Batumi - Boots on the Ground 6th to 28th September..... (1 Viewer)

[rollingthunder]

It doesn’t seem like a year, where does the time go?, this time last year was the last continuous sunny and warm weather that I can remember so here’s to more of the same.

First a few travel details -

Price was a priority but so was actually flying into Batumi rather than Kutaisi which is 2.5-3 hours by minibus (Mashtruka) and landing there would be in the very early hours of the morning. Most flights are of a similar duration of 9-12 hours including a layover generally at SAW Istanbul’s new airport. The flight time is around 3.5 hours give or take. The final destination of Batumi airport is another 1.5 hours with views of the Black Sea and the odd bit of coastline e.g. Trabzon. Where to fly from is the other issue and who with? Most convenient and direct for me is BHX Birmingham. Turkish Airlines, the national carrier, was far too expensive at twice the price of either Luton or London and 3 times that of Stansted. Flights from Luton were only to Kutaisi so Stansted it had to be. This was a scheduled departure at 0710 which meant a coach from Digbeth at 2115 the previous evening. I left the house at 1730 and had a coupla beers in Brum for what was going to be around 22 hours of travel.

Added to the travel time was 2 hours sitting on the runway due to fog. This didn’t affect us but incoming flights were stacking due to poor visibility so they obviously had priority.

I flew with Pegasus Airlines the Turkish Airlines budget branch. Booking both flights with them meant that they are responsible for the transfer of my hold luggage i.e. my folding Brompton bike , Tripod and a small bag of tools, pump, puncture stuff etc - just under the 20kg allowance. My luggage bag was a lightweight see through type from IKEA rather than my hardshell that I took to Eilat 18 months ago. The check-in lady clocked it was a bike and said they charge accordingly. I protested and said that she only recognised it because she could see through the bag! £53 later there is only one winner when you have to get on that plane. I paid £225 for the return flight plus about £150 in luggage costs not including the latter charge. Coach to Digbeth was £40 return and local travel is on my pensioners Travel Card.

Flying into Batumi is far more convenient as my whole trip will be based here and the terminal is only 4 miles from the city centre which was duly cycled on Friday evening. I had had no food for 18 hours and no sleep whatsoever. The hostel is well stocked with cold Georgian craft beer so 3x 0.5cl was the right amount to ensure a good sleep. I went to bed at midnight and woke at 9pm so I obviously needed it. It had rained heavily on Friday morning and there were still lots of large puddles here and there. This means high humidity as it evaporates, the temperature was still 23c at 2330. I am stopping at the Hostel Voyage in a 6-berth bunk room for the superb deal of £6.70 per night which includes a 20% discount as I am staying 3 weeks. The bunks are comfortable and spacious as is the allocated locker. Being a hostel there is a common room with catering facilities 3 toilets and a shower. I much prefer hostels but they are not generally an option when The Bride is in tow. Fortunately she has dropped out so I extended the trip to 3 weeks instead of the usual 2.

Batumi International is the only airport afaik where planes have to stack for unto an hour when rain forces Raptors to move low over the runway - I have observed this myself with 3 planes circling and hundreds of Kites and Harriers etc were drifting low over the airfield.

Yesterday (Saturday) was spent getting my bearings and recovering from the travelling. Beer was drunk and new friends made in addition to obtaining the all-important Batumi bus card and putting some credit on it which will be done sometime today (Sunday). Next week, Mon-Fri I plan to hit the Bird Observatory at Station 1 Sakhalvasho. I will take a bus to the nearby Botanical Gardens (Kruper’s Nuthatch) then cycle through the tunnel and up the hill. This saves on taxis and means I can stop as and when. Today I am going to cycle up to the nearby Argo restaurant. The views are stunning and you can get cold beer. There is a cable car but not only have I used that a lot in the past but it is now 30Gel about £8.50. Five years ago it was 10Gel and I think it is now a rip-off. I have bought the bike for a reason and intend to use it as much as possible particularly as it is now worth £53 more…..

Birdwise things got off, they always do, to a slow start for the counters from mid-August. A month in and they have recorded 400k Honey Buzzards. This will tail off at half a million. Black Kites are now building and then it will be Steppe Buzzards. Potentially there might be 1.5M by the time the season count finishes in mid-October. The 3 species mentioned dominate numerically but there can be 25 more Raptor species to be seem. There are also impressive Stork numbers and lots of Passerines both in the air and the surrounding woodland habitat. The last 10 days have seen day counts of Honey Buzzard at 30k, 40k, 63k and 50k. Crested HB are already in double figures which in itself is early. Notable has been 3 White-tailed Eagles, 2 Saker and a single Lanner. Passerines include a flyover calling Blue-cheeked Bee Eater and singing Green Warblers and Red-breasted Flycatcher. Rollers have also been notable with 300+ being recorded the other day. In addition what can only be described as an astonishing sight must have been an estimated nearly 350 Black-winged Pratincoles hawking and wheeling between the both Stations!

