We're looking for volunteers for Autumn 2021
Have you missed counting raptors as much as we have? If so, we have good news for you: the application round for the BRC volunteer raptor counter positions is now open! After having to cancel both the autumn count in 2020 and the spring count of 2021, we are more than ready to return to do what we are best at — monitoring raptors.
If waking up early to experience sunrise and to count the first flocks of raptors passing through the bottleneck is your cup of tea, continue reading to consider volunteering with us. Photo by Juho Jolkkonen.
The count will run from the 12th of August until the 21st of October 2021. As always, we are looking for volunteers of all skill levels with an interest in bird migration, ability to work in a team, and with the possibility to commit for at least two weeks. Joining our count as a counter is a great opportunity to learn more about raptors and their identification while also contributing to long-term population monitoring. You will stay at one of the local guesthouses and enjoy the passage of over 1 million birds of prey together with other like-minded volunteers from all over the world.
Although we hope that by the start of the count COVID-19 is playing an ever-smaller role in our lives, we cannot exclude the possibility of the pandemic somehow affecting the count. Currently, entry requirements to Georgia seem supportive of us running a count in autumn for volunteers coming from most EU countries. However, if you apply for the volunteer position, please make sure you keep up to date with the conditions regarding the travel to Georgia. In case you are not able to join the count due to COVID-19, we will refund your prepayment (but not any other costs you may have made).
Interested in applying?
Count Coordinators for Autumn 2021
We approach the future with hope in our hearts and have started planning the BRC Autumn Count 2021. The count will run from the 12th of August until the 21st of October. We are searching for brave count coordinators to lead the team of raptor counters in one of the most magnificent bottlenecks in the world.
Surely, there are many unanswered questions regarding the pandemic, and we are closely following its course. However, counting more than one million birds takes some planning and if we do not start the preparations now, later is too late.
If you are interested in the position, please continue reading for more information and submit your application by the 31st of March.
PS. Applications to volunteer counter positions will be opened in April.
BRC Autumn Count 2020 Cancelled
Dear BRC-enthusiasts,
It is with a heavy heart that we have to inform you that we are cancelling the BRC autumn count for 2020 due to the ongoing covid19 pandemic. While some of you may have been expecting this announcement, we realize that many of you were probably still hoping for the project to be able to take place this year. However, after careful deliberation within the BRC team, with various funders, and with our beloved hosts in Georgia, we believe this drastic decision, no matter how sad or disappointing, is the only responsible action we can take at this stage of the pandemic. The BRC prides itself in taking an evidence-based approach in all aspects of our work, and currently all the available evidence suggests that running an autumn count would involve unacceptable risks for our volunteers, as well as our host families and communities in Georgia.
Clearly this is one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make in the history of the BRC project, and we did not take it lightly. Besides losing a year in our long-term monitoring effort, we will also have to cancel some long-awaited education and conservation projects for which we obtained funding this year. However, losing one year of data in our time series is a sacrifice worth making to ensure the safety of our participants and hosts. Moreover, our decision to cancel autumn activities is fully supported by our host families, project partners and funders of our new education and conservation projects, including the BBCT, the OSME Conservation Fund, the BirdLife Netherlands IJsvogelfonds, and the WWF Netherlands Innofonds. We are grateful for the solidarity shown by all stake-holders.
We want to emphasize that the decision to cancel the count is final, even if international travel will be permitted to a limited extent from early summer onwards. Besides our concerns regarding safety, it is simply not possible to adequately prepare an international count team at the moment. We have considered running the autumn count with a smaller team. However, even with such a team it would be difficult to maintain adequate social distancing in our project, to guarantee our participants do not import the coronavirus to our host communities, or to guarantee that our volunteers would not get stuck in Georgia if another outbreak occurs in autumn. Proceeding with the count under the current conditions would also bring a serious financial risk for our small volunteer-based NGO in case the count needs to be stopped halfway. These are risks we are simply not willing to take.
Despite this being a very hard decision, we feel strengthened by our belief that you, our members and followers, will understand and continue to support us through these hard times. After all, Batumi will continue to be an amazing destination for birding and ecotourism. And most importantly, we are optimistic that by swallowing this bitter pill now we will help to heal the world as fast as possible, and to ensure that we can resume our work in 2021. When that happens, we'll make sure to make it an unforgettable year, including an awesome spring and autumn count, as well as exciting new education and conservation projects.
For now we hope you will continue to enjoy our regular updates on the ongoing spring count in Georgia. We thank you all for your understanding and support, and wish you and your loved ones all the best in the coming months.
Gaumarjos,
The BRC Team