Volunteers Wanted: Spring Count 2022
In 2019 and 2020 we carried out the first and second spring pilot count in the Batumi bottleneck. These counts have already revealed a very different composition of spring raptor migration vs. autumn raptor migration at Batumi, with record numbers of Black Kites and surprisingly lower numbers of Honey Buzzard, to name just a few remarkable findings. Find more detailed information about the results of these two counts, and realize how amazing springtime is in Batumi, by reading the reports of 2019 and 2020.
Messy Black Kites. Photo by Bjorn Alards.
After the upcoming third and final spring pilot count in 2022, we will process all of our spring migration data and based on these results conclude whether we’ll continue the spring counts in future years. First things first, to complete the cycle and count all the raptors in order to gather sufficient data, we need volunteers for the upcoming spring count!
“Spring in Batumi is the time to observe endless streams of Black Kites migrating over the sea while they sporadically catch some fish, or watch them grab insects out of the air right above our heads. During the first half of the season, against snow-covered mountain peaks more inland, you can see streams of Steppe Buzzards accompanied by eagles, cranes and storks. Later on they will be replaced by Honey Buzzards and Harriers, even though their numbers haven’t been like in autumn, we don’t know what coming spring will bring us. To top it all off, during spring time you won’t be counting raptors in silence. Soon passerines, such as Ortolan Buntings and Red-breasted Flycatchers, will join the concert of birdsongs and the sound of our clickers. Hopefully we’ll see you this spring in Batumi!”
— Tohar Tal and Diego Jansen, counters of spring 2019 & 2020.
The count will run from the 1st of March until the 26th of May. The BRC will take care of the logistics, but all costs (travel and €18/day for accommodation and food) would have to be covered by counters themselves.
Please contact us via spring@batumiraptorcount.org to let us know about your interest in participating in the spring count 2022. We can then answer any questions you might have and/or get back to you with more details.
PS. The spring pilot counts are run with a small team of people, this means that each counter has more responsibilities and should preferably (though not necessarily) have previous experience with (raptor) migration counts. The counts will only be conducted from Station 1 (Sakhalvasho). Contrary to our autumn counts, there is no strict minimum or maximum number of days you can join us for.
New publication: Opportunistic in-flight foraging behaviour of Black Kites during spring migration
The most recent autumn issue of the Sandgrouse, published by OSME, contains a short paper describing preliminary results of Black Kites obtained during the two BRC spring counts conducted so far. The results of the spring count show interesting in-flight foraging behaviour of Black Kites and describe their more numerous occurrence in spring compared to autumn. The paper is now available open access!
Black Kite with an interesting prey: a mole! Photo by Tohar Tal.
Abstract
In 2019 and 2020 the Batumi Raptor Count conducted two small-scale pilot counts to assess the importance of the flyway in spring. We present preliminary results for Black Kite Milvus migrans, showing that this species is more numerous in spring than in autumn and that it engages in in-flight foraging while passing through the Batumi bottleneck, a behaviour that has never been observed in twelve years of autumn counts. In-flight foraging appears to be largely opportunistic, occurring during only a short period of the Black Kite migration season and involving a minority of individuals. As such, in-flight foraging opportunities are unlikely to be the main cause of the greater spring aggregation of Black Kites in the eastern Black Sea flyway.
This year the third and final spring count will be conducted from the start of March till the end of May. Are you interested in participating? Don’t hesitate and send an email to spring@batumiraptorcount.org.
BRC 2021 T-Shirt
We are glad to be back counting raptors again! Fed up with all the darkness in our lives recently, our designers have created a more colorful T-shirt than ever before. Add some color to your life, and support our raptor monitoring and conservation work, with the 2021 T-shirt!
P.S. For those of you not used to so much color in our T-shirts, or those who prefer to ‘blend in’ among the birding crowd, we have a beige/sand-colored version as well (online only).
If you visit us in Georgia
The following two versions of the 2021 T-shirt can be bought in Sakhalvasho when you visit our count station.
This T-Shirt color cannot be ordered online, but is exclusive to visitors of the count sites.
This T-Shirt color cannot be ordered online, but is exclusive to visitors of the count sites.
Online orders
The following T-shirts can be ordered online. The design is the same as above, but the colors of the T-shirts are different.