One morning of spring migration in Choroki delta
After more than 2 weeks of raptor counting last week we felt like counting some Passerine migration at Chorokhi delta. So on the first of may we set of for some early morning birding. Well before sunrise we arrived at the end of the Endless Boulevard leading from Batumi to Chorokhi. Ironically this Boulevard appears seems to be a perfect spot to observe some migration as it offers good views on both the Black sea cost and the marches of the Chorokhi delta. And although the numbers weren’t quiet high we had a nice morning with a good variety of species:
Rosy starling (1)
White winged tern (5)
Citrine wagtail (6)
Black-headed bunting
Pratincole
Spoonbill
Black tailed Godwit
At sea we had some good sightings of
Black-throated divers (in summer plumage)
Yelkouan Shearwater
Arctic and Pomarine Skua
And several thousends of Harbour Porpoise and some common dolphins.
A day birding in the Chorokhi delta (Batumi)
On the 23rd of September two Finnish volunteers of BRC had a day off exploring the bird diversity of Chorokhi delta.
Photo by Aki Aintila.
We were blessed with a good weather for the stop-by vagrants; strong south winds and a few rain showers. The strong wind did not help us to find small passerines, but luckily the wind calmed down by the end of the day and we had some shrikes and whinchats on our list.
Photo by Aki Aintila.
We started the day by following the river to the delta and the seashore. By the first hours we were amazed by the diversity of birds – nothing really extraordinary, but nice species popped up here and there. Since we had never visited the place before, we headed to the ponds after the delta. By the hints given by other birders, we were a bit disappointed with finding not a single bird from the ponds! Accompanied by heavy rain, we headed nearer to the dumpsite (at least some gulls around) and back to the shoreline.
Photo by Aki Aintila.
Also the hunters had noticed the suitable weather for stopping vagrants. Gunshots were constant (but not continuous) part of the soundscape, as hunters occupied every part of the area. Some of the shots came less than 10 m away from us and we saw the first Purple Heron of the day going down. Even though we felt the atmosphere somewhat controvert, the hunters we met were very friendly and polite.
Photo by Aki Aintila.
For us, the highlights of the day were Squacco Heron, Siberian Stonechat, Tawny Pipit, Whiskered Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Yelkouan Shearwater – and of course the juvenile Peregrine spreading panic and chaos among passerines and waterfowl. Overall we found our species list interesting and very variable for such a small area, the place itself fascinating with its different habitats. Nevertheless the presence of the hunters, we had a great and refreshing day as a nice part of the stay in BRC.
Aki Aintila & Kalle Meller
Finland
aki.aintila(at)helsinki.fi
Species list from Chorokhi delta, 23rd of September, 08:00-15:30
Mute swan 4
Teal 9
Garganey 1
Wigeon 2
Pintail 3
Pochard 1
Little crebe 3
Crested crebe 3
Red-necked crebe 1
Black-necked crebe 1
Yelkouan shearwater 1
Great cormorant 14
Purple heron 3 (1 shot)
Black stork 1
Grey heron 18
Little egret 11
Squacco heron 1
Honey buzzard 2
Marsh harrier 6
Pallid harrier 2
Montagu’s harrier 1
Eurasian Sparrowhawk 3
Osprey 1
Kestrel 2
Red-footed falcon 2
Merlin 1
Peregrine 1
Ringed plover 26
Grey plover 3
Golden plover 1
Dunlin 6
Sanderling 1
Little stint 2
Curlew sandpiper 1
Wood sandpiper 2
Green sandpiper 1
Arctic skua 1
Caspian gull 800
Common tern 30
Sandwich tern 24
Gull-billed tern 1
White-winged black tern 1
Whiskered tern 2
Kingfisher 5
Turtle dove 2
Tawny pipit 4
Red-throated pipit 3
Wagtail 80
Yellow wagtail 42
Citrine wagtail 3
Wheatear 12
Whinchat 5
Siberian stonechat 1
Red-backed shrike 4
White-tailed lapwing in Chorokhi
On the 1st of May 2012, White-tailed lapwing (Vanellus leucurus) was observed near the Chorokhi delta (just south of Batumi) by Roland Schlegel, a German birder enjoying our homestays. He found a bird at one the small ponds in the center of the area, later on near the mouth of the river he saw a bird coming in from the north that flew across. It could be a couple, but it might as well have been the same bird that was seen twice.
This represents probably the first record of the species for Ajara. White-tailed lapwings are very rare in Georgia, with only three records since the 1970s (five individuals near Paravani Lake, Javakheti Upland, Southern Georgiain 1984, two were observed in Alazani River valley near border with Azerbaijan on 28 October 1991 and one photographed by Giorgi Rajebashvili on the 18th of august 2011).
Photo by Roland Schlegel.
Photo by Roland Schlegel.