Georgia April 25th / May 16th. Birding the High Caucasus - The Big 5 and beyond..... (5 Viewers)

[rollingthunder]

3 weeks Spring birding for migrants, residents, regional endemics, craft ales, 8k wine cultivation history with over 400 grape varieties and an indigenous Cigar industry - What's not to like?

A friend and I fly tomorrow at 21:15 from Heathrow to Tblisi, return trip £315 including 23k hold luggage each and some food and drink provided. British Airways were the only carrier flying direct when booked. Just over 5 hours scheduled with 2 added on for time zone difference. My birding partner has been once to Georgia for a Spring trip of 10 days in April a few years back whereas this is my 5th jaunt the other 4 all being for Autumn raptor migration at Batumi. We have a pencilled in an itinerary based on the map of his other trip and we will fill in the blanks after each day's birding as things, including weather, unfold. We pick up a hire car at Tbilisi Airport sometime between 6 and 8am on Friday morning and make the drive to Steptsanminda for the first 3 nights. The plan is to make our way East probing the borders of Ingushetia and Chechnya before dropping down to the plains and the Azerbaijan border. Then West adjacent to Armenia taking in the hill and lake habitats including the only Caucasus site for breeding Velvet Scoter. There are obvious target species and I am confident they will be seen but the trip is about migration no matter what we see. My friend has not visited Batumi for migrants and is keen to get to there. The Observatory at Sakhalvasho is now manned by a handful of volunteers in April and May and has been shown to produce excellent numbers of migrant raptors approaching 4-500k since Covid. I do not drive so it will be down to him with regard to the driving schedule.....

I am taking my Swarovski 12x42 NL's. The 95mm objective 'scope module with both the angled 30-70x zoom and the BTX binocular modules. In addition the Swarovski phone holder and adapters for the above. For photography I will be taking my brand new Nikon Coolpix P1100 with additional batteries and plenty of SD cards as I will take some stuff in RAW. My trusty Scillies-vintage 80's Silk D2 will accompany me along with a lightweight monopod that has a ball and tilt head. The gimbal head I have also proved useful with the BTX at Batumi last Autumn so that is also packed. I also have a waistcoat that I can clip the camera to on my chest or my hip which has a quick release arrangement. I used this recently in Morocco with my Canon MK2 and 100-400 zoom lens and mounted on the chest it proved very useful. The P1100 is not as heavy as the Canon so it should work well. My friend has the Canon package and shoots only in RAW so hopefully our camera arrangement should complement each other.

We will be booking accommodation on the fly depending on weather and birds - this will be easy with the Internet these days. All Hotels/Hostels will hopefully include breakfast which will allow us to go out as early as possible come back for food then off for the rest of the day - that's the plan anyway! I will also obtain a Georgian SIM card as soon as I find one after leaving the Airport.

My plan is to post stuff daily as a travelling blog much as I do on my other trips. This will be dependent on the Internet and how much energy I have at the end of the day after birding, Georgian hospitality, food and grog have taken their toll. I will do my best to update on details and birds as frequently as is possible.

Good Spring birding here to everyone -

Laurie -

 

[jogresh]

Sounds great, have a good un 👍 🦆🦢🦅🦉🐦‍⬛

 

[rollingthunder]

Fri 25th.

A long day.

Landed at Tbilisi Airport 0530 local and left for Kazbegi around 8am after sorting out both car hire and a Georgian SIM card. We have Internet WiFi access at all accommodation so only required data at 6gb for 30 days @ 25GEL - £7.50.

The drive to Stepantsminda was about 170km. Not that far but it is on the so-called Soviet Military Highway which superficially has seen better days. Random road edges and potholes meaning one eye on the road and one on the skies for any movement not to mention the odd small boulder rolling down that could be an issue when returning the car. For those that have not used it vigilance is needed at all time as frustrated motorists in both directions are keen to not be stuck behind the many trucks that ply their trade into South Ossetia and Ingushetia. The many short tunnels do not allow 2-way traffic for haulage vehicles and so they park in long rows awaiting a Police escort in alternating batches.

We picked our way slowly stopping to overlook bodies of water, sides of hills and areas of scrub but surprisingly saw little activity. The forecast was for rain later on with thunderstorms in the greater Tblisi area.

Notable were parties of Swallows heading up towards the mountains. It never ceases to amaze me the magic of visual migration. I have left birds hawking around local farms in relatively mild weather to see them braving the highly changeable Caucasian weather with their backdrop changed from the deserts of Oman to the snowfields of Georgia.

