1 million raptors within 7 weeks!
After 7 weeks of counting in autumn 2015 we reached again the season total of 1 million raptors! Steppe Buzzard migration finally kicked off and we counted over 120 000 birds during 3rd, 4th and 5th of October.
We have also witnessed outstanding eagle migration during the second half of the season. During the best days we counted over 700 eagles and now we have already reached a total of 6600 eagles, including high and really nice plumage variation of Greater Spotted, Steppe and Imperial Eagles.
We are still expecting to see good eagle migration towards the end of the count. Count results are uploaded daily to Migration Count Data.
Regular posts with photos and sightings
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Full season report 2015 comes soon! Watch out!
EuroBirdwatch results
Over the past weekend, more than 24.000 people took part in more than 1.000 events in 41 countries in Europe and Central Asia. The most frequently observed species were: 1. Common Starling, 2. Chaffinch, 3. Common Coot. All of these people (both adults and children) enjoyed watching the fascinating migration of 4,3 million birds heading to their wintering grounds in the South.
At the Batumi Raptor Count, we had a great weekend and contributed 90,756 migrating birds to the tally. For a change, we did not only count raptors and storks and tried to record all migrating birds, but still raptors made the bulk of the flight. Our top three was Steppe Buzzard (a staggering 47,639 were seen on 4/10 from station 2 Shuamta), Barn Swallow (6,531 from station 1 on 4/10) and Black Kite (1,171 from station 1 on 4/10).
The goals of EuroBirdwatch are to bring people in touch with birds, and to show them the wonders of bird migration and the necessity of bird conservation. Because it is of the utmost importance to tell people about the dangers our migratory birds are facing. With these events the nature conservation organizations encourage people of all ages to go out, observe, explore and enjoy birds. The data of bird observations was collected in each country and forwarded to the European Centre; this year Vogelbescherming Nederland (VBN), BirdLife in the Netherlands.
The sheer numbers of birds recorded during this EuroBirdwatch clearly show that bird migration is an awesome phenomenon and drives home the point that birds and their migratory routes and stopover sites need to be protected.
For further information on the EuroBirdwatch visit: www.eurobirdwatch.eu.
EuroBirdwatch with us
We warmly invite everyone to come up to one of our two watchpoints this weekend and observe migrating birds together with us. While doing so, our count volunteers share their identification skills, but also interesting facts about bird migration and threats they face during their journeys. Everyone is welcome to join us in Sakhalvasho or Shuamta between 7am and 5pm. During this Eurobirdwatch-weekend, all over Europe people will find observation posts nearby where everyone can share the knowledge on migratory birds and their flyways. In Europe many hundreds of activities are planned.
For the migrating bird species the existence of suitable breeding areas in the north, saving stopover sites and a safe passage on the flyway, and appropriate habitats in the wintering regions are therefore vitally important. The aim of EuroBirdwatch 2015 is to raise awareness for the wonders of bird migration and the needs of the migratory birds on the breeding areas, the flyways and in the wintering areas in the Mediterranean and in Africa.
The EuroBirdwatch is an annual event organised by Birdlife International, comprising hundreds of nationally organised activities. On these observation posts the number of birds and participating people are counted and reported to the European centre in the Netherlands. Last year for example, 38 countries in Europe and Central Asia took part in organising 1.184 events, with more than 33.000 people turning out to watch and help count the birds. The numbers, when it comes to the birds, are even more staggering: almost 7,5 million birds were counted last year, the highest in the history of the event!
For further information on the EuroBirdwatch visit: www.eurobirdwatch.eu