Batumi Sęp !3th - 23rd 2023..... (2 Viewers)

[rollingthunder]

We actually flew to Istanbul on Sat 9th for a few days most of which was spent organising travel arrangements to Batumi. Instead of flying to Kutaisi as we have in the past we wanted to travel back from Georgia on the Dogu (Anatolian) Express which runs from Kars to Ankara from where we can catch a train to Istanbul to fly back from. This meant a 23 hour coach journey from Istanbul to Batumi running the length of the Black Sea - the total trip distance is some 1300+ km and costs around 40 quid. It is not something I will willingly undertake again but it had to be done if we wanted the Doug Express return. Neither the outbound coach or the returning train could be booked beforehand despite much research.

Obviously the object of the trip is the Autumn raptor migration at Batumi. This is our 3rd trip the other 2 being 2018 and 2019. The Covid Shamdemic put a hiatus for our 2020 3rd consecutive trip but normal service has been resumed as they say. Getting up to the Station 1 Watchpoint at Sakhalvasho proved challenging with a coupla days being lost trying to utilise public transport. Public buses around Batumi are excellent with standard rate journeys costing 30 Tetri - 100 Tetri = 1 Lari (Gel) = 3.50 Gel = £1 or thereabouts. Taxis are reasonable but if you are a tourist you have to haggle but it's best to find out from a local what you should pay. With regard to Sakhalvasho the drivers either want an arm and a leg (it's only about 13km) or they will not go as they do not have a chance of a return fare. After a coupla frustrating days I asked a barman at a local hostelry we frequent if he knew of anybody with a car that would do it and bingo.....sorted. The brilliant Hassan is picking me up at 10am to drop me at Sak 20 minutes later and returning me at 5 to an awaiting pint with The Bride. For this I am paying 50 Gel return per day (£13.50) for 4 days total 200 Gel and I will bung him 50 Gel for his services and affable company. I am going to be in touch with him on WhatsApp for next year so if anybody is in the same pedestration-only situation in Batumi just PM me for details.

I will copy and paste current birding details posted elsewhere - I have done 2 days at Sak with another 2 up at the Argo restaurant and cable car for those familiar with Batumi. Today, Wednesday, we are back at the Argo and Thursday/Friday 2 more at Sak. We leave for the border at Sarpi on Saturday morning for a local Turkish bus to Hopa then a coach up the mountains to Kars for an overnight stop prior to the 8 0'clock train on Sunday for the 600km 30-hour journey to Ankara.....

Good Birding -

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

Obviously since this post Internet access has been resolved.

Unfortunately due to Internet issues at the hotel I will not be posting any sightings while in country. We are on the 4th floor where reception is virtually non-existent and I don't generally have access during the day and wish to spend time birding not posting stuff. We have been in Batumi for 3 days and have another week. Transport directly to the Observatory at Sakhalvasho is problematic by Bus as the nearest stop is at the Botanical Gardens which is too far to walk so it might be a taxi from there and wing it back in a car or something. The last 2 days post arrival have seen dry, hot, weather which has meant birds flying very to very high with streams taking the East route which means speck-watching at best for the bulk of the birds. Once I have sorted out a travel strategy I will get to Sak. A good alternative is the Argo Restaurant and cable car which costs 30Gel, about £8.50, double what it was 4 years ago. We spent the day before up there with a few Booted Eagles, Black Kites, double figure solo Sprawks, juv Peregrine. Hundreds of Black Kites kettled a few Kms to the East spiralling up to 15k' I estimate. Many Bee Eaters fed around the Argo updraft and several thousand passed over. Towards the end of the day odd Rumpers started coming through. I will post some pics when I have a look.

Today is forecast heavy showers most of the day so I will make a second trip up the Argo as the heavy skies and forecast precipitation will hopefully put birds directly over Sak and movement between there and the sea. This would make for good viewing from the Argo.....

Good birding -

Laurie -

This is the link to the Batumi Raptor Count daily sightings.

