Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Georgia - 5th to 12th May 2018 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Paul Chapman
- Start date
Paul Chapman
Well-known member
Good luck.
Paul Chapman
Well-known member
Day four - Wednesday 9th May
Today was a moving day. We left Stepantsmanda in Kasbegi at 9.45am; spent 40 mins at Tbilisi Reservoir from 1.20pm; an hour at Eagle Gorge from 5.00pm; and arrived at Chachuna at 8.00pm. Nevertheless a whole host of birds seen.
Before leaving Stepantsmanda, we had seen two Caucasian Grouse, Lammergeier and Red-fronted Serin and heard Caucasian Snowcock. A lowlight was a sighting by another group of Guldenstadt's Redstart in the pastures above our lodgings which despite provoking a swift and dramatic twitch resulted solely in a two hour fruitless stakeout.
At Tbilisi Lake, we had around 16 Rose-coloured Starlings as well as Red-necked Grebe, 10 Black-necked Grebe, 3 Great Egrets, two drake Garganey and a large flock of one hundred gulls - mainly Armenian but also including a single Caspian and a couple of fuscus Lesser Black-backed Gulls. During the journey, we started seeing increasing numbers of Black-headed Buntings as well as Hoopoes, Golden Orioles, Corn Buntings and Lesser Grey Shrikes together with a male Ortolan.
At Eagle Gorge, we had 6 Griffons & 3 Egyptian Vultures, one Booted and two Short-toed Eagles, Blue Rock Thrush, a Black Stork and Alpine Swifts.
From there, the two hour journey to Chachuna saw a significant build up in birds with countless Corn and Black-headed Buntings, Isabelline Wheatears and Calandra Larks as well as Bee-eaters and Rollers and a flock of 150 Rose-coloured Starlings in the steppe habitat. The default shrike gradually became Woodchat and we had our first Spanish Sparrow, Tawny Pipit, Ruddy Shelduck, Long-legged Buzzard and Eastern Orphean Warbler. Five harriers were split a female Marsh, male Monty's, female Hen and two female Pallids.
The day finished with a post dinner walk with a Cuckoo, two Scops and Nightjars calling in the dark and the trip list having climbed into the 130's.
Today was a moving day. We left Stepantsmanda in Kasbegi at 9.45am; spent 40 mins at Tbilisi Reservoir from 1.20pm; an hour at Eagle Gorge from 5.00pm; and arrived at Chachuna at 8.00pm. Nevertheless a whole host of birds seen.
Before leaving Stepantsmanda, we had seen two Caucasian Grouse, Lammergeier and Red-fronted Serin and heard Caucasian Snowcock. A lowlight was a sighting by another group of Guldenstadt's Redstart in the pastures above our lodgings which despite provoking a swift and dramatic twitch resulted solely in a two hour fruitless stakeout.
At Tbilisi Lake, we had around 16 Rose-coloured Starlings as well as Red-necked Grebe, 10 Black-necked Grebe, 3 Great Egrets, two drake Garganey and a large flock of one hundred gulls - mainly Armenian but also including a single Caspian and a couple of fuscus Lesser Black-backed Gulls. During the journey, we started seeing increasing numbers of Black-headed Buntings as well as Hoopoes, Golden Orioles, Corn Buntings and Lesser Grey Shrikes together with a male Ortolan.
At Eagle Gorge, we had 6 Griffons & 3 Egyptian Vultures, one Booted and two Short-toed Eagles, Blue Rock Thrush, a Black Stork and Alpine Swifts.
From there, the two hour journey to Chachuna saw a significant build up in birds with countless Corn and Black-headed Buntings, Isabelline Wheatears and Calandra Larks as well as Bee-eaters and Rollers and a flock of 150 Rose-coloured Starlings in the steppe habitat. The default shrike gradually became Woodchat and we had our first Spanish Sparrow, Tawny Pipit, Ruddy Shelduck, Long-legged Buzzard and Eastern Orphean Warbler. Five harriers were split a female Marsh, male Monty's, female Hen and two female Pallids.
The day finished with a post dinner walk with a Cuckoo, two Scops and Nightjars calling in the dark and the trip list having climbed into the 130's.
