Our Team

2018

Black Kite! They may not win many beauty contests, but they keep you company all season long and never cease to surprise with their fascinating behaviour.

Shuamta — not at all influenced by the presence of a lovely cafe nearby.

Nothing beats an Adjarian khachapuri during a lunch break while birding along Batumi Boulevard on a rainy day.

Am I allowed to cheat? Because here I have to say the 1st of April 2020, when we counted 100,000 raptors with just five people (!) from one station during our second pilot spring count. An incredible day I'll never forget!

EuroBirdwatch, October 6, 2018: a day that started quietly. For once we were counting all birds, not just raptors… until, early in the afternoon, out of nowhere, several hundred large eagles appeared along the seaside of Station 1. They came and went so fast that most people on station that day never even noticed it! But my companion Philippe and I caught it in full swing, and had a blast counting and identifying eagle after eagle as they streamed past station.

The most amazing birds, landscapes, food, and people… What more does a person want?

“Did you see that Marsh above/below your stream?”.

When I think a large eagle is approaching, but it turns out to be a juvenile Black Kite. No complaints, though…

2016

Not a ‘species’, but a morph: the dark morph of the Marsh Harrier. Truly stunning birds. I keep missing out on the Lanner, Saker and Eleonora's Falcons.

Shuamta, although the early-morning climb to the top always makes me question my life's choices. Having said that, we couldn't run our count without the Sakhalvasho station: it is the station we count the bulk of migration from. Many of my favorite raptor migration memories are from there, and especially raptor watching in golden hour light from Sakhalvasho is indescribably spectacular.

Although I've been at the wrong station on bigger days, October 1st, 2025 was my personal peak day, with an incredible 142,978 Steppe Buzzards counted from my station.

Juvenile Honey Buzzards that appear like large eagles head- or tail-on.

The eagle catwalk on October 11, 2021. A huge number of eagles passed that day under fantastic light and incredible diversity. At some point I palmtopped 50 Greater Spotted Eagles at once, truly incredible when you consider the global population size of this species.

Georgian food is fantastic, but nothing beats the beer and chips in the garden after a long day of counting in the scorching heat.

I started out just wanting to learn how to identify Honey Buzzards and ringtail harriers. Now, a decade later, it's the people I keep coming back for, although the birds are still fan-tas-tic.

‘Drama Queen (undeservedly so)’

“Station 2, did you see that Imperial Eagle in your East 1 or close East 2?”.

2013

Shuamta, especially the old station-2 under the walnut tree

It's too hard to pick a single thing... that's why Georgian tables are always crammed with a diversity of tasty dishes!

At first you come for the crazy bird phenomenom, but then you keep returning for the local and international bunch of people (as well as the bird still). The whole country is something special and great for some time off... what you consider ‘normal’ concepts often don't apply as such in Georgia :)

F*ck the Crested!

Big brown chiffchaffs…

"Raptor?! We are the Batumi Roller Count first and formost!

When there are no Rollers, I also appreciate the sheer diversity of Honey Buzzard plumages, most notably the juvenile panda-bear type; the mid-season Booted canon; the morning mixed Harrier streams, and the laid-back Short-toeds at the end of the season."

September 24, 2017 — Best day for Pallid Harrier migration seen in Batumi, perhaps the world... The dark thunderstorm clouds had the birds avoid the sea and the mountains, pushing them perfectly towards us. Male Pallids could be spotted with the naked eye from kilometers away, contrasting with the black clouds behind them.

2017

I absolutely love Short-toed Snake Eagles; I cannot get enough of them.

Always Shuamta! The atmosphere is magical, the station is small enough to fit the team of counters cosily and to have proper conversations together (unlike Station 1 where you are more often in smaller groups). Everything around you is lush green, with crickets and tree frogs, etc., calling around you. The dead tree on the north side of the station is a favourite perch not only for bee-eaters, orioles and woodpeckers, but also for the occasional raptor needing to take cover from the rain. The café serves some delicious Khachapuri and coffee, much needed on long counting days. And the occasional Caucasus Viper is an all-time favourite of mine, sunning itself on the edge of the station.

Adjaruli Khachapuri! An all-time favourite; I will never get enough of this. And baked potatoes with Tkemali sauce. And anything cold to drink after a hot day of counting.

The birds, the surroundings, the food, the people. As most of us say: “You join for the birds, you come back for the people”. And it's true, to be able to witness such amazing and massive migration of raptors together with a unique but like-minded group of people is really worth coming back again and again.

The Machine

Look at the moult of that bird!