Migration Count Data — Batumi Raptor Count​

www.batumiraptorcount.org

Chance favours the prepared mind

 

[rollingthunder]

Sat 16th Sep -

A return visit to the Argo - I like the challenge of ID rather than have stuff pointed out but on balance I never see or identify very high or distant stuff on my own but it's the next best option than Sak.

Up there for 10:30 and birds of prey were non-existent until a couple of brief Harriers put in an appearance with a 'MonPal' and a very dark Monty around midday. From arrival and throughout the day there was a constant flow of Swallows but despite searching only odd Sand Martins were picked up. Following the Harriers a solo appearance by a distant Roller brightened things up - my first since Spain some 20 years previously. Bee Eaters arrived in waves and spent time hawking around the Argo presumably because of the notable updraft when the wind is from the Black Sea. Another couple of hours of finger-drumming and then from 3 until 4 the sky around was filled with kettling raptors that spiralled overhead and split into streams either side. There must have been about 2k Black Kites with double figures <25 Booted Eagles and maybe >6 Lesser Spotted Eagles with a Sprawk here and there.
This coincided with an arrival of visitors that were bemused by my set up until I pointed out the feast above. Swarovski owe me one as I hardly had a chance to use my 95mm but hey-ho if it makes people aware then that's fine by me.....

By 4:15 it had gone so at 5 I made my way to the cable car and back to Batumi, Bride and Beer. Between my suspended self and the hillside vegetation were hundreds of Bee Eaters hawking and calling only yards below my feet - magical stuff.

Tomorrow I will try to get to Sak by public transport and maybe taxi we shall see how that pans out but there are other options and I still have nearly a week in Georgia which includes the Bird Festival.

Good birding -

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

A few pics.....

Juv-type Yellow-legged Brute
Bosphorous Shag presumably desmarestii
Hoodies
Booty
One of thousands hawking around the Argo

Attachments​

• 
  P1630050-crop.jpg
  838.4 KB · Views: 0
• 
  P1630134-crop.JPG
  589.6 KB · Views: 0
• 
  P1630086-crop.JPG
  922.1 KB · Views: 0
• 
  P1630155-crop.JPG
  238 KB · Views: 0
• 
  P1630178-crop.JPG
  32.8 KB · Views: 0

Chance favours the prepared mind

 

[rollingthunder]

A few more of and from the Argo restaurant and cable car terminal - where you can combine birding with a beer

Attachments​

• 
  P1630171-crop.JPG
  1.3 MB · Views: 0
• 
  P1630172-crop.JPG
  1.8 MB · Views: 0
• 
  P1630250-crop.JPG
  641.4 KB · Views: 0

Chance favours the prepared mind

 

[rollingthunder]

Kites n Kettles.....

Attachments​

• 
  P1630206-crop.JPG
  78.2 KB · Views: 0
• 
  P1630312-crop.JPG
  280.9 KB · Views: 0
• 
  P1630265-crop.JPG
  28.9 KB · Views: 0
• 
  P1630316-crop.JPG
  290.5 KB · Views: 0

Chance favours the prepared mind

 

[rollingthunder]

Last but not least a feeding Hoopoe on Batumi Airport verge and a 'flava' Wag.

Attachments​

• 
  P1630366-crop.JPG
  865.8 KB · Views: 0
• 
  P1630605-crop.JPG
  1.1 MB · Views: 0

Chance favours the prepared mind

 

[rollingthunder]

Sakhalvasho Day 1…..

I finally made it after having a chat with a friendly barman and enquiring if he knows of somebody, anybody, with a car who would be willing to pick me up and drop me at Station (ca14km) and reverse the process. It turns out they have someone who delivers stuff who would be more than willing so a deal was struck.

Hassan will be picking me up at 10am and returning at 5pm Mon/Tue/Thur and Fri - Wed we will make a 3rd and final trip up the Argo at midday after i have caught a bus to the Chorokhoi Delta for about 3 hours birding by way of a change. We have agreed 50 Lari a day which at £13.50 is not bad at all. I will also give him 50Gel on Friday when we finish.