With an eye on the impending rain we stopped and checked fields adjacent to the road. At one such area a calling Water Pipit was heard and further scanning yielded more with several Wheatears, a lone Lesser Whitethroat, a "pencilliata' Horned Lark and a rather smart male ‘ochrucrus’ Redstart. Another viewpoint afforded views of feeding Chough (Common) and several of the many Ravens seen today c\w mobbing Hooded Crows - Common Buzzard was also added. We drove on and it rained from 12-5pm so we unpacked etc at Kazbegi View a collection of Swiss-style chalets which seem in vogue in the area.

From 5-6:30 we did a circular walk of the local fields. The area is a tad scruffy imo which makes for suitable passerine perches. Double figures of both Wheatears and Water Pipits the latter being the Caucasian race ‘coutllli’ which is notably a buffier bird with no Pinkish tones. White Wagtails were here and there with other local species. A cursory glance down towards the River Terek and I clocked a flash of Ginger to reveal a pair of adult Lammergeiers at tree-top height flying down the Valley! My first for 48 years those being a distant soaring pair in Kenya - worth waiting for and I look forward to more.

Today we will start up at the local Monastery after first light. My friend although an early bird does not wish to fall victim to pothole damage so wants proper not half light to drive up there. Then back for some breakfast around 10 and plan the rest of the day. No rain forecast today and a light wind…..

Good Spring birding -

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

Sat 26th April

This morning saw us spending 0700-1100 birding around the Gevreti Monastery walking tracks from the hilltop car park. The snowline has retreated somewhat to about 2,500 metres. My friend came about this time 10 years ago and snow was down in the town of Stepantsminda itself with flocks of Red-fronted Serin feeding on bushes in the gardens. No such like this time and I think we are going to struggle with the Big 5 as in addition to the lack of snow at lower levels the forecast is for 40% precipitation on most days this week. This will deposit snow at higher levels but we won’t be able to view or walk in those conditions. Monday is a window in the weather with only cloud forecast so we will have another attempt then walking higher to an area where a couple we spoke to yesterday had flight views of Snowcock and Grouse plus feeding Rosefinch. We are moving on Tuesday down to the plains and steppe for general migration all you can do is give it a go…..

Fortunately there was plenty to see around the Monastery and the road back to the town.The usual Wheatears and White Wagtails and Water Pipits that were displaying. Double figures of Ring Ouzels with some really striking ‘alpestris’ males some of which were chasing each other for territory plus plenty of singing birds . Both Chough and Alpine Chough were flying and calling in groups with both the distinct call and that soft purr. We had a group of the latter chasing a male Lesser Kestrel in a dogfight. Parties of Griffon Vultures drifted in and out many of which didn’t look full adults but 2 were noted on a small hill that had suitable ledges and cavities and droppings showed that birds certainly use them. The first calling Bee Eaters of the trip were heard which was a nice surprise. My pulse quickened at a mid-distance Red Finch on top of a Conifer but it turned out to be a humble Crossbill.

After a bit of lunch we drove part way back up to stop at various points that offered both views and woodland.

It was relatively quiet with most of the trees bare and hardly any catkin species on show. Both Firecrest and ‘caudata’ Long-tailed Tit were noted plus the odd Cirl Bunting in addition the first Booted Eagle of the trip a dark-morph individual. We put about 200 yards between us in order to spread out antennae which mean me dipping on the 2 mobile Green Warblers. A species I saw albeit briefly at Sakhalvasho last Autumn but I do have the trump card of reminding my mate of Britain’s first up on St Mary’s Garrison pines in ’83! Twite, a flighty pair which had been noted in the morning, started to appear on fences down near the town now along with the first Hoopoe. Both female Common and male ‘ochrorurus’ Redstarts showed well. The bushes and trees are an obvious conduit for migrants heading through the mountains but were devoid of activity. We finished around 4pm with a stunning adult Lammergeier drifting along the edge of the outcropping ridge - in excellent light it provided good views as did the Griffon and male Sprawk earlier.

After half an hour in a scruffy town park which yielded only Blue, Great Tit, Chaffinch and a piping Common Sandpiper we sat and had a coupla well-earned beers at a local bar before heading back.

Good Spring Birding -

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

The worst day of the week ahead - nothing in most of Georgia except for splashes around Batumi.

