BRC 2024 T-Shirt
As you know, the start of a new count season also means that we are launching a new annual T-Shirt. For the 16th edition of the Batumi Raptor Count, we’re featuring a new species on our T-Shirts: the Black Kite. Nowadays, we count over 300,000 of them each year, so it is about time this species features prominently on our annual T-Shirt. Thanks to Nicolas Van Overmeeren for providing this year's Black Kite illustration. And thanks to Kite Optics for so fittingly sponsoring the T-Shirts we’re selling in Sakhalvasho. Get them now!
If you visit us in Georgia
When you visit us in Sakhalvasho, you can get the 2024 T-shirt in the following color.
The version of the 2024 T-shirt you can get from us in Sakhalvasho.
Online orders
The following T-shirts can be ordered online. The design is the same, but the colors of the T-shirts are different. The T-shirts are made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!
BRC Flyway Monitoring Traineeship in collaboration with OSME
Over the past decade, migration monitoring has become more and more popular along the East Afro-Eurasian Flyway, with projects (re)starting around the Caucasus region, the Middle East and Central Asia. Simultaneously, we get approached frequently by ambitious people from across the flyway who are interested in learning about the Batumi Raptor Count and bringing knowledge about migratory bird monitoring back home. In the past decade, we have been fortunate to host (aspiring) migration count leaders from around the world, who have gone on to start or reinforce successful bird monitoring initiatives in their home countries. Thanks to a new traineeship programme with a long-time partner, we are now able to further strengthen this kind of capacity building along the flyway.
The BRC Flyway Monitoring Traineeship
in collaboration with OSME
We are happy to announce the start of a new collaboration with OSME, offering traineeship positions to ambitious high potentials from along the flyway who are dedicated to bring learned and experienced monitoring and conservation principles back to their home countries. Funded by OSME, we can host a total of 2 traineeship positions for a period of at least 1 month each every autumn.
2024 Trainees
We are very proud to already welcome the first two trainees!
Alyona Kaptyonkina (left) from Kazakhstan and Mitra Daneshvar (right) from Iran will join us this autumn. Follow us to read more about their experience as the first Flyway Monitoring trainees.
What the traineeship entails
Trainees will join the Batumi Raptor Count for at least a full month and their accommodation and travel costs will be fully reimbursed by OSME’s Youth Development Fund, up to €1300 combined. Given the highly standardised nature of our counts, trainees should primarily expect to be long-term counters as this will naturally expose them to many of the aspects involved in our standardised monitoring: the count protocol, identification training and becoming a part of a team of international volunteers. However, on top of that, trainees will be involved in organisational aspects as well, which concerns using the Trektellen platform, data checking and cleaning, off- and online public outreach, organising evening activities and other social events, communicating with the host families, and interacting with tourists present. As a trainee, you’ll have the option of participating in education activities (e.g. school visits) and other research and conservation activities if these are taking place during your stay. However, in the end the Batumi Raptor Count first and foremost organises raptor counts, so all activities are influenced to a degree by the raptor migration dynamics in the period of participation.
What we expect
We expect highly motivated, ambitious trainees, who are willing and able to put in long hours every day for at minimum a half-season period of a month, either Aug 8th – Sept 17, Aug 31st – Oct 1st or Sept 17th – Oct 24th. Trainees should live in the OSME region. They should have conversational command of the English language, a social and communicative character and preferably some background in identifying Western Palearctic raptor species. Furthermore, trainees should read and meet the expectations for volunteer counters. In addition, participants are expected to provide a written and illustrated report with photos/videos (or other form of expression) of their participation for the website and social media channels of BRC and OSME.
Applying for the traineeship
We are pleased to announce that the trainee positions for 2024 have been filled. We encourage all interested candidates to mark their calendars and apply for the 2025 Batumi Raptor Count traineeship next year. Make sure to follow our social media and subscribe to our newsletter for updates throughout the year.
Female bird(er)s
From all the 37+ raptor species observed in the Batumi bottleneck — why in particular did we choose an adult female Honey Buzzard as cover photo?
Each year, the Batumi Raptor Count team works hard to organize the autumn count and gather an inclusive and diverse team of volunteers. We believe we are generally succeeding at this and this has become one of the core strengths of our count. Over the past fifteen years, we’ve hosted a wide range of volunteers from all over the world with different backgrounds, ages, nationalities and genders. However, we’ve noticed that the number of women volunteering with us fluctuates a lot, and this is something we’d like to change.
Is it because birds are not interesting for women?
The many women that have joined us over the past 15 years of counts would beg to differ. While female role-models might be scarce in the birding world, birds are for everyone!
Is it because women are uncertain about their raptor identification skills?
There’s no need to be uncertain about your skill level. Many people — across all genders — who join are beginning raptor watchers and we provide all the training needed. With thousands of birds to practice on and a friendly, inclusive and risk-free atmosphere, you’ll make great progress rapidly!
Is it because the birding world often seems male-dominated?
This worry should not hold you back, especially when you apply! But continue reading below.
Don’t take our word for it. Take theirs.
We want everyone to feel welcome to join our count. To address any concerns you might have, we have decided to start sharing more of the stories of past volunteers. And we’re starting with testimonials by the women who have participated in or are still actively involved in the Batumi Raptor Count. Real stories, from real volunteers. Happy reading!