Yesterday prior to pickup it had rained really heavily from 2am onwards finally, mercifully, tailing off by 7am. There isn’t much if any precipitation forecast for the rest of the stay and that deluge has been all we have had so we have been lucky this trip as it is the only one i pack both a small brolly and rain guard for.

The weather up at Sak was a mix of light cloud with sunny spells turning to heavy threatening stuff by 4pm. Station 2 at Shuamta called it a day about 3pm due to both rain and lightning forecast. They are some 7km distant in the foothills where the birds start kettling but are quite exposed and still only have a stretched seasonal tarpaulin to protect themselves from the elements. This was the situation at Sakhalvasho until 2019 when a purpose built concrete building was provided by the Adjara tourist people in acknowledgement of the ecotourism value and somewhere where the many and growing visits from schools etc are now the norm. There is even a separate flushing toilet a sort of ‘cabin in the woods’ for females and those of a shy disposition. The new loo is much more sturdier than the old corrugated tin edifice that used to be utilised due to the fact that a lone female entered it for a ‘comfort break’ early one morning to find herself face to face with a young Brown Bear! I don’t know who was more surprised and frightened but my sympathies are obviously with…..the Ursine upstart.

In Georgia Bears don’t need to shit in the woods as they have a purpose built facility.

Ascending the many concrete stairs, after 4 years it doesn’t get any easier. You are greeted by a loose collection of the seasonal counters, assorted birders set up for the day and glancing up at the second storey a phalanx of more visiting birders - yesterday there was about 50 all day. They are generally Western European but with a sprinkling of Georgians (at this time of year usually associated with tour guiding). Despite this Tower of Babel of babbling birders the Lingua Franca is English…..and rightly so. Despite that generalisation birders often shout out sightings in their native tongue but someone usually follows it up with an English rendition almost like an echo. It is all good natured and the more expert people become very obvious and that helps people like me out. It is very difficult to ‘get in first’ as the seasoned counters and visiting experts usually pick up and tentatively or specifically ID stuff way out which means when birds get closer they are not only positively identified but aged and often sexed. I tend to sit (take your own chair) equidistant from the counters and groups calling stuff out that way you get the best of both worlds and can still scan for your own pleasure when there is a lull. 10-5 is enough for me as you see most of the stuff that is recorded that day in my experience.

My first day up ‘on the hill’ is always a learning curve of getting your eye in and re-acquainting yourself with the topography of the vista as all the hills, gaps, lumps, bumps and distinct trees have a name to enable locating individual birds, groups, kettles and streams. Yesterday I had trouble locating individual birds as it was numbers-wise a relatively quiet day with a lot of birds passing high and generally on the Eastern fringe. Despite that the variety of raptors was excellent with about 16 spp recorded iirc. Most species were seen well particularly through the scope if not photographed - that is personally speaking. I managed to rattle of a coupla thousand shots but as the camera is on ‘burst’ setting it is all too easily done and only realised when checking through similar images back on the laptop but it generally ensures a sharp image each time the shutter is depressed. This trip I am using my recently purchased Swarovski combo of 12x42 NL Pure and 95mm ATX scope c/w 30-60x zoom and a cracking bit of kit it is. I think my bird locating problem is down to the fact that I am used to using my Ziess 7x42’s that have gone everywhere for 40 years. Although the Swaro’s are not a quantum leap in optical performance they are nearly twice the magnification and although the field of view is not far off the same (how do they do it) - these will take some getting used to but having 12x magnification is simply stunning imo. I have a coupla Lumix bridge cameras for photography forsaking my Canon D7 with 150-600mm zoom as it is simply too much to carry as hand luggage which is a shame.