The weather is forecast good all week with temperatures between 28c and 30c. This could mean kettles going higher but there will still be birds moving lower affording good views. Good weather is better for the birds and that is the important bit. I come here for nice weather so it’s a compromise. I will also bird locally in the parks and visit the Chorokoi delta area although the thought of bumping into and having to ignore hunters will be an issue - pointing out that it is illegal is just not worth bothering with. The custom has to die with them and concerted education at school level is big in Adjara.

I will post next on my visit to the Argo.

Good birding -

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

Sunday 8th September

Yesterday was bright and warm but clouding over mid-afternoon and by the early evening, around 7pm, the promised heavy rain came in with rolling thunder and impressive lightning…..

I caught the first cable car at 10am to the Argo Restaurant high above the town. The seemingly numerous cemeteries that you pass over en-route is a little disconcerting as you sway gently in the breeze in your Iron cradle - I did however have a marauding fem/juv Sparrowhawk for company for part of the 15 minute journey. I was indeed the first person on the viewing terrace and set up optics, sandwich and refreshment accordingly once I had found a chair and staked my claim as, literally, ‘King of the Hill’.

Viewing from the Argo is a lottery. If the streams pass over Sakhalvasho they can be broad front, the the East where the continue kettling but several miles away or the can pass between the Argo and Batumi City and take a more coastal track. I have had some stunning days up at the Argo but yesterday wasn’t one of them.

There were numerous streams and continual kettling to the East involving groups of 500+ individuals easily.

Through my 12x Swaro’s they were still a bit specky but once the BTX with their 30x fixed magnification were trained more specific ID could be ascertained…..at my level. I am reasonably experienced having made 3 previous trips here but I still need a few hours to get my eye in as they say. The flocks did seem to be dominated by Buzzard (Honey) types with Black Kites in attendance and the odd Booted was clocked.

The main issue, for me, is that these species are similar in size and the views from the Argo unless the birds tower higher are side-on not silhouette from underneath. A couple of moderate kettles over the Argo around 2pm comprised of mainly BK with both Honey and Steppe-type Buzzards in a flock size of ca150 individuals.

Several single figure parties of BK drifted lazily over downtown Batumi.

I cut my losses at 2:30pm and headed back for a coupla beers at a local Georgian craft beer bar called Popeye Bar and spent a coupla hours talking to a couple of South Africans who were working for the Summer at a nearby organic farm. Their deal consists of about 5 hours work daily in 5 out of 7 days in return for board and lodging.

As stated very little came over the Argo save for hundred of Hirundines mainly Swallows but the odd House Martin. I did however manage excellent views of several species which due to their proximity I watched instead of photographing. A smart male Marsh Harrier cruised past, a fresh-looking juvenile Goshawk appeared out of nowhere followed minutes later by a young Peregrine clutching a freshly caught Hirundine possibly one of the many juvenile Swallows present.

Today I get a local bus towards the botanical gardens and cycle through the tunnel and off to the right up to to Station 1 Sakhalvasho. The weather for the rest of the week is forecast warm and sunny 28-30c so I am looking forward to the daily hike up there and maybe local at the weekend. I will post today’s sightings and some pics next.

Good birding -

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

Monday 9th September

An addendum to the last post - 47k+ Honey Buzzards were recorded at Sakhalvasho whilst I was up at the Argo.

A later start than I anticipated but it will be the first of double figure trips to Station 1 so it was a partial exercise in testing the logistics. The bus of choice is the 10s to Sakhalvasho the 10 goes directly to the Botanical Gardens which itself can be very productive during migration particularly during showers notably overnight ones - get there first thing. For any old sweats think the Abbey Gardens on Tresco and then some.

I decanted adjacent to the tunnel (will post map) and proceeded to cycle through and off to the right which is clearly marked ‘Raptor Watchpoint’. I know the route and after half-way, consuming my complete 1L of Orange juice in the process, thought better of it in future. I am not on holiday to arrive sweaty, knackered and dehydrated to spend the rest of the day recovering and birding. A young man from a guest house started chatting to me and provided water. Always looking to make some money we struck a deal to pick me up in Batumi at 9am Mondays to Fridays and drop me at the Watchpoint steps - for the princely sum of 20Gel, about 6 quid a price that gets me a couple of miles in native Stourbridge! He also took me the remaining ascent in his pickup.