 

[rollingthunder]

Sun 27th April

Following a night of heavy rain and strong winds we waited for drier conditions and set off at 9:30 for the relatively short drive to the Larsi tunnel from which you emerge only several hundred yards from the border with the Russian Federation and neighbouring Ingushetia. To say the road needs some attention is putting it mildly. Potholes aside we had to drive around obviously recent rockfalls that had you been adjacent to them would have voided us never mind the car insurance. As if by magic upon our return at lunchtime all the rubble had been pushed down the other side presumably by some Transformers behemoth that they must keep in a hidden tunnel somewhere. Suffice to say I will miss the scenery but do not intend to become part of it and will hopefully not travel this section again. There are the rusting skeletal remains of those that didn’t make it down in the broad riverbed below! I have read that this section from Stepantsminda to Larsi is due a £100M upgrade in the near future, quite where the traffic goes when this is undertaken God only knows. As Georgia, although desperate to join, are not members of the EU it means they have turned to the Chinese Tunnel Company to carry out the work - Devil and deep Blue sea springs to mind…..

The scenery is nothing short of spectacular with near vertical rock faces at every vista. 2’s and 3’s of Griffon Vultures floating above at every turn. Doing our best to check for likely ledges whilst one eye on traffic, one on potholes and another on potentially dangerous rocks - that makes 4 things to look for with 2 pairs of eyes. A pull over gave us good views of a Griffon returning to feed a sitting bird which I thought early. Another stop by a bridge section for Crag Martins that were either nest-building or returning with food. Several ‘ochrurus’ Redstarts and lots of Ring Ouzels with plenty of singing birds. I am seeing birds that I think have normal plumage as well as a range of ‘alpestris’ types including one or two males that look almost frosty underneath. More Cirl Buntings and Common Redstart. What we are not seeing or hearing much are Warblers but maybe we are just a week early for numbers and variety? Unfortunately if we came any later this year it would have mean ascending to 3k metres on Monday to look for stuff and I am not up to going that high, as 2.5k we are both out of breath on relatively short uphill walks. All part of getting older I’m afraid.

Plenty of Water Pipits and White Wagtails en-route and trip ticks like Grey Wagtail, House Martin and Stonechat. Another stop to stare at a pile of boulders and one of them flashed…..Red! Wallcreeper and viewing the feeding bird from above whilst it worked its way in and out of the nooks and crannies gave us stunning views for half an hour. The bird fed avidly flitting here and there and I thought there must be a nest nearby. Hopefully more brushes with the ‘Rock Hoopoe’ await us. Above us more Griffons, frequent Ravens and a lone Steppe Eagle itself Vulture-sized drifted through high above us.

Emerging from the Larsi Tunnel blinking in the Sun we pulled over to check the rock face. The tunnel itself was built in 2018 and is 2km long. The original road is still there as a bypass but you then run the risk of rockfall for which the tunnel was built to avoid. We spent about an hour walking 500 yards or so craning our necks and in a short 75 yard stretch we found both Chough and Raven on eggs and a third much larger cavern that just revealed a stick n mud platform. As I looked out emerged an adult Lammergeier that turned around and sat down - well, that left the pair of us gobsmacked! I got out my Slik D2 and angled Swaro and at full extension I still had to crouch slightly to view the bird as we were looking just off the vertical. 3 Lammergeier sightings in 3 days all adults and including breeding birds. In addition there were a number of well-marked Rock Doves disappearing into the cliff face.

We pecked our way back with more of the same and stopped at another bridge that had crumbly holes in the concrete with bits of reinforcing rod poking out. All very good for nesting birds but it does make you worried about the structural integrity of the concrete. We put the thought that the bridge might collapse at any minute and concentrated on the pair of Red-fronted Series that were utilising one of the cavities to nest in. Smart little things and my second Lifer of the day following Wallcreeper - definitely a Cigar this evening.

The afternoon saw us checking bits of river, pools and areas around a couple of local settlements for general migrants. All the rivers are in serious flow and we have only seen one or two Common Sandpipers and a late Goosander. We did however click with a pair of Dippers that were taking it in turns to fly off to feed young. We also saw 3 dead Cows in one section of river! The most productive site was a small area of houses and allotments. Here we recorded both Corn and Rock Buntings with both White and Yellow Wagtail. The Yellow was of the race ‘superciliaris’ that breeds in SE Russia and was a new subspecies for me. As already stated it seems quiet I would have expected more. We shall be moving lower and to the South and East in a day or so and hopefully things will improve. I had a beer on the bar verandah and clocked a solitary Black Kite as the light dropped and over the town parties of Swallows arrived to hawk for a last minute mean much as we were doing walking to the Maharajah Restaurant for a Mutton Curry c/w Garlic and Coriander Naan bread, you could also take your own booze which we got from the supermarket next door - all this reminded me of the local Balti houses in the West Midlands.