I was just in the process of setting up when someone who was wider awake than me called out a flyover Tawny Pipit which he had picked up on call - I clocked it and had excellent views of a species that I would have probably thought a ‘flava’ Wagtail had I seen it at distance without a call. All was fairly quiet up until midday with a coupla Pallid Harriers ID’d both an immature male and a beautiful fresh Gingery/Orange jug. Batumi is fast becoming the Harrier hotspot for migrating birds with several thousand ‘MonPals’ recorded annually + hundreds of actual Montys and dozens of Pallid not forgetting the odd Hen. Mixed Black Kites and Booted kettled and streamed throughout the day. A coupla close Greater Spotted Eagles were picked up trying to sneak through the valley by some visiting birders. Lots of Lesser Spotted Eagles were seen, many distant and high but a coupla dozen seen well and photographable. A handful of Levantine Sprawks were also evident a couple even low over the Observatory - the both raced through in a flight style different to the flap/glide of Common Sprawk of which several dozen beat their way South and to the West. Short-toed Eagles were evident with the odd one here and there - I think a distinct profile with notable carpal jut but maybe that’s just me. Quite a few Marsh drifted over including nice creamy-headed females. Late afternoon produced 2 stunning Ospreys within half hour of each other - always nice to see on migration. Passerines obviously included a steady passage of all 3 common Hirundines but mainly Swallows. A handful of Red-rumpers were noted as were half a dozen Alpine Swifts that scythed through the air is if the effects of gravity doesn’t apply to them! A distant party of 7-8 Rollers were followed by a gaggle of 5 noisy Ravens which could be heard at distance so there must have been juveniles involved. Both Honey and Steppe Buzzard were evident - nice juveniles of the former and too few of the latter but that should pick up whilst I still have time.

Movement of the day goes to…..the Falcons!

Resident Kestrel aside Hobbies flashed through in ones and twos. The birds I saw were juveniles but Adults were noted. Mixed groups of 3-4 included the odd Red-footed Falcon including stinking males. At 3pm a party of 3 RFF strafed the Ops then ones and twos came over higher and just before 5pm a swarm of 5 birds hawked and stooped between the Obs and the bay. All in all a very enjoyable and productive day. Today could see high birds to the East but who knows? It is nice to bird in good weather without low cloud. What is better for the birds is not generally the best birding views but you have to ask yourself what is important? On beautiful days I have seen Eastern Black-winged Kite, Imperial and Steppe Eagles so expect the unexpected and you will not go far wrong…..

I will post some pics later when I finish my 2nd visit.

Good Birding -

Laurie -

Chance favours the prepared mind

 

[rollingthunder]

Batumi - Sakhalvasho
Monday 18 September 2023​

Counting period: 08:20 - 18:15 Count type: Storks and raptors Weather: wind SSW2, First two ours not counted due proper rain. De other part of the day a variety of clouds and blue sky. Observers: Jos Koopman, Thomas Los, Daan Knoops, Eka Tevdorashvili, Frank Halbert, Kasper Wieck, Jan Peter Reinier de Vries, Jarno Michielssen, June Heene S N Black Stork 12 - White Stork 1 - Osprey 2 - Egyptian Vulture 1 - Honey Buzzard 41 - Short-toed Eagle 7 - Lesser Spotted Eagle 16 - Booted Eagle 44 - large eagle sp 20 - Marsh Harrier 41 - Pallid Harrier 10 - Montagu's Harrier 1 - Hen/Montagu's/Pallid Harrier 10 - Black Kite 396 - Steppe Buzzard 21 - European Roller 8 - Totals: 631 individuals, 16 species, 9:55 hours Bold = Notable observation (scarce or rare species or large number) Comments: After many wishes we finally had some rain in the first ours of the day. After a bit more sleep we started the day slowly. Although we barely had any stream to count and the numbers were still low, It was a very enjoyable day. We had constantly single raptors flying around like close by Pallid Harriers, juvenile Honey Buzzards and several other beauties. A group of 5 close by Red Footed Falcons made our day complete.

