some Oriental Turtle Doves in between these groups – six in total this season. On the 9th of September was, again, a good day. It started already promising with very close harriers as well as European Rollers foraging around the station like swallows. Despite the strong headwind and the increase of heavy rain, birds kept flying. Normally, we pause the count on Station 2 for periods with too heavy showers and bad views, but the birds just didn’t give us the opportunity for that. And it was worth it to stay on station. Through the rain, we still counted a few thousand birds and combined with the other station we broke our all-time Osprey day record with an astonishing 30 individuals. Because of the weather conditions, the birds were flying low and close to the station which made it tough but very much worth it to stay put in the rain. Simultaneously, Station 1 didn’t disappoint either. On the coastline there was the typical unstoppable stream of Black Kites. In a few hours we counted a total of 12k birds. As usual these streams consist of pure Black Kites, although it's always important to keep scanning them for other cherries like a completely leucistic Black Kite which was in the stream. We picked up the bird far before passing the transect line but lost the bird in white-out caused by the fog. Only some evidence shots remained…

Also the 10th of September was a remarkable day. The weather conditions were finally getting a bit more comfortable and we were treated again with some good migration of Honey Buzzards, European Rollers and Black Kites. The day was completed with some spectacular migration on the ‘Booted Eagle Highway’ along Station 1’s west-side. The combined day total of Booteds ended at a spectacular 677 birds.

While still fully enjoying the harriers, the change to the eagle-period was clearly coming. Although the first Lesser Spotted Eagles already passed a few weeks ago, the numbers of large eagles were now seriously increasing. And, oh my, they were so gorgeous! Even though there were still a lot of birds to count, many of us struggled with the fiery distraction of the first Steppe and Greater Spotted Eagles.

Another highlight was on the 19th when we counted almost 600 Booted Eagles, but the day was made by the Black Kite bomb that now exploded. Especially Station 1 had a spectacular count. Together, we reached a total of 44.591 Black Kites on one day, the best autumn day for this species in Batumi ever!

That same week, the Batumi Bird Festival took place once again. In the evenings we listened to interesting lectures about nature monitoring and conservation in Georgia and around the world, including of course a lecture from BRC. After a short night of sleep, the counters on Station 1 didn’t have a calm day, as the Black Kite migration was picking up again. Station 2 had more time to rest, with the majority of birds flying in the west, but still some good sightings of Egyptian Vultures.

After the spectacular peak days, the first (long-term) counters finally conquered the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and dared — with some pushing of the coordinators — to take a day off. But the power of FOMO was strong and going for a birding trip to the Chorokhi Delta is not without risk… Sometimes counters would choose to only sleep-in a bit, and for good reasons. So also on the 21st of September, only half an hour after the arrival of the ‘late risers’, one of the tourists shouted: PELICAN! A few minutes later a stunning Great White Pelican flew close on the east side of Station 1. And luckily Station 2 was able to pick up the bird too. A beautiful moment with one of the most-wanted Batumi birds we had been wishing for.

Apart from beauties such as these, the streams passing by were really enjoyable and comfortable to count. Also the well-known highway in the west was open again, as we counted one of the best days for Booted Eagle in Sakhalvasho. The day after, the Pelican decided that the south wasn’t what it was looking for and decided to fly again Northward via Sakhalvasho.

The 24th was again a remarkable day, but this time not because of a spectacular raptor or other protocol species on station, but by a wader found in the delta. Some birders found a Three-banded Plover on one of the islands in the river mouth of the Chorokhi river, a bird usually found in East and southern Africa and Madagascar and not known to be strongly migratory. Immediately after the count three taxis with twitchers left to the delta to see this spectacular find. In beautiful sunset light from the back, we saw the bird resting in a group of Common Ringed Plovers. A successful and valuable twitch, as this sighting made the first case of this species in Europe (!!).

The following days were again a bit slower. We enjoyed our first European Cranes of the season, had a great birthday dinner on the birthday of Ruslan (our ex-host and Marshrutka driver) and enjoyed playing some birdsound-guessing games on station. The final day of the month was maybe the best day of September. This day we were also counting non-protocol-species because of the Eurobirdwatch weekend. A few counters even climbed up earlier to catch some migrating songbirds. However, the number of migrating birds was rather disappointing. Only some pipits were flying over and we failed in IDing a skua far away above the Black Sea. Also the protocol-species were not showing up. After a few promising Black Kite streams the sky was empty. But in the afternoon the stream-situation turned around 180°. At Station 1 we suddenly had crazy streams which only consisted of large eagles. We had to put all our effort in IDing as much as possible, but we had to leave a huge part as Large Eagle sp. in our dataset. At the end of the day we counted more than a thousand eagles of which 114 Short-toed Eagles, 476 Lesser Spotted Eagles, 14 Greater Spotted Eagles and 23 Steppe Eagles. 729 Eagles had to be entered as unidentified Eagles. What a day!

October

We kicked off October with a more relaxed day after the eagle-madness of the 30th of September. The morning was still promising with high numbers of eagles and Steppe Buzzards, but in the afternoon migration slowed down. The counters were busy keeping track of all the non-protocol species for the second day of the EuroBirdwatch, but these numbers were not as high as the previous day. We did, however, see another highly anticipated non-raptor in the form of a stunning Pallas’ Gull that could be seen from both stations.