I arrived about midday. Fortunately there had been very little movement and mostly high as the weather was sunny and warm. About 15 counters were sprawled clickers dangling from belts. They operate from behind a rope cordon which nobody pays attention to. In addition about 20 birders were present with an array of impressive optics but as yet no Swarovski BTX. 2 of the village Dogs were in attendance wanting a mixture of fuss and food - I remember both from last year.

From about 1230 kettles were forming in the distance and birds were streaming.

Honey Buzzards again leading the way with groups of several hundred. A good mix of plumage variations.

TBH I need a couple of days to get my eye in to start searching for goodies. Yesterday it was done for me with no less than 11 Oriental Honey Buzzards not only being identified but sexed and aged plus a further 6 at Station 2 Shuamta. When I first came in 2018 OHB were counted on one hand now it’s in increasingly higher double figures - how long before triple figures? Is breeding success good? migration pattern changed? I suspect it is increased observer skills….. The odd Booted Eagle and Steppe Buzzard I noted and a Short-toed distinctly pale individual was seen later on. The first of several high-flying Lesser Spotted thought they could sneak through under the cover of Buzzards and Kites - not a chance, if it moves it is recorded. HB’s dropped off about 3 as heavy cloud descended but not to be outdone Black Kites put in an appearance in numbers.

Parties of Bee Eaters continuously called overhead but I actually failed to clock any as they were moving too high but they were the first I have recorded this trip.

The day, for me, finished at 5 and I cycled back intending to pick up a bus en route but the traffic in the tunnel and back to Batumi some 7 miles distant was and always is heavy around teatime. I cycled all the way back passing a number of buses stuck in traffic. It is downhill-ish to undulating not strenuous gives me a chance to look at some river and coastal bits and work up a beer thirst.

Honey Buzzards yesterday were about 24k at Sak. I normally only see a few hundred when I arrive so coming an extra week early is the first time in 4 trips that I have been able to see them in number.

More tomorrow.

Good birding -

Laurie -

 

[Antik]

Dear Laurie,

Thank you for the excellent reporting again. I believe my time in Batumi overlapped with yours last year and we might have greeted on the platform. Will be exciting to follow what you find this year!

Bringing a bicycle seems like a great choice for the flatter parts of the city. I chose a guesthouse near to Sakhalvasho so was able to do a morning hike up. I then had a hotel closer to airport for access to North side of the Choroki river on foot and the delta itself plus the fish ponds just south of the airport by bus. Bolt/Uber is also relatively affordable though nowhere near the bus prices.

 

[rollingthunder]

You are too kind Antik - I don't anticipate 'finding' anything but you never know.....

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

Tuesday 10th September

A much slower day today which allowed views of species that view close to the observatory. The weather was very warm, humid and a rapidly building heat haze meant detail was difficult on birds against the land.

Honey Buzzards just scraped over 1k with Black Kites dominating from the start. Notable were many Booted Eagles including complete double figure groups of Pale morph. Harriers were sprinkled throughout the session with several smart Montague’s males. A handful of Pallids were identified including a ghostly White male which always looks the business as they say. Levant Sparrowhawks also put in an appearance. A small flock of 9 birds were noted as was several pale males with distinct dark wing-tips. My first juvenile Hobby of the trip zipped past almost unnoticed. Both Lesser-Spotted and Short-toed were recorded the latter less than a handful. The counters got very animated when an adult Egyptian Vulture showed up mid-afternoon - I think as it was a lifer for most of them….. I missed both Ospreys and a Steppe Eagle but as I didn’t hear them shouted out I assumed they appeared before I arrived. I did manage the odd Steppe Buzzard.

Non raptors added to the mix. Notable were the Rollers. Small and large parties in the late morning almost buzzing the Observatory. I had several ones and twos then 19, 35 and 58 in relatively short time. An early session adult Purple Heron creaked past not bothering to wait for the thermals and a flyover, calling, Tawny Pipit was heard.