Last edited:
Paul Chapman
Well-known member
Day five - Thursday 10th May
Basically we travelled within one hour of our lodgings and recorded around 75 species. We started the day at 5.30am with 500 Rose-coloured Starlings emerging from the marsh by the dam and it was a cracking day. The default species were countless Isabelline Wheatears, Woodchat Shrikes, Bee-eaters and Rollers as well as frequent groups of fifty to one hundred Rose-coloured Starlings with the constant chorus of Crested Larks and Corn and Black-headed Buntings.
New species recorded for the trip included Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, Pied Wheatear, Black Francolin, Chukars, Pheasant, at least three Lesser Kestrel, two White-tailed Eagles, an Eastern Imperial Eagle, at least three Black Vultures, a brief calling Eagle Owl, Stock Doves, Lesser Short-toed Larks, Woodlarks, Tree Sparrows, Rufous Bushchats, Menetrie's Warblr, Rock Nuthatch, Whiskered and White-winged Black Terns and Eastern Olivaceous Warbler.
However, a personal highlight for me was watching two Sakers interact with Kestrels and Long-legged Buzzards against a dramatic cliff face. My fourth tick of the trip. With my inability to tackle the hill in Kasbegi rationalised for now, this made it feel like an excellent trip. I was aware that with expert guidance that this may have been possible but I had not expected success.
The evening ended with calling Nightjars and thereafter one of our party engaging in an ill-fated night drive to try and break his Golden Jackal hoodoo.
The trip list had now climbed into the 150's in just five days.
All the best
Basically we travelled within one hour of our lodgings and recorded around 75 species. We started the day at 5.30am with 500 Rose-coloured Starlings emerging from the marsh by the dam and it was a cracking day. The default species were countless Isabelline Wheatears, Woodchat Shrikes, Bee-eaters and Rollers as well as frequent groups of fifty to one hundred Rose-coloured Starlings with the constant chorus of Crested Larks and Corn and Black-headed Buntings.
New species recorded for the trip included Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, Pied Wheatear, Black Francolin, Chukars, Pheasant, at least three Lesser Kestrel, two White-tailed Eagles, an Eastern Imperial Eagle, at least three Black Vultures, a brief calling Eagle Owl, Stock Doves, Lesser Short-toed Larks, Woodlarks, Tree Sparrows, Rufous Bushchats, Menetrie's Warblr, Rock Nuthatch, Whiskered and White-winged Black Terns and Eastern Olivaceous Warbler.
However, a personal highlight for me was watching two Sakers interact with Kestrels and Long-legged Buzzards against a dramatic cliff face. My fourth tick of the trip. With my inability to tackle the hill in Kasbegi rationalised for now, this made it feel like an excellent trip. I was aware that with expert guidance that this may have been possible but I had not expected success.
The evening ended with calling Nightjars and thereafter one of our party engaging in an ill-fated night drive to try and break his Golden Jackal hoodoo.
The trip list had now climbed into the 150's in just five days.
All the best
Last edited:
Paul Chapman
Well-known member
Day six – Friday 11th May
We left Chachuna before 7.00am, checked various salt lakes for possible Demoiselle Crane sightings, onto Lake Jandari and then back to Tblisi via a heronry at Rustavi with a final dusk crack to find a late wintering Bluethroat at Lake Kumisi (as it was the main bogey bird of one of our party).
It was not much of a surprise with the thoroughness of the day before that there were not many additions as we left Chachuna but it was still bird-filled with the species with which we had become familiar. Nevertheless Rock Sparrow was an addition and an Eagle Owl looking down at us suspiciously from its roadside cliff face was a superb experience. Also recorded was a Siberian Stonechat. I had identified a European Stonechat at Kasbegi and I need to check and compare the photos in finalising my records.
The salt lakes themselves – three were checked in different locations – were uneventful but the journeys were punctuated with the colourful backdrop of Bee eaters, Rollers, Golden Orioles, Shrikes and Black-headed Buntings. More unusual were six Monty’s split equally between the sexes, a male Pallid, a Black Stork and two Booted Eagles. Additions included Turtle Dove and Penduline Tit – nest building alongside a bridge.