October 14, 2019. With only five of us counting at Shuamta (many people regrettably took a day off not expecting anything), we had a slow morning. The morning's visitor, a Krüper's Nuthatch, was what we prematurely called the highlight of the day. But as the count description says: 'This is Batumi!' What unfolded was absolute madness, Steppe Buzzards everywhere, Eagles everywhere, raptors everywhere! Filiep counted everything in East 3, while the remaining four of us covered the west and east, with Bart and David focusing on the eagles in close West-East 1 and overhead. Eva and I counted all non-eagles further west and east and were barely able to click everything. We had to ignore the Steppe Buzzards because there were too many other raptors flying around. We could barely enjoy the excitement of identifying the large eagles because the next ones were already coming. We did not even notice the Griffon Vulture until it was right overhead (which Filiep casually pointed out after looking away from his East 3 stream for a second). Absolute madness, but oh so unbelievably satisfying and enjoyable.

I have to cheat a little bit here: it's not a day but a season very close to my heart. The 2025 season was my first time coordinating; with a great team of counters and co-coordinators, we counted a record-breaking 1.5 million raptors (finishing the season with 1,506,734 raptors)! It was the first in 17 years of the BRC, absolutely magical.

Some birds can look surprisingly much like large eagles from a distance.

2013

More than one specific species, I am fascinated by seeing the groups of raptors gathered together in Batumi in those ‘monster kettles’, following that imaginary highway over the station.

I absolutely love “tenili” that braided smoked cheese with a cold beer in the garden, sharing moments with all the volunteers after the count.

I first discovered Batumi at a conference where Johannes and Brecht presented numbers that, to me at the time (around 2010), seemed unimaginable. From that exact moment, I couldn't get the idea out of my head, I just knew I had to witness that spectacle with my own eyes. And here I still am, all these years later...

More than just a nickname, I feel very proud to be the creator of the well-known new Georgian species: the ‘BlackE StorkE’.

Eagles! I always end up with the feeling that they should have flown closer for me to be absolutely sure!

I have many! But probably the day we were about to break the Roller record at the time, with all the Station 1 counters dressed in blue to attract them and celebrate with those outdoor feasts we used to have, with tables piled high with food and music!

Shuamta, I will forever remember the romantic side of the old Station 2, back when no infrastructure existed yet, and dawn would find you in the middle of the forest with the first raptors soaring overhead.

I will never forget October 2nd, 2014, when I was coordinating at Station 1. The sky was practically clouded with raptors, and the 10 volunteers of us there were so busy counting that we didn't realize the sheer magnitude of it until the day ended and we just looked at each other's faces exhausted after the work!

“Station 1, do you see a XXXXX in between the two stations?”.

2008

There is something undeniably majestic about Booted and Short-toed Eagles.

Shuamta

Regardless whether its shaslik or khachapuri, badrijani or lobio, khinkali or a tasty soup… Georgian food is always great because you enjoy it in good company.

It was simply astounding to experience the first ever 100K+ day in BRC history on 30 August 2012. As so many huge days, the day started surprisingly calm after a period of sustained bad weather. When the raptors arrived, they arrived like a tsunami with endless streams of birds flowing over the landscape everywhere you looked.

With more than ten seasons under my belt, it is impossible to define a favorite moment. For me the fact that this project is still going strong and being carried forth by a new generation of leaders after all these years is the greatest joy of them all.

Sometimes life takes you places… The mind-blowing migration, the incredible hospitality and the fantastic vibes in the BRC community keep one coming back for more.

I could mention several inappropriate toponyms for specific mountains and landmarks, but those have - fortunately - all gone out of use :)

Black Kites approaching at eye-level in the distance, and looking like big eagles.

2010

Pallid Harrier, the majestically elegant adult males and the ID challenge of the female type birds of this species that passes in highly variable numbers in Batumi. Not really considering it a bogey bird, but I have not yet seen a Black-winged Kite in Batumi.

8 september 2022, almost 100 000 birds from station 1, including 94 434 Honeys

“It is a record!”

Too many to name, but coordinating a day with 90,000+ honey buzzards was an amazing experience!

Shuamtaaaa all the waaaay for its more natural setting

Compoti to drink and Badrijani to eat

The endless diverse streams of birds and the nice team of volunteers and hospitality of the locals. “I can do without the Batumi tummy however…”

The juvenile Honey buzzard eagle is a classic

2021

Griffon Vulture, but also vultures in general. More for personal rather than aesthetic reasons, as this bird was the one that made me start birding in the first place. Out of typical Batumi species, I really like Short-toed Eagles.