Bird of the day went to, albeit briefly, a fresh out of the paint shop juvenile Greater Spotted Eagle. No sooner had it been picked up…..it was shot! I clocked it and thought I will watch and take photos as it rises as it was directly below the Obs. I didn’t know that there is a small cleared area where several ‘hunters’ gather. Let’s face it even they are not going to miss with a scatter gun it’s hardly long-distance sniping. The counters knew the bird was in imminent danger and were shouting ‘higher, higher’ reminiscent of that quiz show game from decades ago. Bang it went down and the cries changed to ‘Bastards, Bastards’.

It put a dent in everybody’s day - I slunk off to the adjacent refreshments hooch and had a bottle of cold Lager to drown my sorrows…..

Good birding -

Laurie -

 

[temmie]

Truly awful.
I remember hearing shots when I was there, but during my count there I never had anything shot down. Saw some birds with clear holes in the wings though.

 

[wolfbirder]

Awful Laurie.

But important to report it as it is.

 

[Jos Stratford]

Though I appreciate the real value of boosting ecotourism and showing the locals the value of these birds, my last visit was marred by having two raptors shot out of the sky in front of me - a harrier that slowly spiralled out of the sky and a Steppe Eagle that also made the mistake of flying low over our heads only to be shot moments later. Like the account from Laurie, the counters knew it was about to happen, crying 'too low, too low'. Other birds got clipped while I was there.

It is sickening and, while as said I recognise the importance of tourists attending, I honestly would have heavy heart to go again.

 

[temmie]

I would still go back, Jos. That place is in my heart forever.
I hope the long-term approach (through education) will (slowly) stop the culture of 'hunting' those magnificent birds.

 

[rollingthunder]

Agreed and one is one too many. This sort of thing is generational and has to be bred out. I have seen parties of Georgian schoolchildren up at Sak and I think I can safely say that none of those will be shooting birds and importantly their kids. Having just read that it doesn't look good but you know what I mean ;-)

Bear in mind that the original birders blazing the trail for the Batumi bottleneck stood shoulder to shoulder up on the hill with the people shooting at the same birds - that doesn't take place any more.....

Who knows how many are actually shot and killed from the 1.5M annually recorded? The bird I saw was the first one that I have noted in 4 visits. Obviously these birds have been travelling and some show signs of pellet damage. After Georgia and The Bosphorous etc they have the nightmare that is Lebanon, a country that shoots their own people during daylight hours. Throughout the range of White Stork they are universally seen as the harbingers of Spring fertility making their way from their African wintering grounds actually with babies in their beaks - that's what my late Mum used to say to me and that in England where they don't even breed!

White Storks are routinely shot at in Lebanon try changing that sort of mentality.

Anyway, more notes tomorrow.

Good birding -

Laurie -

 

[temmie]

Bear in mind that the original birders blazing the trail for the Batumi bottleneck stood shoulder to shoulder up on the hill with the people shooting at the same birds - that doesn't take place any more.....

I vaguely remember this. I was there in 2008, but late in the season (end of September) and hunter's activity is probably higher around beginning to mid-september.

Here is a Sparrowhawk. My orginal comment: Local hunters 1 - Sparrowhawk 0


The stupid thing is that they actually hunt using Sparrowhawks to catch smaller birds (like the one below), so I don't know why this one was shot. Maybe just for 'sport'.


Last, here is one of those trail blazers:

 

[rollingthunder]

Wednesday 11th September

Addendum to yesterday’s notes were another good day count of Crested Honey Buzzard at Station 2 Shuamta of another 8 birds and a single Long leg. Sak recorded 3 CHB, the 2 I saw were well marked birds with distinct tail patterns.

My new arrangement of being picked up by the lovely Zuka at 0830 means arriving at Sak for 9 o’clock which is great. Generally speaking not much moves before then despite counters being on site from 6ish onwards.

It was generally a quiet day again very hot with a heat haze which meant me just looking at mid-distance kettles and anything that passed over the Station. Hats off to the counters for straining their eyes at hazy specks but that’s why they are there. The absence of any low cloud meant more or less continuous light streams with not only birds to check but allowed long views of individuals passing over and near.

Honey Buzzards have noticeably dropped off with <1500 birds counted at each Station. Black Kites now rule with nearly 14k recorded at Sak - it will be interesting to see if the day count record of 38k from last year is beaten. Harriers have also tailed off from several hundred per day to easily <100. Still 40+ Marsh, several Monties and a couple of close Pallid impresses me as a UK birder that does not see any Harrier annually! Nearly 200 Booted Eagles was very impressive, whatever their age they look freshly airbrushed particularly the dark juveniles and their subtle ‘fresh’ unmoulted look. Short-toed just made double digit. I managed a close in Lesser Spot and my first Osprey of the season a smart looking female. This bird thermalled with BK and BE not the normal migrating Ospreys I see which are normally making a Bee-line South somewhere.

