johannesjansen
Well-known member
Champions of the Flyway is the first major Western Palearctic bird race event takes place at Eilat, Israel. In the course of just 24 hours, teams from all over Europe will compete to tick off the highest number of bird species in Israel's Negev Desert. This is not just a bird race, but also a massive fundraising campaign to support conservation work on the troubled Eastern Flyway.The specific beneficiary of this year's event will be Batumi Raptor Count (BRC) in Georgia.
The Batumi bottleneck in south-west Georgia is an area of the utmost importance for migratory birds. With more than one million migrating raptors of up to 35 species passing through the area, it is simply the greatest autumn bottleneck for migrating birds of prey in all Eurasia. Historically, around ten thousand birds of prey fall victim to illegal shooting here each Autumn, as Honey and Steppe Buzzards, Montagu's and Pallid Harriers, Eurasian and Levant Sparrowhawks and various eagles and other raptors pass low through the gorge, unwittingly presenting themselves as easy targets.
BRC takes a novel approach in tackling this deep conservation concern and strives to work with, rather than against, local communities in order to achieve mutually beneficial goals. Monies raised by the Champions of the Flyway bird race will go directly towards our innovative on-the-ground project and will help us further develop bird tourism opportunities in the region. We will engage receptive local hunters and falconers as 'ambassadors for conservation', to raise awareness among their peers of the consequence of their current actions and the significant eco-tourism opportunities that a change of attitude and behaviour presents. In addition we will engage with schoolchildren and other members of the general public by awakening them to the scale and importance of this incredible migration of raptors and their vulnerability.Read more about it on the cause page: http://www.champions-of-the-flyway.com/cause/
We take this opportunity to thank SPNI and BirdLife International , all the teams who are competing to make the Champions of the Flyway such an extraordinary force for conservation and, most importantly, every individual who makes a contribution to the cause.
As the first recipient of a grant from the Champions of the Flyway event, we are delighted to field the Batumi Raptor Crew and play our part to help the inaugural Champions of the Flyway Bird Race in Eilat become a runaway success, have a look at our team page here http://www.champions-of-the-flyway.com/batumi-raptor-crew/ .
Support us and other BirdLife Partners taking conservation action to reduce illegal killing of birds in Eastern and Southern Europe! Please, follow this link and make a donation. http://www.justgiving.com/COTFBRC
All support is welcome, big and small!
The Batumi bottleneck in south-west Georgia is an area of the utmost importance for migratory birds. With more than one million migrating raptors of up to 35 species passing through the area, it is simply the greatest autumn bottleneck for migrating birds of prey in all Eurasia. Historically, around ten thousand birds of prey fall victim to illegal shooting here each Autumn, as Honey and Steppe Buzzards, Montagu's and Pallid Harriers, Eurasian and Levant Sparrowhawks and various eagles and other raptors pass low through the gorge, unwittingly presenting themselves as easy targets.
BRC takes a novel approach in tackling this deep conservation concern and strives to work with, rather than against, local communities in order to achieve mutually beneficial goals. Monies raised by the Champions of the Flyway bird race will go directly towards our innovative on-the-ground project and will help us further develop bird tourism opportunities in the region. We will engage receptive local hunters and falconers as 'ambassadors for conservation', to raise awareness among their peers of the consequence of their current actions and the significant eco-tourism opportunities that a change of attitude and behaviour presents. In addition we will engage with schoolchildren and other members of the general public by awakening them to the scale and importance of this incredible migration of raptors and their vulnerability.Read more about it on the cause page: http://www.champions-of-the-flyway.com/cause/
We take this opportunity to thank SPNI and BirdLife International , all the teams who are competing to make the Champions of the Flyway such an extraordinary force for conservation and, most importantly, every individual who makes a contribution to the cause.
As the first recipient of a grant from the Champions of the Flyway event, we are delighted to field the Batumi Raptor Crew and play our part to help the inaugural Champions of the Flyway Bird Race in Eilat become a runaway success, have a look at our team page here http://www.champions-of-the-flyway.com/batumi-raptor-crew/ .
Support us and other BirdLife Partners taking conservation action to reduce illegal killing of birds in Eastern and Southern Europe! Please, follow this link and make a donation. http://www.justgiving.com/COTFBRC
All support is welcome, big and small!