For the next day all the weather forecasts seemed to agree that rain was imminent, and with this in mind the counters went to bed already secretly dreaming about a sleep-in. Nothing could be further from the truth as we woke up to a perfectly dry morning, allowing (and requiring!) us to count. The day was especially enjoyable at Station 2, with a steady stream in the east containing mostly Steppe Buzzards and some eagles. In the late afternoon the predicted rain finally started, only to get even heavier the following day, forcing us to stay at the guesthouses.

The day after the rain turned out to be an enjoyable day with just over 20.000 raptors counted and nice Black Stork and Osprey migration, adding to the high year totals of both species. The 4th of October was also the day we passed the legendary one-million milestone! Both stations took great effort in trying to figure out the exact millionth bird, which turned out to – unsurprisingly – be a Steppe Buzzard.

Although the million was reached, we still expected a big Steppe Buzzard day, and October the 5th was the day this had to happen. Full of excitement we walked up to the stations to be welcomed with a total of 55 Pallid Harriers and numerous Marsh Harriers migrating through the blue morning skies. But… where was the rest? Until 2 PM we counted almost no birds apart from the harriers and an occasional Black Kite Stream. But after that, a steady Steppe Buzzard stream erupted in the east. This stream kept growing and growing only to get crazy after the official count stopped. Just three counters were able to stay, counting an astonishing wave of large eagles totalling up to 119 Short-toed Eagles and 736 large eagles in just 1,5 hours. Among the eagles were numerous beautiful overhead Greater Spotted and Steppe Eagles. The icing on the cake was a stunning Greater Spotted Eagle of the ‘fulvescens’ morph passing through a golden sunset. Batumi really doesn’t get any better than this! On the day after, we were able to witness the continuation of the evening prior, counting just over 600 large eagles among which an impressive 57 Greater Spotted Eagles.

INTERMEZZO

Conservation activities in the Batumi Bottleneck

Education

This year, the BRC published and distributed a new educational booklet on birds in Georgia to over 25 schools in the region. Hereby, we aim to promote bird study in classrooms. The booklet provides teachers with a didactic tool, enabling them to engage students in bird-related activities without requiring advanced knowledge in ornithology. The book includes topics of biology, behavior, and conservation across 60 illustrated pages, finally encouraging ornithological projects. The initiative, funded by the British Bird Charitable Trust (BBCT) and IJsvogelfonds, has been well received! Plans include printing more copies, collaborating with schools, and expanding activities during the Batumi Birdwatching Festival in 2024, demonstrating the project's success and potential impact on conservation in the Batumi bottleneck and beyond.

Tagging Levant Sparrowhawks

In 2021, after introducing young falconers to raptor ringing, we secured funding from the William A. Burnham Memorial Fund of the Peregrine Fund. This enabled us to acquire lightweight GPS/GSM transmitters from sponsor Hunan Global Messenger Ltd. With additional support from the WWF, we initiated a project in Georgia, blending traditional falconry with modern tracking technology to study the migration of the Levant Sparrowhawk. Together with expert tagger Pelle Mellov and the FFI field team we caught and tagged 8 Levant Sparrowhawks. Below you see an overview of the tracks we have obtained so far. Keep an eye on our newsletter, social media, and website for a more detailed overview of results soon!

With the arrival of the last fresh counters we entered the last stretch of the 2023 count, and with numbers of Steppe Buzzards still lower than usual, we looked forward to the last two weeks. On the 7th we counted nothing out of the ordinary, with just over 5000 raptors passing exclusively in the east of Station 2. Rumor has it some counters at Station 1 were caught napping in broad daylight…

The 8th was a hot day marking the start of the war against the invasive stinky bugs, sometimes attacking the station with hundreds at a time. Hard to stay focused during those conditions, especially when there are less than a thousand raptors passing…

The next three days were as cloudy and rainy as it can get, and with an apparent weather blockage up north, the number of raptors passing was close to none. But after rain comes sunshine! The 12th was very enjoyable with new day records for both Wood Pigeon and Stock Dove, strong migration of 71 Greater Spotted Eagles, marking the 4th best day for the species at BRC.

The next days the total numbers were not particularly high, but in typical October fashion they did bring some cherries. A Griffon Vulture, numerous Imperial Eagles and Long-Legged Buzzards kept us entertained while counting the few leftover Steppe Buzzards and Black Kites. On the 15th one of only two Hen Harriers this season was seen from Station 1. But the rarest sighting was a partially leucistic Marsh Harrier. Such an odd sighting! While still expecting some Steppe Buzzards and Imperial Eagles, the last week of the count was nothing short of disappointing. Rain, rain and more rain with some lightning strikes in between made us stay at the guesthouses for most days. It was as if autumn wanted to compensate for the particularly good weather we had in August and September. But the days off in the Chorokhi Delta were far from boring! A group of counters found the first Pied Bushchat for Georgia on the 17th of October, with on the same day also the second Oriental Skylark for the country. The 21st of October marked the end of the 2023 season, finishing yet another Batumi Raptor Count! In total, we ended up counting 1.020.910 raptors! The last bird was a Black Kite that disappeared against the autumn leaves of mount Mtirala, making us all secretly check our schedules for next autumn.

Didi madloba! See you next year!

This year’s count was made possible by:

You! Thanks to hundreds of donors we have reached our €20K fundraising goal for 2023.

Besides donations from private citizens, we’d like to thank the following organizations for their long-term support.

BEHIND THE SCENES