We arrived at Lake Jandari at around 2.00pm. The highlights were three Pygmy Cormorants and a late wintering Dalmatian Pelican sat on the Azerbaijan shoreline. Other additions included Cattle Egret, Bittern, Gull-billed and Little Terns, Great Reed Warbler, Squacco and Night Herons and Hobby. My personal highlights however were cracking close views of summer-plumaged Whiskered and White-winged Black Terns.
En route to Rustavi, roadside flooded fields produced a Marsh Sandpiper with 17 Wood Sandpipers and a pylon a roadside Eastern Imperial Eagle nest with both adults in attendance.
Rustavi itself held 250 pairs of Cattle Egret and 100 pairs of Night Heron with Squacco Heron, Little and Great Egrets and three Pygmy Cormorants. Overhead was at least one Eastern Imperial Eagle.
By now, the insects were biting, the light was getting poorer and the rain heavier. Tblisi and an earlier finish with some final beers beckoned but we decided to give Lake Kumisi a crack for that bogey Bluethroat nevertheless.
En route there, a friend’s phone went and a familiar name flashed up. He didn’t pick up to keep the cost under control and started a text exchange. We guessed the call on what would be a Friday afternoon would mean a good find at Portbury Wharf - part of our (rather large) patch. We speculated but then discovered unexpectedly that he had just found a summer-plumaged Spotted Sandpiper. One hell of a patch bird. My extreme reaction rather confused our guide and we then chatted through whether it would be possible to get there by dark the next day if it stayed.
Back to the business in hand. On arrival, the lake was massive. Pintail was added to the trip list. We parked up and headed through the bushes getting wetter and wetter and muddier and muddier as we went. Friends picked up Kingfisher and Purple Heron. We picked up two small waders. They were stints but which? They looked like Temminck’s but we were now getting soaked and had no scope. To be blunt, we would have turned our backs and walked away but before we knew it, our tireless guide was disappearing into the distance to grab a scope. He returned and we felt obliged to match his enthusiasm. Two Temminck’s were joined by four Little Stints and a Little Ringed Plover.
And then, a friend added casually – in that field over there, there’s a group of birds that are probably Grey Herons but they look like cranes. They were several hundred yards away. I swung around the scope. They were cranes. I tried to check the heads and thought that I saw a red crown. ‘They’re just commons.’ But then I focussed a bit better. White head plumes, black necks, hold on. What the @#@#. I let out a shout of celebration. On the last day at dusk in the rain, caked in mud, and at distance, at a site where they had not previously been recorded, our friend had found seven Demoiselle Cranes. In the gathering gloom, we headed closer and picked up some photos before turning away in very high spirits indeed. What a remarkable last addition to the trip providing my fifth tick. A fairy tale ending.
En route back to a main road whilst our guide expertly dealt with the deep mud and we were grateful for both his skill and the four wheel drive, two Golden Jackals capped off the trip to our friend's delight. Hoodoo ended.
After an eventful day, the final trip list stood in the high 180’s or maybe a few more with some final thought needed on European/Siberian Stonechat, Nightingale/Thrush Nightingale and some raptor photos.
A celebratory beer was had over dinner in Tblisi.
We left Chachuna before 7.00am, checked various salt lakes for possible Demoiselle Crane sightings, onto Lake Jandari and then back to Tblisi via a heronry at Rustavi with a final dusk crack to find a late wintering Bluethroat at Lake Kumisi (as it was the main bogey bird of one of our party).
It was not much of a surprise with the thoroughness of the day before that there were not many additions as we left Chachuna but it was still bird-filled with the species with which we had become familiar. Nevertheless Rock Sparrow was an addition and an Eagle Owl looking down at us suspiciously from its roadside cliff face was a superb experience. Also recorded was a Siberian Stonechat. I had identified a European Stonechat at Kasbegi and I need to check and compare the photos in finalising my records.
The salt lakes themselves – three were checked in different locations – were uneventful but the journeys were punctuated with the colourful backdrop of Bee eaters, Rollers, Golden Orioles, Shrikes and Black-headed Buntings. More unusual were six Monty’s split equally between the sexes, a male Pallid, a Black Stork and two Booted Eagles. Additions included Turtle Dove and Penduline Tit – nest building alongside a bridge.