My favourite is badrijani nigvzit, which are eggplant rolls with garlicky walnut paste.

September in 2021 after lots of rain I witnessed one of the best days for Honey Buzzard migration

Hard to choose but probably the day Eva got her nickname. I arrived to Batumi just for a few days that time in October and I was very very lucky to be on station 2 when the first ever Lammergeier showed up!

Shuamta 99% of the time. Except when it's foggy and Station 1 is getting all the cool birds…

Because over 1 million raptors! But also it's a very good way to connect with like-minded people.

The birds are “gloopsing”.

Dark morph booted eagles, I often misidentify them as kites

2024

Marsh Harrier. I never took them seriously before coming to Batumi, and since then, I've always been fascinated by all the discussions about aging and sexing them.

I love them both, but Shuamta scores higher for the surrounding nature, quiet early mornings during Harrier season and the amazing view for many species, especially eagles.

You can never say no to a hot khachapuri, fresh from the oven, at the cafe close to Station 2!

Birds & people!

October 1st, 2025. Although I was the coordinator of Station 1 and the big numbers belonged to Station 2, the total for the day was more than 170,000, and the whole sky was filled with birds! At some point, I had to let go of counting some Steppe Buzzards, which was not easy at all. But in general, despite all the chaos, everything went well, and everyone was satisfied!

September 3rd, 2025. A cloudy, rainy, sunny, crazy day! We had lightning strike the stairs at Station 1, and it was very loud and scary! All the fog and wind didn't stop the birds from migrating, and everyone was struggling to count gloopsing/ungloopsing birds! Then the sun came out, but another storm was on its way in the afternoon. I had to make an important phone call, so I went behind the station. While trying to escape the fighting dogs and the thunderstorm and talking at the same time, I came back to an empty station with hundreds of birds kettling around me! It seemed everyone had left the station when the storm started, and I was there without any clicker or scope. I started counting the birds in my head while waiting for the others to come back. I can tell you, it was the moment when I really appreciated clickers!

“Station 2, have you seen X in your E2?!”

Dark-morph Booted Eagle. It can be very sneaky in any stream of birds!

Spring 2019

Black Kite is the best raptor, hands down.

Shuamta

“Mexican” potatoes.

Uhm, crazy raptor migration?? That's definitely the answer for deciding to join for the first time. However, the thing that keeps pulling me back is spending hours upon hours with amazing like-minded people. No raptor beats that.

September 4th, 2021 during the Honey Buzzard peak. After a couple of days with heavy rain, the HBs had been waiting for better conditions. We ended up counting over 125,000 raptors that day from one station alone. 80% of those birds were counted before noon. Absolutely magical!

Ugh, a difficult question! Bird-wise, two days come to mind right away. Coordinating this day, when mass chaos continued all day long with a relatively small team. I'm still super thankful to the counters that were there that day! Another insane day was September 27th, 2021, when we reached the one million milestone by counting insane numbers of large eagles flying all around us. Coordinators are not supposed to be counting birds, but when we saw the number of eagles coming at us, there didn't seem to be any other way, so I counted nearly 2,000 large eagles within some 30 minutes — madness!

Potato Boy

Katastrof!

Sexing older Marsh Harriers — the horror! I guess “not knowing” is not “being wrong” though…

Since forever — Elza grew up right here in the Batumi bottleneck, and has been a part of the BRC story since 2010.

Khinkali, Khachapuri, and Turkish coffee

Egyptian Vulture

Shuamta, my childhood, my everyday life

Elo

2009

Swallow-tailed Kite. But if we have to stick to the Batumi assortment, I would choose Short-toed Eagle. These birds are so majestic when they pass by. They seem so huge and flap so slowly… you wonder how they are able to stay airborne. And sometimes, when they cross overhead, they turn their heads and look down on you with that big yellow eye… shivers! When will I finally see Demoiselle?

Shuamta, of course. Station 2!! Station 2!!

Badrijani with walnuts and the tomato/cucumber salad with walnuts and red onion, and the Mexican potatoes, of course. We always need some Tkemali to eat with the delicious shaliki and... take home some Svanuri marulli and Adjika. For drinks, everything you bring from abroad.