Chance favours the prepared mind

 

[rollingthunder]

Batumi - Shuamta
Monday 18 September 2023​

Counting period: 08:23 - 17:30 Count type: Storks and raptors Weather: rainy in the morning, mostly dry in the afternoon Observers: Ada Coudenys, Thomas Veryser, Marc Heetkamp, Eirik Kersten, Fernando Gross, Pamela Carvajal S N Black Stork 2 - Osprey 1 - Honey Buzzard 241 - Short-toed Eagle 13 - Lesser Spotted Eagle 34 - Booted Eagle 39 - large eagle sp 12 - Marsh Harrier 93 - Pallid Harrier 3 - Montagu's Harrier 2 - Hen/Montagu's/Pallid Harrier 3 - Black Kite 1480 - Steppe Buzzard 278 - MediumRaptor 1 - European Roller 10 - Totals: 2212 individuals, 15 species, 9:07 hours Bold = Notable observation (scarce or rare species or large number) Comments: This morning we were woken up by heavy rains which delayed the count. The brave people who stayed at Elzas and braved the rain counted a new species in the bimbo tree: a roller. A group of bee-eaters was also hiding together in the bimbo tree. From 9h on the weather stayed semi dry and we did our best to achieve the half million honeys of the season! We also had some cute march streams and the lesser spotted eagles also didn't disappoint. The other streams were overflowing with black Kites. The main event of the day though were some overhead gorgeous short-toed eagles! The rest of the day was silly with Pamela scaring Marc with some close-up human counters. Everyone left home hungry but satisfied (I hope). xoxox

Chance favours the prepared mind

 

[rollingthunder]

Sakhalvasho Day 2.

Tremendous day's movement yesterday with wall to wall Black Kites from before i arrived at 1030 until i got picked up at 5 - and still they kept coming with stragglers until 18:30. The BK Batumi day record of 30k was easily broken with 35k+ at Sakhalvasho and 9k+ at Shuamta - total of nearly 50k😱
Truly astonishing to put it mildly.

The weather was stunning. Sunny and warm from start to finish. Hardly a breath of wind meant undisturbed thermals with kettling of birds appearing everywhere. Most of the movement came over the Observatory and the adjacent corridor bordering the sea. Birds spiralled and spilled out over the water. Cloud was high and superb light allowed excellent views of even the high birds. Many allowed detailed views and lots were photographed. These ideal conditions means hardly a gunshot was heard👍

Parties of 250-400 birds were not uncommon. Many Booted Eagles were dotted in with the BK - nearly 500 were counted making it a good day for that species. Surprisingly few, ca150, Steppe Buzzards but still Honey Buzzards in the hundreds. No Falcon activity altho i managed to clock 1 of 2 Peregrines. Plenty of plucky Sprawks on show with a small party of 15 clocked thermalling higher than 2 Lesser Spotted Eagles😱 Lots of LSE btw. Only a handful of Levantine Sprawks and oddly virtually no Harriers altho Shuamta had triple figures. A few dozen Short-toed Eagles noted again Station 2 having many more. Single Hobbies whizzed through and a coupla Ospreys noted. Some gems i decided to watch rather than photograph. These included a total of 3 Greater Spotted Eagles that for some reason are not on the count list (they don't get everything). These were picked up by visiting groups who obviously know what they are looking at. A late afternoon Steppe Eagle was a nice surprise and raptor of the day goes to a stunning Oriental Honey Buzzard that flew straight over the Observatory some 50' above our heads - great stuff.

Hirundines were almost absent but probably too high to observe. A few Bee Eaters were seen but you could hear faint but high trilling all day. A few small groups of Black Storks passed over their huge wings hardly moving in the rising heat.