We arrived at Lake Jandari at around 2.00pm. The highlights were three Pygmy Cormorants and a late wintering Dalmatian Pelican sat on the Azerbaijan shoreline. Other additions included Cattle Egret, Bittern, Gull-billed and Little Terns, Great Reed Warbler, Squacco and Night Herons and Hobby. My personal highlights however were cracking close views of summer-plumaged Whiskered and White-winged Black Terns.
En route to Rustavi, roadside flooded fields produced a Marsh Sandpiper with 17 Wood Sandpipers and a pylon a roadside Eastern Imperial Eagle nest with both adults in attendance.
Rustavi itself held 250 pairs of Cattle Egret and 100 pairs of Night Heron with Squacco Heron, Little and Great Egrets and three Pygmy Cormorants. Overhead was at least one Eastern Imperial Eagle.
By now, the insects were biting, the light was getting poorer and the rain heavier. Tblisi and an earlier finish with some final beers beckoned but we decided to give Lake Kumisi a crack for that bogey Bluethroat nevertheless.
En route there, a friend’s phone went and a familiar name flashed up. He didn’t pick up to keep the cost under control and started a text exchange. We guessed the call on what would be a Friday afternoon would mean a good find at Portbury Wharf - part of our (rather large) patch. We speculated but then discovered unexpectedly that he had just found a summer-plumaged Spotted Sandpiper. One hell of a patch bird. My extreme reaction rather confused our guide and we then chatted through whether it would be possible to get there by dark the next day if it stayed.
Back to the business in hand. On arrival, the lake was massive. Pintail was added to the trip list. We parked up and headed through the bushes getting wetter and wetter and muddier and muddier as we went. Friends picked up Kingfisher and Purple Heron. We picked up two small waders. They were stints but which? They looked like Temminck’s but we were now getting soaked and had no scope. To be blunt, we would have turned our backs and walked away but before we knew it, our tireless guide was disappearing into the distance to grab a scope. He returned and we felt obliged to match his enthusiasm. Two Temminck’s were joined by four Little Stints and a Little Ringed Plover.
And then, a friend added casually – in that field over there, there’s a group of birds that are probably Grey Herons but they look like cranes. They were several hundred yards away. I swung around the scope. They were cranes. I tried to check the heads and thought that I saw a red crown. ‘They’re just commons.’ But then I focussed a bit better. White head plumes, black necks, hold on. What the @#@#. I let out a shout of celebration. On the last day at dusk in the rain, caked in mud, and at distance, at a site where they had not previously been recorded, our friend had found seven Demoiselle Cranes. In the gathering gloom, we headed closer and picked up some photos before turning away in very high spirits indeed. What a remarkable last addition to the trip providing my fifth tick. A fairy tale ending.
En route back to a main road whilst our guide expertly dealt with the deep mud and we were grateful for both his skill and the four wheel drive, two Golden Jackals capped off the trip to our friend's delight. Hoodoo ended.
After an eventful day, the final trip list stood in the high 180’s or maybe a few more with some final thought needed on European/Siberian Stonechat, Nightingale/Thrush Nightingale and some raptor photos.
A celebratory beer was had over dinner in Tblisi.
Last edited:
Paul Chapman
Well-known member
My last bird of note was a calling Scops Owl at 4.20am on Saturday 12th May in Tblisi from our accommodation.
We saw little else in the rain before our 10.40am flight (7.40am GMT). The Spotted Sandpiper was still present and two of us decided to try for it that night pulling off the 3,700km twitch via Istanbul Attaturk and Gatwick Airports in around twelve and a half hours connecting with it at approximately 8.15pm. (It was still present this evening so available to all of us in the end.)
Now to edit some photos and catch up with my bird records. After that, I'll set out the itinerary & locations in a bit more detail (having checked the maps), set out the species list & occurrences & confirm the costings as well as post a few pictures.
All the best
We saw little else in the rain before our 10.40am flight (7.40am GMT). The Spotted Sandpiper was still present and two of us decided to try for it that night pulling off the 3,700km twitch via Istanbul Attaturk and Gatwick Airports in around twelve and a half hours connecting with it at approximately 8.15pm. (It was still present this evening so available to all of us in the end.)