Just when you thought you had got away something drags you back!

Good Spring Birding -

Laurie -

 

[Gladiator96]

I stand to be corrected but shouldn't overnight rain have a good chance of driving down the Guldenstadt's Redstarts and Great Rosefinches down from high altitudes to the famous buckthorn areas around the village? Plenty of sightings of the former in Ebird over the last days, but much less of the latter.

Also the Ring Ouzels should be ssp amicorum

 

[DMW]

I stand to be corrected but shouldn't overnight rain have a good chance of driving down the Guldenstadt's Redstarts and Great Rosefinches down from high altitudes to the famous buckthorn areas around the village? Plenty of sightings of the former in Ebird over the last days, but much less of the latter.

Also the Ring Ouzels should be ssp amicorum

That's how it normally works there, and is what we experienced at the end of April a few years ago. I guess it relies on the precipitation being snow higher up the mountain.

It's actually possible to scope the chickens from the edge of town, albeit very distantly. The grouse are pretty easy to spot when they are lekking on the open grassy slopes. The snowcock typically take a bit more work, especially if they aren't calling.

 

[rollingthunder]

Thanks for the info.

We have been checking the Buckthorn each day and haven't seen much in there at all - quite what they feed on I don't know? There is only some residual bits on the bushes which doesn't look edible. I wondered about the Ring Ouzel subspecies as only a few look pale. We have had no calling Snowcock at all and scanning for lekking Grouse has yielded nothing. Whether it takes place earlier in the day than we look I do not know.

We leave for Telavi tomorrow so will have a boot about in the morning.

I will post a few bits on todays gruelling bash to 2700m tomorrow.....

Laurie -

 

[Antik]

Your trip reports from Georgia are my favourite BF reads Laurie, thanks and do keep up with the great work!

Guldenstadt's was the only major dip I had during my fall trip a couple of years ago although I did hike all the way to the nearest glacier above Gereti in mixed rain/snowfall. I hope you had the luck on your side on Monday!

 

[rollingthunder]

I will Crowdfund you a medal for the Glacier hike and thanks.

I thought a fall was a trip ;-)

 

[rollingthunder]

Mon 28th April

Was a grueler…..

A drive up to Gevreti Monastery through lingering overnight mist and then a hike up the Hot Chocolate Trail.


Ca25 Red-fronted Serin feeding around the smaller car park was a positive start. The Monastery is about 2100m and we hiked to about 2700m. The track is well worn but covered in snow in places so there is a Ho Chi Minh Trail option depending on how adventurous you are. It was cool and misty until we breached the cloud and Mount Kazbegi appeared. At 5,000+m it is very impressive as only a dormant volcano can be - last vented its spleen about three thousand years ago and is the 3rd highest peak in Georgia.

We nudged the edge of the snow field for 3/4 of an hour. My mate was 250 yards ahead and did get a mid-distance @rse end view of 2 Grouse and a shrouded-in-mist Guldenstadt’s Redstart i.e. a small silhouette with a wing-flash plus a coupla Mountain Chiffchaffs. As is usually the case if you are the first to see stuff you are usually the last and this was the case. Lots of Ring Ouzels 30+ and more singers. They were quite tame allowing close views often whilst sparring with each other. Water Pipits and a few Wheatears and the ever present Alpine Choughs. A Buzzard sp but the weather was closing in so we made our way back to the car at 2pm. We had a bowl of spicy Beef soup and crusty bread back in town and settled in at the accommodation as the weather had worsened. I was tempted to open the bottle of 10yo Georgian Brandy I had bought but showed uncharacteristic restraint and had 2 bottles of beer each.

All in all not a very productive day. We will have a walk around the Sea Buckthorn tomorrow and say goodbye to the 2 magnificent Bactrian Camels tethered nearby and drive to Telavi where we are stopping for 3 (£46 for all 3) nights and will visit areas of interest before moving down near the Azerbaijan border.

Good Spring Birding -

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

Some pics.....