The birds decided that for us, ha. After all these years, on big days, it's still hard to realize what you're witnessing. What a place! Nothing is grey in Georgia, they only do things in black or white. How many birds? “Welllll, 1,5 million last season”. It doesn't drizzle, it pours. You don't sip wine, you guzzle chacha. You don't smoke, you chimney. Hospitality? They would adopt you. Food just keeps coming. When there's a fall in the park, the bushes hang crookedly because of the passerines. Driving a car is Formula 1…

I can copy that one from Bart: October 1st, 2025. I have been coming to this place for 16 years and then this happens. I still get goosebumps when I think about that day. I'll make it easy on myself and copy my report from polarsteps that day: “Great expectations for today! After the rain, first day of October, this could become a better day. The day started slowly, but then a push, a bigger push, a small pause and then Kbang!!!!! Streams… no, walls and ceilings of Steppe Buzzards mixed with hundreds of eagles passed our stations. Smoke came from our clickers. It was never-ending. 100:000 yeaahhhh. But it wasn't finished yet. Tens of thousands kept passing through the bottleneck until the end of the count. What has just happened??? 145,000 birds for station 2… ancient counters like Bart, Pia, Eva and I have never experienced a count of more than 100,000 on one station… incredible!!!!!! 170,000 for both stations together. We are racing towards the all-time season record. Tomorrow maybe?”

“Maybe not 'favourite', but quite special to me are the memories of the first years, in Makhinjauri. Sleeping with six or seven people in one room without any closets… every evening digging our way through the luggage to find our beds back. One and a half toilets and a shower for 20 people, waiting until the very last moment so you did not have to stay inside too long. If you were lucky you could save it for the minefield behind the station, a big chestnut tree. In the minefield protocol was written to put the toilet paper on top of the turds so one could avoid stepping in them with his sandals. The station, haha, that was just a spot on the path between the ferns. We were taken there every morning in a Lada Niva (sometimes a few hours late, sometimes not at all), four on the back seat, two in front, next to the driver, and the rest in the trunk. The last one held the door closed. “Palmtop!!”, that's where the word comes from… those little tablets that fitted in the palms of our hands, on which we put down all the data with a little pen. I still have them in a box somewhere. Food. There was a role system where every day somebody else went to the shop for lunch. That was almost always bread (luckily shoti), tomato, cucumber, cheese and helva. In the evenings you had to go to town for food. We mostly ended up at the pizza with mayonnaise place next to the house, which is still there, too tired to go anywhere else. A nice thing was that just around the corner of our house there was this woman with a big wooden barrel of cold beer where you could go and buy a half-litre pint. And the earthquake that woke all the oldies and the dogs up in the middle of the night because our beds were shaking. And the crazy parties at the Viva Latino on the Batumi Boulevard, Disco Disco Partizani… This is Batumi! In those first years, I really believed he was singing about Batumi… Ruslan's and Gocha's houses are five-star hotels compared to then and I am so happy about that!”

Großvater

“It’s true hé!!”, “Jean Leblanc”, and of course ‘Marche arrière’

From some angles, HBs and Steppe Buzzards, certainly in the overlap period, can be annoying. And of course the eagle-kites. And ringtails… what am I doing there?

2021

Greater Spotted Eagle, especially the younger birds with that beautiful black-silver plumage… Every time I see them it still feels like the first, just an amazing bird. I still haven't seen Lanner Falcon and Black-winged Kite in Batumi, both rare but sporadic visitors to the bottleneck.

Even though I love both, I must go for Shuamta. The lush green hills and mountains of Mtirala National Park surrounding this watch site make it very magical.

Badrijani is great, which is an eggplant roll with walnut filling and pomegranate seeds on top, an absolute Georgian classic! Next to that, “Mexican” potatoes are also sublime. Even though there's nothing Mexican about them, they are tasty for sure!

Question Marc

Probably either “Station 1, did you have a … in your west” or “Stinky bug”. The last one you have to experience for yourself to understand the pain and suffering hidden behind that word.

That's like choosing between my children! There's just too many to choose one out of, but if I have to I'd say October 5, 2023. After a very quiet day I somehow had a feeling that something was brewing in the north behind the mountains. I decided to stay for a bit after the count, and to go back to our village with a tourist, which was the best decision I ever made. With 2 other counters, we experienced a huge push of large eagles shortly after the rest left, seeing around 750 Lesser, Greater and Steppe Eagles and dozens of Short-toed and Booted Eagles. All in the most beautiful light! A moment to remember forever.

An insane number of birds, the most beautiful and impressive species of birds, and the most interesting people. The best combination ;)

Somehow I've never witnessed a 100k+ day on my station. I believe my peak day, 6 September 2023, flattens out around 88k ;) The best is yet to come!

Probably Black Kites that look like large eagles.