A handful of nice Steppe Buzzards in the afternoon and a distant unidentified large Falco sp.

Small groups of Bee Eaters hawked close by and I recorded my first Storks of the trip with a single of each. The only Rollers noted were a small party of 15 birds that passed in front late morning.

I spent a couple of hours on the upper terrace yesterday rather than where the counters work. Viewing from the latter means you can pick up directions when something notable is being grilled but I opted to go upstairs to look myself as passage was light. I spent time in the company of half a dozen birders from China that I have been chatting to on and off for a few days. They have travelled across China to catch a plane to Tbilisi and then a train to Batumi a distance of over 7Kkm. They are stopping at a guest house literally at the bottom of the Station steps. They are constantly chattering as stuff passes and give whoops and high fives for close in birds whether it be a Booted or a Short-toed. The White Stork in with Kites etc had them in raptures - yes it is a strange hobby but all the better for having strange voices from distant lands enjoying the experience…..

More tomorrow.

Good birding -

Laurie -

The notes I post are only what I see each day here is a link to what BRC put up.

Migration Count Data — Batumi Raptor Count

 

[Gladiator96]

I vaguely remember this. I was there in 2008, but late in the season (end of September) and hunter's activity is probably higher around beginning to mid-september.

Here is a Sparrowhawk. My orginal comment: Local hunters 1 - Sparrowhawk 0
View attachment 1601176

The stupid thing is that they actually hunt using Sparrowhawks to catch smaller birds (like the one below), so I don't know why this one was shot. Maybe just for 'sport'.
View attachment 1601189

Last, here is one of those trail blazers:
View attachment 1601190

Sparrowhawks are caught by falconers using live birds (usually Red-backed Shrikes!) tied to a string. There are multiple videos of this on youtube. A short documentary is also available here - Watch Now: Worlds Collide — Batumi Raptor Count.

 

[temmie]

Wednesday 11th September

Addendum to yesterday’s notes were another good day count of Crested Honey Buzzard at Station 2 Shuamta of another 8 birds and a single Long leg. Sak recorded 3 CHB, the 2 I saw were well marked birds with distinct tail patterns.

My new arrangement of being picked up by the lovely Zuka at 0830 means arriving at Sak for 9 o’clock which is great. Generally speaking not much moves before then despite counters being on site from 6ish onwards.

You happened to meet a group of young Belgians? They were at Shuamta yesterday. Give their leader (Joachim) many greets!

 

[rollingthunder]

Thursday 12th September

Probably the quietest day I have spent on the hill in 4 trips thus far. I would never say unproductive as every day is gravy birdwise here in Batumi. The incredible heat haze is a factor, yesterday it was even over the sea.

It means mid-distance birds can be reduced to contrasty, hazy, silhouettes. I decided to spend time observing what went over and past. A couple of hours spent ‘upstairs’ in the Chinese Quarter proved productive as it coincided with a boost in activity from 2pm onwards. Up until Midday there were only several hundred birds recorded at Station 1 between Midday and 2pm things picked up with movement between the Station and the Sea. When I departed at 4:30 increasing numbers were being noted at Station 2 Shuamta and from Sak in the East - the Popeye Bar in Old Town Batumi called and it was an hour to get there with a combination of Bicycle to the first bus stop a coupla miles away and then a bus into town. 9-5 isn’t a bad stint.

Honey Buzzards can now be picked out in flocks of Black Kites as opposed to a week ago. Ca3k Honey Buzzards and 16k Black Kite were recorded between Stations with Sak getting the Lion’s share of BK at nearly 12k. Booted continue to show with 170 at Sak many giving excellent views to check for juveniles. Over 200 Harriers including MonPals were counted with Marsh accounting for 2/3. Short-toed seem to be increasingly sighted with 30+ total and Lesser Spotted in similar numbers. During the afternoon period I saw 8 birds 3 of them going over adjacent to the Obs giving stunning views. Large Eagles continue to tantalise with a handful going down as ‘Large Eagle sp’. Egyptian Vulture is always a good bird and a mid-distance juvenile wowed folk. I did hear someone say ‘it would have been better had it been an adult’ - I responded that a juvenile bird means that it has been fledged somewhere, that’s got to be good surely? No less than 9 Ospreys were shared unfortunately I didn’t see one. It’s amazing what you can miss depending on what side and what level of the Obs you are on. I move about constantly to pick up info. The counters use English but most of the present visitors don’t. Several times I heard ecstatic yelps from the Orientals to which one of the counters asked ‘what have they got’. Having talked to them I was able to enlighten him. The main interest of the group are Harriers. They all come from the far side of China where there is only Hen which is widespread plus Marsh in the wetlands. Both Montie’s and Pallid are highly sought after so they click away at passing Harriers and then they all start checking their digital camera furiously to discuss ID features. Indeed they all have stools and their height plus the length of their large lenses means they simply rest the telephoto on the floor and gas into the viewfinder - I will get a picture it’s quite comical.