Ravens, as you would expect are ubiquitous.
Ring Ouzel, I have seen more in a day than I have seen in the Uk.....ever! I believe this to be subspp 'amoricus'. I have seen some 'hoary' birds and presume 'alpestris'?
Gevreti Monastery - somewhere to get away from it all.
We believe these to be Brown Bears.
Male Lesser Kestrel being chased by Alpine Choughs or 'Bandits at 3 to 6 o'clock.

 

[rollingthunder]

Tuesday 29th April

Following an hour of checking the Sea Buckthorn, which once again produced nothing of note, we left Kazbegi for the 200km drive to Telavi. The fields adjacent to the bushes had double figures of Water Pipit and a handful of Wheatears. In addition whilst Griffon Vultures wheeled over on the cool updrafts a lone Steppe Buzzard flapped by and a high dark-morph Booted Eagle had a plan view of the area. Also of note was the first Long-legged Buzzard of the trip. A nice adult came in low over the fields with some twigs and disappeared into the rock face next to the zip-line presumably to refurbish its nest.

We filled the tank with fuel and headed for the tunnels. We could see the weather closing in ahead of us and after half an hour decided to pull in at a lay-by for a quick scan of the surrounding area. There had been a lot of fresh snow and only isolated fence posts were exposed save for a decent sized area of rocks and pasture where we parked. 1 male Wheatear turned into 20+. These birds in their fresh Spring plumage looked absolutely stunning against the Snowy backdrop. A few were calling and one or two were even singing and indulging in tail-fanning whilst chasing each other. One each of White Wagtail and female Black Redstart were also present. With hardly any traffic all was quiet and serene. Just the right conditions, we thought (fingers crossed) for calling birds. The mournful calls of Caspian Snowcock were clearly audible - a cross between a Curlew and a lost soul. I have no doubt they will be the source of many a Caucasus myth. At the same time we could hear the buzzy cackle of Caucasian Black Grouse but where were they? We did scan but searching for White birds on a White background and Black birds on a Black background proved fruitless so we departed and were grateful for that.

As we hit the first tunnel at the Jvari Mountain Pass the weather had worsened with snow flurries reducing visibility to 30 yards - we felt sorry for the 2 touring motorbikes in front of us. As we dropped lower and left the last of the tunnels behind us the weather cleared and greenery appeared. We left the main road at the reservoir and climbed higher on a series of switchback roads of remarkably good quality with hardly a driver seen in 30km. Once again weather closed in with snow flurries turning to rain for the last hour or so. 10km from Telavi we turned down a side road and parked up with low scrub habitat either side of us and thought ’Shrike country’. No sooner said a smart female Red-backed obligingly appeared and provided excellent views whilst nearby a male was scanning the fields. Both Lesser Whitethroat and Black Kite duly noted.

We finished with a walk from the guest house to get some beer and clocked 2 male Redstarts and a singing Blackcap in local gardens. Wednesday we head out for the Mta-Tusheti Nature Reserve area to bird the road there and back and just see how it goes with weather. It is forecast to pick up here for the next few days which will be welcome as I keep being informed of the good weather back in Blighty…..

Good Spring birding -

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

Pics.

My mate Mark, Birder and Chauffeur and before anybody says David Attenborough.....

 

[rollingthunder]

More.
You just gotta love those big free-ranging Georgian Dogs he was waiting every morning.

 

[rollingthunder]

Wed 30th April

Started with heavy rain bringing a deluge to the local streets so much in fact that I had to cross the road on those Yellow and Black sleeping policeman that you see bolted to the tarmac. When it rains in Georgia it rains as evidenced by the size of the drains and soakaways - think cattle grids on steroids!

Coffee, Sugar and pastries duly purchased a plan B had to be cobbled together as the rain wasn’t forecast to finish by around 10am according to Accuweather - I won’t bother using the BBC anymore as they seem to specialise in bad weather forecasts and low temperatures abroad like the are acting for the Government in trying to limit peoples desire to travel and spend what money is left where an when they want. Rant over but my last ties to the BBC have been severed…..