Now to edit some photos and catch up with my bird records. After that, I'll set out the itinerary & locations in a bit more detail (having checked the maps), set out the species list & occurrences & confirm the costings as well as post a few pictures.
All the best
Last edited:
Mark Harper
World Birder
Just got down the mountain, 2 Rosefinches and 2 Redstarts. Thanks for the gen Paul, we found the first in line with the ski chalet and then had a couple just behind the chalet, which may have included the first. Much better views of Snowcocks also.
Paul Chapman
Well-known member
Excellent!
Excellent report
Sounds like a great trip.
I think we will need to get a bit fitter or wait for a lower snowline before we consider taking it on.
Sounds like a great trip.
I think we will need to get a bit fitter or wait for a lower snowline before we consider taking it on.
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Hi Paul,
is the cost dependent on a minimum number of people, my wife and I like to do stuff alone if we can.
Andy
is the cost dependent on a minimum number of people, my wife and I like to do stuff alone if we can.
Andy
Exceptionally easy to visit independently at very low cost. Minibuses run from Tbilisi to Kazbegi several times a day, starting from Didube bus station and, in 2012, cost only about four euros. It is also possible to negotiate a private taxi from the same bus station and, depending on your haggling skills, can cost just 25-35 euros for the 140 km ride high in the mountains. If with your Russian-speaking wife, this negotiation should be simple.
My flights both visits arrived in the very early hours (as most flights do), so the taxi option allowed me to reach Kazbegi by 7.30 a.m., whereas the minibuses only leave Tibisi from about 9.00 a.m. and then take about three hours to get there.
In Kazbegi, there are many homestays, some with meals, some without. I opted for the latter and stayed in a basic, but completely adequate place on the edge of the village at a grand cost of less than seven euros a night - Lammergeiers et al from the window.
Easy to walk everywhere from the village and no car needed. If lazy or unable to make serious uphill walks, you can get transport from the village to the church high on the opposite slope to begin the long walk up to the snowfields - don't know the cost, as I walked.
In short, cheap and easy - a several-day trip possible below 50 euro. Not bad for the rewards awaiting.
Last edited:
lewis20126
Well-known member
My solo trip wasn't as cheap as Jos's trip - pre-arranged taxi to Kazbegi and return and stayed in the big concrete hotel, but no transport is required once you are there. I was very lucky with the weather (sunny, clear) and had amazing views of the displaying blackcocks within 50m (both sides of the valley), same for snowcocks (one side only) and a pair of Rosefinches on a high snow field. I missed the Redstart but am not a keen WP lister so relaxed about that. One of my favourite trips - but could be grim in low cloud I imagine.
cheers, alan
Paul Chapman
Well-known member
Jos
Superb photos - very gripping:-
http://josstratford.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=19&Itemid=26
08.05-15.05.09 - 190 Euros plus flights covering Kasbegi (75 Euros) & Lake Jandari (115 Euros) - very impressive.
It will be interesting to have a look at the species list but back to my records and snaps for now. I wonder how costs have changed in the last decade.
All the best
Superb photos - very gripping:-
http://josstratford.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=19&Itemid=26
08.05-15.05.09 - 190 Euros plus flights covering Kasbegi (75 Euros) & Lake Jandari (115 Euros) - very impressive.
It will be interesting to have a look at the species list but back to my records and snaps for now. I wonder how costs have changed in the last decade.
All the best
Went again three or four years after that report ...prices pretty much the same.
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Thanks all, looks a must do to me.
A
A
birdmeister
Well-known member
Fantastic trip, Paul, especially the ending! Nice report.
Paul Chapman
Well-known member
Many thanks. I finished getting my ebird records submitted last night - 183 species subject to review and revision (and I know I missed seven species seen by others). I'll attack the photos at the weekend and then aim to post itinerary, species list and a few photos.