Back to the Argo today for a last visit and the chance to ID stuff for myself. The rest of the week is forecast the same so today should see some good migration and i am back on the hill Thursday and Friday 👍

Good birding -

Laurie -

Last edited: 47 minutes ago
Chance favours the prepared mind

 

[rollingthunder]

Batumi - Sakhalvasho
Tuesday 19 September 2023​

Counting period: 06:50 - 17:30 Count type: Storks and raptors Weather: Observers: Pamela Carvajal, Thomas Los, Marc Heetkamp, Daan Knoops, Samuel Prettyman, Eka Tevdorashvili, Frank Halbert, June Heene, Milosz Cousens S N Turtle Dove 1 - Black Stork 73 - White Stork 1 - Osprey 2 - Egyptian Vulture 2 - Honey Buzzard 403 - Crested Honey Buzzard 1 - Short-toed Eagle 20 - Lesser Spotted Eagle 68 - Booted Eagle 493 - Steppe Eagle 1 - large eagle sp 51 - Marsh Harrier 79 - Pallid Harrier 6 - Montagu's Harrier 4 - Hen/Montagu's/Pallid Harrier 4 - Black Kite 35351 - Steppe Buzzard 153 - MediumRaptor 2 - European Roller 4 - Peregrine 2 - Totals: 36721 individuals, 21 species, 10:40 hours Bold = Notable observation (scarce or rare species or large number)

Chance favours the prepared mind

 

[rollingthunder]

Batumi - Shuamta
Tuesday 19 September 2023​

Counting period: 06:50 - 15:48 Count type: Storks and raptors Weather: Blue skys with some clouds in the afternoon Observers: Jos Koopman, Fernando Gross, Eirik Kersten, Ada Coudenys, Koen Veryser, Simon Hugheston-Roberts, Reinier de Vries S N Black Stork 86 - Osprey 1 - Egyptian Vulture 2 - Honey Buzzard 579 - Short-toed Eagle 42 - Lesser Spotted Eagle 70 - Booted Eagle 87 - large eagle sp 99 - Marsh Harrier 103 - Pallid Harrier 4 - Montagu's Harrier 1 - Hen/Montagu's/Pallid Harrier 15 - Black Kite 9168 - Steppe Buzzard 6602 - MediumRaptor 201 - Totals: 17060 individuals, 15 species, 8:58 hours Bold = Notable observation (scarce or rare species or large number)

Chance favours the prepared mind

 

[rosbifs]

Having been on the Soulor for a biggish migration day I cannot imagine having to count these sorts of numbers and variety moving…..

Great days! 35k black kite

 

[Mark Lew1s]

A few pics.....

Juv-type Yellow-legged Brute
Bosphorous Shag presumably desmarestii
Hoodies
Booty
One of thousands hawking around the Argo

Attachments​

• 
  P1630050-crop.jpg
  838.4 KB · Views: 0
• 
  P1630134-crop.JPG
  589.6 KB · Views: 0
• 
  P1630086-crop.JPG
  922.1 KB · Views: 0
• 
  P1630155-crop.JPG
  238 KB · Views: 0
• 
  P1630178-crop.JPG
  32.8 KB · Views: 0

Chance favours the prepared mind

Your shag looks like a pygmy cormorant.

 

[rollingthunder]

A very productive 5 hours with sunshine and 'Simpsons' type high cloud dotted here and there. There seemed to be an on/off light wind towards the sea from time to time and then it would disappear leaving the restaurant flags hanging limply. All this meant stunning viewing conditions and undisturbed thermals. Indeed the structure of the building it's height and adjacent dark tarmac car park must provide a large thermal footprint. A number of streams re-kettled directly over me in flocks of several hundred each time.....

Sak recorded ca15k+ Black Kites and i must have had half that amount over me as a % of the same streams headed for the Argo with others moving along the coast and over Batumi town centre. The Argo flocks appeared to drift in a SE direction.

There were easily a coupla hundred Booted Eagles and probably 100 Honey Buzzards in with the BK swarms. More Steppe Buzzards were noted today and my feeling is that Thursday or Friday is due for a big day for this smart looking bird. I only clocked a handful of Marsh Harriers despite deliberately searching for them. I find looking in flocks for birds of a similar size and proportions can be challenging when there are soo many. The twisting, turning and spiralling flocks do not make it easy for me but all good practice.

A nice surprise was many Lesser Spotted Eagles - i must have had at least 50. I also clocked what looked good for 2 Greater Spotted and a Steppe in late afternoon about 3pm. Singles of a stunning female Red-footed Falcon that stooped at a party of Bee Eaters and a solitary male Pallid Harrier that looked fresh out of the paint shop were a bonus.

