BRC 2010 ... takeoff!

Hello everybody,

with the start of the count, we can offer you all some more news concerning BRC 2010.

Practical issues

Firstly, there is news concerning the practical side of the count. Note that the BRC organisation will be able to offer accomodation, local transportation and breakfast & lunch for all counters and students. Thanks to a private benefactor and cooperation with a.o. Georgian Centre for the Conservation of Wildlife (GCCW) also students will be able to learn from the count in september.

Some more blocks have been filled for both Batumi and Kazbegi.

Counting the first migrating raptors

Since a couple of days the first group of enthusiastic BRC counters have started in Batumi. After their arrival our current group of Belgian, Dutch, Italian and Swedish counters immediately enjoyed very nice birding in the Chorokhi delta where hundreds of migrating birds were seen. Many hundreds of White-winged and Gull-billed Terns, a couple of Terek Sandpipers a Grey-headed Purple Swamphen, Roller, some  Citrine Wagtails and up to 40 Rose-Coloured Starlings were their highlights.

But offcourse, migration counting is what we are here for. On the first counting day on August 18th the first couple of hundred Honey Buzzards were seen, but yesterday (August 19th) allready 2000+ Honey Buzzards were migrating across the bottleneck. Accompanied by the first Booted Eagle, 5 Black Kites, Levant Sparrowhawk, etc. the start of raptor migration seems to be right on time in Batumi.

Also the Bee-eaters, Alpine Swifts and swallows have started their major movements, setting the background for what should be another exciting and productive count in 2010.

We are very happy to find such commited and enthusiastic volunteers once more. After this promising start we will be keeping you informed via this blog for the rest of the season.

We hope you will enjoy following the BRC adventures in the coming weeks!

Kind regards,

The BRC Team