All the best
Paul Chapman
Well-known member
A summary of the itinerary of the trip:-
05.05.18
11.50am - Gatwick to Istanbul arriving 5.40pm
7.30pm - Istanbul to Tblisi arriving 10.45pm
06.05.18
Arrived accommodation at around 12.15pm Tblisi
8.10am to 8.50am - travelled to Bodorna
8.50am to 9.30am - birded around Bodorna
9.30am to 9.50am - travelled to Ananuri
9.50am to 2.00pm - birded around Ananuri including lunch break
2.00pm to 3.25pm - travelled to Russian-Georgian monument
3.25pm to 4.35pm - birded around Russian-Georgian monument
4.35pm to 6.10pm - travelled to Stepantsmindi
07.05.18
5.50am to 5.40pm - birded around Stepantsmindi including both sides of the valley and above Gergeti Trinity Church
5.40pm to 6.30pm - birded around Gveleti (towards the Russian border)
6.30pm to 8.00pm - birded around Stepantsmindi
08.05.18
5.45am to 9.15am - birded around Stepantsmindi
9.15am to 10.35am - birded around Kobi
10.35am to 1.00pm - travelled to and from and birded around Russian-Georgian monument
1.00pm to 2.40pm - birded around Stepantsmindi
2.40pm to 5.50pm - birded around Sno
5.50pm to 8.00pm - birded around Stepantsmindi
09.05.18
7.00am to 9.45am - birded around Stepantsmindi
9.45am to 11.55am - travelled to Ananuri
11.55am to 12.15pm - brief stop at Ananuri
12.15pm to 1.20pm - travelled to Tblisi Reservoir
1.20pm to 2.00pm - birded Tblisi Reservoir
2.00pm to 5.00pm - travelled Tblisi to Eagle Gorge
5.00pm to 6.00pm - birded Eagle Gorge
6.00pm to 8.00pm - travelled to Chachunu Managed Reserve
10.05.18
5.30am to 8.30pm - birded in a radius around 15 miles of Chachuna Managed Reserve Hotel
11.05.18
5.45am to 6.45am - birded around Chachuna Managed Reserve Hotel
6.45am to 8.45am - travelled to Kochebi Lake
8.45am to 9.05am - birded around Kochebi Lake
9.05am to 11.25am - travelled to Udabno area
11.25am to 1.00pm - birded area including Kapatadze and Jikurebi Lakes
1.00pm to 2.12pm - travelled to Jandari Lake
2.12pm to 4.30pm - birded around Jandari Lake
4.30pm to 5.25pm - travelled to Rustavi Cemetery
5.25pm to 6.00pm - birded Rustavi Cemetery and adjacent heronry
6.00pm to 8.00pm - travelled to Lake Kumisi
6.30pm to 8.00pm - birded Lake Kumisi
8.00pm to 9.30pm - travelled to Tblisi Accommodation
12.05.18
10.40am - Tblisi to Istanbul arriving 12.05pm
13.55pm - Istanbulto Gatwick arriving 4.00pm (in fact delayed c40 mins)
A few pics attached. Three pictures of the Chachuna area with the last including a spot the Eagle Owl competition. Also a traffic jam Georgian style and a not uncommon sight in Chachuna - a bush full of Rosy Starlings........