We decided to return to the area we had stopped at en-route about 15km from Telavi. We pulled in there because it looked promising and is not the sort of site that would be found on trip reports which suits us just fine. Although I have a few to peruse I don’t want to spend too much time in other birders footsteps so apart from some obvious locations we just ‘bash’ likely looking areas. We selected a relatively small area of about 1/4 mile x 1/4 mile. It has a range of habitats from open low scrub with access through, small sections of young Vines (we are in Khakheti after all) and as these are trained up wires and posts there are plenty of perches. It also contained cultivated fields some bare and some with what looked like fodder crops or low fallow vegetation. It was also bordered by the River Bagrationi which like most we have been seeing consists of little flowing rivulets and usually a bigger one and they meet from time to time. You only have to look at the width of the river beds and the banks and bunds to work out how much water can come down in spate or after snow melt to appreciate it. Most at present are low and strewn with piles of gravel and random boulders.

We adopted a plan of coverage. We would walk away from each other doing a figure of 8 for about 250 yards and return the same route. We would then turn at right angles and do the same. Each walk was allocated an hour before meeting back up to swap notes. We spent about 4 hours doing this to achieve maximum coverage. In addition upon meeting back up species of note not seen by the other would be followed up straight away walking straight to the area that the species was heard or seen so that neither of us lost out on good birds. It works very well. I caught up with Barred Warbler, Red-breasted Flycatcher and Woodlark but unfortunately Mark couldn’t with the Nightjar that flushed as I walked past as we don’t know where it went and do not deliberately flush birds neither do we tape lure and woe betide anyone that we might bump into that is doing it - a round of f+++s will be administered.

We set off at 0900 and birded, without refreshments, until 4pm. The weather picked up nicely and clothes were shed in a reptile stylee. The forecast is picking up nicely around here and bodes well for when we head further South and East on Thursday. The locals have said that it has been unseasonally changeable and wet considering this time last year it was 28-30c. I have not shortage of updates from The Bride and birding friends of the ‘heatwave’ in Blighty. I remind the former that I am having a ‘proper’ holiday and to take the Dog out and the latter I update them with pics and posts of the birding.

I will just add an annotated list of species seen.

Redstart - half a dozen or so including singing birds.

Quail - several calling from the fodder/fallow fields.

Red-backed Shrike - lots possibly unto 30 individuals mixed male and female and very approachable. I cannot remember the last one I saw in the UK and never tire of seeing them in places like Georgia.

Corn Bunting - birds feeding in the cultivated fields and singing from wires.

Lesser Grey Shrike - at least 4 stunning birds seen and a bogey bird for me…..not any more and I smoked a couple of cigars on the strength of them.

Tree Pipit - several noted including a singing bird from a post not displaying.

Marsh Harrier - a smart male seen quartering an area of rough grazing.

Montague’s Harrier - an all too brief male put in a welcome appearance.

Whinchat - a dozen or so including some of the brightest birds I have ever seen

Whitethroat - noted.

Steppe Buzzard - a rather smart but bedraggled individual sat on a mid-distance fencepost with open drooping wings to dry - you could see the distinct underwing pattern with the naked eye!

Lesser Whitethroat - again noted.

Jay - several birds usually being mobbed by the local Blackbirds who know exactly what they are up to.

Cuckoo - 2 birds heard.

Wheatear - a handful noted.

Swallow - feeding parties over the fields and along the riverbed.

Raven - birds heard and seen.

Swift - small feeding parties.

Grey Heron - a loose party of about 25 birds came up from the river area.

Great White Egret - in with the above.

Greenshank - 2 birds heard.

Garden Warbler - a few seen and heard.

Magpie - ditto Jay.

Bee Eater - heard sporadically and the odd bird actually seen.

Nightjar - a beautiful bird I nearly trod on flew up and just floated away, my first sighting for about 8 years the last one being a flushed bird at Los Lances, Tarifa.

Red-breasted Flycatcher - a smart little bird but mobile fly catching in the scrub.

Sparrowhawk - 2 hunting males seen.

Woodlark - a pair seen and a couple of others calling and singing.

Booted Eagle - the 3rd of the trip and the first pale-morph.

Chiffchaffs - calling and feeding birds no singers.

White Wagtail - noted.

Other species were seen on site and en-route that I haven’t bothered to add. We went to the next river which had more water but it was still quiet but added Common Sandpiper and Little Ringed plover to the tally. Back at the Guest House Polygloti we cracked open a 5L container of 11.5% Georgian White wine whist watching pair of Redstarts that will probably breed with a victory Nicaraguan cigar followed by more wine and a mixed salad tea around 20:30 more wine and bed around Ten.

We will drive to the Mta-Tusheti Park today birding en-route and wherever we deem productive.

Good Spring birding and May the first be with you -

Laurie -