I didn't note any White-tailed Eagles but 2 were seen at Sak. I wouldn't have missed these barn-door beauties so they must have either moved to the East or put in their appearance before midday. Shuamta recorded no less than 5 Egyptian Vultures but Sak didn't so they also must have streamed East.

A few dozen Sprawks were noted but no Levanters. No Ospreys either. A coupla nice parties of Black Storks - always good to see. Also very few Hirundines but like the day before they will have been higher and most importantly there will have been little if any gunshots heard at Sakhalvasho. Despite that you do see birds with raggedy tails and wings that have been used as target practice by an eejut here and there.....

I will post some pics when i get the chance.

Back to Sak today for what promises another goodie🤞

 

[rollingthunder]

Agreed Pygmy Cormorant - it was constantly diving as it was being mobbed by Gulls and altho photographed.....just I didn't think PC as I have never seen one.

As my late Mum used to say 'born to make mistakes'!

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

I take my hat off to the counters.

Me personally I go for the experience and to hone ID skills.....maybe I ought to spend 10 days around the Bosphorous looking at seabirds ;-)

I have also taken far less pictures this time as the light is so good and it has been 4 years since my last visit I just want to enjoy watching, identifying, aging and maybe just maybe sexing some of the critters. There are quite a few first time counters but the experienced ones give them a bit of an ID boot camp and assist with allotting streams etc - this leaves a couple of seasoned counters to get photographs of the more spicy stuff. There must have been some absolute crackers of that OHB but I just watched it zoom through. I have only seen one other at Sak and that was in the East - I did however have almost daily views of wintering birds at Eilat this Spring.

Good birding -

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

Batumi - Sakhalvasho
Wednesday 20 September 2023​

Counting period: 06:50 - 17:50 Count type: Storks and raptors Weather: Observers: ? S N Stock Dove 5 - Black Stork 14 - Honey Buzzard 583 - Crested Honey Buzzard 2 - Short-toed Eagle 47 - Lesser Spotted Eagle 122 - Greater Spotted Eagle 3 - Booted Eagle 243 - Steppe Eagle 1 - large eagle sp 38 - Marsh Harrier 78 - Pallid Harrier 2 - Hen/Montagu's/Pallid Harrier 8 - Black Kite 15510 - White-tailed Eagle 2 - Steppe Buzzard 894 - MediumRaptor 241 - Peregrine 2 - Totals: 17795 individuals, 18 species, 11:00 hours

 

[rollingthunder]

Batumi - Shuamta
Wednesday 20 September 2023​

Counting period: 07:04 - 17:30 Count type: Storks and raptors Weather: Observers: Jos Koopman, Thomas Los, Ada Coudenys, Thomas Veryser, Daan Knoops, Simon Hugheston-Roberts, Eka Tevdorashvili, Kasper Wieck, Milosz Cousens S N Black Stork 15 - Egyptian Vulture 5 - Honey Buzzard 166 - Crested Honey Buzzard 1 - Short-toed Eagle 19 - Lesser Spotted Eagle 32 - Booted Eagle 23 - Steppe Eagle 1 - large eagle sp 33 - Marsh Harrier 30 - Pallid Harrier 3 - Hen/Montagu's/Pallid Harrier 12 - Black Kite 330 - Steppe Buzzard 2718 - MediumRaptor 11 - Totals: 3399 individuals, 15 species, 10:26 hours Bold = Notable observation (scarce or rare species or large number) Comments: Silence after the storm. After a day with challenging, but pleasurable streams of Black Kites and a bit less sleep, a slower day like this was exactly what we needed. The day started slowly with some harriers and Kites, also in the afternoon the birds were mostly for station 1, although the variety of species was really nice with 5 Egyptian Vultures were by far the nicest birds of the day. The most adorable signing of the day was a baby-dolphin far away in the Black Sea. Sooooo cuuuute!! <3