I am taking pics and will work through and post some over the weekend. I decided to bring just my Lumix Fz330 bridge camera which has served me well. For some reason it is not working on burst setting which is a pain. I also have my Swarovski mobile phone adapter with rings. I intend to have a practice with this fitted on the 30-70x zoom module. I have a gimbal head on my tripod and a remote Bluetooth for taking images without touching the screen - I will be keen to see how this performs.

More tomorrow

Good birding -

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

Friday 13th September

I forgot to mention several Levantine Sparrowhawks and a couple of juvenile Hobbies from yesterday and ca15 close-in Ravens from Tuesday. I am noting not only the highlight raptors but also the non raptors as it is easy to forget the latter as they are not included in the day tally put out be BRC and for some reason the smaller raptor species are not included. Considering the volume of Sparrowhawks for example but their protocol are medium to large raptors and Storks and presumably anything bigger such as the Great White Pelican from last year!

Today was another quiet day with <10k being recorded between both Stations. Up at Sak despite the lack of volume from about 11 o’clock birds appeared in small loose kettles and as individuals for much of the day and actually picked up a little bit in the East as I departed at around 16:15. I thought it prudent to make tracks as storm clouds were gathering and I cycled/bussed back to a favourite bar in Batumi just in time to duck inside from the showers.

Black Kite still accounted for more than half of the birds recorded with 5k+ at Sak. Station 2 Shuamta had nearly 1200 Steppe Buzzards whereas we barely had a tenth of that. I did manage double figures of some of these very distinctly marked birds. A handful+ of Pallid Harriers were seen early on making their way low around the Station I managed the wing-tip of a male as it went its way. I did better with a fem and a luv later on and hopefully some images. Similar for Monty’s. Ospreys, adult Egyptian Vulture and a lumbering Steppe Eagle all put in viewable appearances as did Crested Honey Buzzard and 20+ Lesser Spotted Eagles. A number of ‘Large’ Eagles tested the ID skills of the more experienced counters and won the day remaining ‘Large’. The odd Black Stork was noted as was a couple of small parties of White. Notable was a mid-afternoon group of 6 small Falcons that on jizz and season were deemed fem/juv Lesser Kestrels. A single Peregrine and a few Levanter Sprawks were also seen. Passerines were limited to lots of Swallows and the familiar trill of Bee Eater was never far away - a party of ca150 hawked around the Obs for a minute or two before heading South.

Quite what the weekend holds I don’t know as I won’t be up there. The Mon-Fri stint will be repeated both next week and the week after but weekends will be relative down time in order to check pictures, check bike and more mundane chores such as washing and particular the drying of the few clothes I have with me. It will give me a chance to have some breakfast out and to mooch around Batumi centre to check out bars and eateries.

I will still be birding with the local ornamental lake and Batumi Boulevard a stones throw away. In addition there is the allure of the Chorokoi Delta to investigate. This side of the airport is fields, ditches and ever-increasing piles of builders rubble from the ever expanding Las Vegas of the Caucasus that is Batumi. The other side is the delta proper and hunters aside I look forward to visiting as I have never actually been to the other side. There is also the Batumi Botanical Gardens where I fully intend to, finally, tick Kruper’s Nuthatch.

Good birding -

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

I couldn’t resist putting up this image. It was taken by one of the counters a Dutch birder Maarten Mortier.

The Pallid Harrier is the symbol of Batumi Raptor Count and this stunning capture of a male at Sakhalvasho captures this emblematic species to perfection imho. I did in fact see this bird and had superb views but I have to say a male Pallid Harrier, close-in, is just one of those jaw-dropping species that you just view in as much detail for as long as possible - well I do anyway. I have pictures from previous trips i.e. record shots but none like this beauty…..

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

PH.....

 

[Gladiator96]

Krupers Nuthatch isn't only found at the Botanic Gardens. I had them right in front of my hotel in Makhinjauri in 2019.