All the best
Paul
05.05.18
11.50am - Gatwick to Istanbul arriving 5.40pm
7.30pm - Istanbul to Tblisi arriving 10.45pm
06.05.18
Arrived accommodation at around 12.15pm Tblisi
8.10am to 8.50am - travelled to Bodorna
8.50am to 9.30am - birded around Bodorna
9.30am to 9.50am - travelled to Ananuri
9.50am to 2.00pm - birded around Ananuri including lunch break
2.00pm to 3.25pm - travelled to Russian-Georgian monument
3.25pm to 4.35pm - birded around Russian-Georgian monument
4.35pm to 6.10pm - travelled to Stepantsmindi
07.05.18
5.50am to 5.40pm - birded around Stepantsmindi including both sides of the valley and above Gergeti Trinity Church
5.40pm to 6.30pm - birded around Gveleti (towards the Russian border)
6.30pm to 8.00pm - birded around Stepantsmindi
08.05.18
5.45am to 9.15am - birded around Stepantsmindi
9.15am to 10.35am - birded around Kobi
10.35am to 1.00pm - travelled to and from and birded around Russian-Georgian monument
1.00pm to 2.40pm - birded around Stepantsmindi
2.40pm to 5.50pm - birded around Sno
5.50pm to 8.00pm - birded around Stepantsmindi
09.05.18
7.00am to 9.45am - birded around Stepantsmindi
9.45am to 11.55am - travelled to Ananuri
11.55am to 12.15pm - brief stop at Ananuri
12.15pm to 1.20pm - travelled to Tblisi Reservoir
1.20pm to 2.00pm - birded Tblisi Reservoir
2.00pm to 5.00pm - travelled Tblisi to Eagle Gorge
5.00pm to 6.00pm - birded Eagle Gorge
6.00pm to 8.00pm - travelled to Chachunu Managed Reserve
10.05.18
5.30am to 8.30pm - birded in a radius around 15 miles of Chachuna Managed Reserve Hotel
11.05.18
5.45am to 6.45am - birded around Chachuna Managed Reserve Hotel
6.45am to 8.45am - travelled to Kochebi Lake
8.45am to 9.05am - birded around Kochebi Lake
9.05am to 11.25am - travelled to Udabno area
11.25am to 1.00pm - birded area including Kapatadze and Jikurebi Lakes
1.00pm to 2.12pm - travelled to Jandari Lake
2.12pm to 4.30pm - birded around Jandari Lake
4.30pm to 5.25pm - travelled to Rustavi Cemetery
5.25pm to 6.00pm - birded Rustavi Cemetery and adjacent heronry
6.00pm to 8.00pm - travelled to Lake Kumisi
6.30pm to 8.00pm - birded Lake Kumisi
8.00pm to 9.30pm - travelled to Tblisi Accommodation
12.05.18
10.40am - Tblisi to Istanbul arriving 12.05pm
13.55pm - Istanbulto Gatwick arriving 4.00pm (in fact delayed c40 mins)
A few pics attached. Three pictures of the Chachuna area with the last including a spot the Eagle Owl competition. Also a traffic jam Georgian style and a not uncommon sight in Chachuna - a bush full of Rosy Starlings........
All the best
Paul
Attachments
Last edited:
jurek
Well-known member
Thanks Paul!
It brings warm memories of our trip last year. We took a 4WD and booked a flat in Stephansminda via Airbnb. We had snowcocks, black grouse, ibex and wallcreeper. I filmed great rosefinches with a phone down to few meters. We missed the redstart and semi-distinct flycatcher. That last one we looked everywhere where they were reported few weeks before. I think this species is more a passage migrant in Georgia and disappears by mid-May. We also went to some monastery on the steppes, had imperial eagle at nest and armenian gull. But no demoiselle cranes.
The agent given us the 4WD with city tyres, so we cold not drive much uphill. It turned very well when we asked the house owner to take us to the monastery at Stemphansminda. I would probably broke down the 4WD on that road. More like a canyon washed by rainwater between houses, although locals braved it even in normal cars. And of course, main roads all over the country are migration routes of herders and huge herds their livestock. Lorries and cars honking their way though hundreds of horses, cows, sheep, dogs etc.
Like Paul and Jos, I recommend everybody to visit Georgia. Exotic flavor, but civilized enough to do it independently as a WP destination.
It brings warm memories of our trip last year. We took a 4WD and booked a flat in Stephansminda via Airbnb. We had snowcocks, black grouse, ibex and wallcreeper. I filmed great rosefinches with a phone down to few meters. We missed the redstart and semi-distinct flycatcher. That last one we looked everywhere where they were reported few weeks before. I think this species is more a passage migrant in Georgia and disappears by mid-May. We also went to some monastery on the steppes, had imperial eagle at nest and armenian gull. But no demoiselle cranes.
The agent given us the 4WD with city tyres, so we cold not drive much uphill. It turned very well when we asked the house owner to take us to the monastery at Stemphansminda. I would probably broke down the 4WD on that road. More like a canyon washed by rainwater between houses, although locals braved it even in normal cars. And of course, main roads all over the country are migration routes of herders and huge herds their livestock. Lorries and cars honking their way though hundreds of horses, cows, sheep, dogs etc.
Like Paul and Jos, I recommend everybody to visit Georgia. Exotic flavor, but civilized enough to do it independently as a WP destination.
Similar threads
